Australian passport photo requirements

The Australian Passport Office accepts printed photos only. Your photos must be 35–40 mm wide and 45–50 mm high with the face measuring 32–36 mm from chin to crown, printed by dye-sublimation on glossy paper of at least 200 gsm. You can take the photo yourself, but it must be printed professionally and must pass the same checks as a studio photo.

Make and check a AU passport photo Free checker; files from A$6.99.

Can I take it myself? Yes, with conditions

Yes, with conditions. The Passport Office recommends a professional provider and says it does not recommend online services or apps, mainly because of identity-fraud risk when you upload your face to a stranger's server. This site never uploads your photo, so that concern does not apply, but the printing rule is firm: inkjet prints and home prints are refused. Use this tool to check and frame the photo, then print the sheet at a kiosk that uses dye-sublimation (Kmart, Officeworks, Big W, Harvey Norman and most chemists do). We sell the Australian product as check + print sheet, not as a digital file, because there is nowhere to upload one.

How to take the photo

1. Stand about half a metre in front of a plain white or light-grey wall so no shadow falls behind your head. Natural daylight from a window in front of you gives the most even light.
2. Have someone else take the photo from roughly 1.5 metres away with the phone at your eye level. A selfie at arm's length distorts the nose and forehead and is a common reason for rejection.
3. Look straight at the lens with a neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and hair clear of your face. Keep your shoulders square and your head level.
4. Remove glasses, hats, headbands and wireless earbuds. Religious head coverings are allowed if they are plain and show the whole face from chin to forehead and both edges of the face.
5. Leave plenty of space around the head; the tool crops to 35×45 mm. Shoot at full resolution and send the original file to the device you will use, not a screenshot or a compressed message attachment.

Why AU passport photos get rejected

1. Face too large or too small. Chin-to-crown must be 32–36 mm. Use the head-size control until the readout is inside the band; the tool positions the head automatically.
2. Printed on an inkjet printer or thin paper. Print at a kiosk or chemist that uses dye-sublimation on glossy 200 gsm paper. Ask for a standard 6×4 print of our sheet at actual size.
3. Glasses worn. Glasses are not allowed unless you cannot remove them for medical reasons, in which case you need a medical certificate or a B-11 form.
4. Shadows on the face or behind the head. Move away from the wall and face the light source. Even lighting matters more than brightness.
5. Background not plain, or edited. The Passport Office lists 'background not plain and edited' as an unacceptable example. Retake against a plain wall; this tool never edits the background for Australian passports.
6. Smiling or head tilted. Neutral expression, head straight. The tilt readout should be under 3 degrees.
7. Photo older than six months. Take a new one; the lodgement date is what counts.

Infants and children

Children under three may have their mouth open and the Passport Office is lenient about expression. Lay the baby on a plain white or light-grey sheet and photograph from directly above, or sit them in a car seat with a white blanket behind the head. Nobody else may appear in the photo, including a supporting hand, so support the head from under the sheet. Every child, including a newborn, needs their own passport and their own photo.

What it costs

Two printed passport photos cost around A$20 at Australia Post and A$17–25 at a chemist or Officeworks. A 6×4 print at a Kmart or Officeworks kiosk costs under a dollar and carries eight photos. Our Single licence (A$6.99) lets you check the photo and generate as many print sheets as you like for 30 days; the free tier gives you the checker and a watermarked sheet.

Retailer pages: Kmart , Officeworks , Australia Post , Snapfish .