Irish Passport Photo Requirements for Passport Online and Paper Forms

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sets one standard for your face and two formats: a digital photo for Passport Online and printed photos for paper forms. The table shows both, based on the official photo guidelines on ireland.ie.

The current guidelines do not give a head size in millimeters. Older DFA guidance and the EU ICAO guideline use a face that fills about 70 to 80% of the printed photo, and that is what we use for the 35 x 45 mm print.

Most Irish citizens living in the US can renew through Passport Online, so the digital photo is usually the one that matters. It has stricter capture rules than most passport photos, and knowing them up front saves a rejected application.

No selfies, no zoom

The DFA online photo guidelines say the photo must be taken by someone else, not as a selfie, and without using smartphone zoom. Ask a friend or family member to stand back and use the rear camera at normal zoom. A selfie taken at arm's length distorts the face and is one of the most common reasons for a failed upload.

Do not crop it

Passport Online wants your head down to mid-torso, and the system does the cropping. A tight, head-only crop, like a US 2 x 2 photo, is the wrong format here. PhotoForPass delivers an uncropped file at 1080 x 1440 pixels with loose head to mid-torso framing, well above the 715 x 951 minimum.

No enhancement

The photo must not be digitally enhanced, scanned or heavily compressed. Start with a sharp, well-lit photo against a plain light wall so the image needs as little change as possible.

Paper forms

If you apply on paper, you need 4 identical prints. Your witness signs and stamps 2 of them and writes the form number on them. The back of each print must be white and unglazed.

Every Irish order is prepared for both routes, so you can switch from online to paper without starting over. The digital file comes first, and the print sheet is optional.

• Digital photo ($16.95): an uncropped color JPG for Passport Online, 1080 x 1440 pixels, head to mid-torso, well under the 9 MB limit.
• Photo + print sheet ($18.95): the same digital file plus a print-ready 4 x 6 inch sheet (JPG and PDF) with 8 photos at 35 x 45 mm, enough for the 4 prints a paper form needs. Print it at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart and cut along the guides.

The DFA recommends black and white for paper photos but also accepts color. Our sheet is in color. Ask for a standard glossy or matte 4 x 6 photo print with a plain white back, not a home print on plain paper.

Most rejections come from a few capture mistakes. Check this list before you upload or mail your photos.

• Selfies. Photos taken at arm's length by the applicant. Someone else must take the photo.
• Smartphone zoom or a wide-angle lens. Both cause distortion, which the DFA calls barrel distortion.
• Cropped too tight. A head-only photo instead of head to mid-torso.
• Background objects. Door panels, plants, shadows or patterns behind you.
• Smiling. The DFA asks for a neutral expression with no smile and the mouth closed.
• Glasses with glare. Clear glasses are fine, but no glare, shadows, or frames over the eyes. No sunglasses.
• Uniforms or insignia. Wear everyday clothes with no badges or logos.
• Enhanced or scanned images. Filters, beauty modes, scanned prints and heavy compression are not accepted.
• Head coverings. Allowed only for religious or medical reasons, with the full face visible. No other head accessories.

Children follow the same rules, with a few practical allowances. The child must be alone, with no hands or arms visible and no soother or pacifier.

Infants who cannot support themselves should lie on a plain white surface, photographed from above with the phone parallel to the face. Passport Online also has a cropping tool for children aged 0 to 36 months, which helps when a baby will not stay centered.

PhotoForPass is built around the DFA rules, including the uncropped online format. You upload a photo taken by someone else on any phone or computer, and our checks run in your browser before you pay, so your photo stays on your device until then.

We check face position, eyes, expression, lighting, shadows and background against the Irish rules, even out the lighting, give you a plain light background, and frame the photo for each format: an uncropped digital file and a 35 x 45 mm print sheet. Because the DFA does not accept enhanced images, start with a sharp photo against a plain light wall so it needs as little change as possible. Each order includes up to 5 photo checks and 3 free redos per person, and files are ready about 30 to 60 seconds after payment.

Final acceptance is always up to the Passport Service. If your photo is rejected, our 14-day money-back guarantee gives you a full refund. Photos are deleted automatically after 90 days, or anytime from My photos, and are never sold.