Bulgaria passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 31.5-36 mm Height of the depicted face, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head including the hair: 31,5 to 36 mm. For persons under 14 years old the range is 25 to 35 mm. |
| Background | Neutral light grey at 20 percent grey density; the background may vary between 15 and 25 percent of the grey scale |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Head covering | Allowed, as long as the whole face is visible. |
| Photo age | 24 months |
| Also required |
|
The numbers here are the binding Bulgarian rule: Article 9 and Annex 5 of the Pravilnik za izdavane na balgarskite lichni dokumenti, which fix 35 x 45 mm, a face height of 31,5 to 36 mm (25 to 35 mm under 14), a neutral light grey background at 20 percent grey density, a two year maximum photo age and the detailed paper, lighting and glasses rules. In practice most applicants do not hand in a photo: Article 9(3) says no photo is submitted where the office can capture the face digitally, and the official service description for passport issuance lists no photograph among the documents to attach. This spec is marked secondary for one reason only: the issuing authority's own site, mvr.bg, was unreachable on 2026-09-02 (Cloudflare blocked every fetch and returned 403 or 502), so the regulation is cited from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which publishes the same text for consular applications, and from the state administrative register. Both are government publications; neither is the Interior Ministry host that the project treats as primary for Bulgaria. Re-check mvr.bg before promoting this file to official.
Applying in Bulgaria
Bulgaria writes its photo rule into law rather than into guidance. Article 9 and Annex 5 of the regulation on issuing Bulgarian identity documents fix the frame at 35 by 45, the face height at 31.5 to 36 measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head including the hair, and the background at a neutral light grey of 20 percent grey density, allowed to vary between 15 and 25 percent. It also allows the photograph to be up to 24 months old, which is the most generous limit on this site.
Most applicants never hand one in. The same article says no photograph is submitted where the office can capture the face digitally, and the official service description for passport issuance lists no photograph among the documents to attach. The regulation therefore reads as the standard for the cases where a print is still required, and as the standard Bulgarian photographers work to, since they are required to display the requirements visibly in the studio.
Two of its rules are unusual enough to catch people who have applied elsewhere. The paper must be smooth and matte, 0.12 to 0.20 mm thick, and glossy and raster papers are not accepted, which is the reverse of the Austrian, Croatian and Swiss requirement for a glossy print. And facial hair is treated as part of your identity: beards, moustaches and wigs are allowed if worn permanently, and if a beard or moustache is removed a new photograph must be made and the document replaced.
Why photos get rejected here
A glossy print
The regulation asks for smooth matte material and refuses glossy and raster paper by name. This is the opposite of what most European standards want, so a print made for a neighbouring country fails on the surface alone.
A colour cast
Exposure must be normal and the colours balanced, with reddish, blue green and yellowish casts all named as unacceptable. Indoor lighting produces exactly those, and the cast shows more against the grey background than it would against a white one.
A camera above or below eye level
The lens axis must be horizontal and at the height of the eyes. A phone held at chest height and tilted up, or a laptop camera looking down, is a geometry failure that no crop repairs.
A half profile
The face must be frontal with the head centred, and the regulation states that a right or left half profile is not accepted. Studio portraits default to the pose it refuses.
A headscarf covering the ears or too much hair
Hats and headscarves are allowed only if both ears and at least 1 cm of the hair are visible. That second condition is published almost nowhere else, and it is the one a tightly pinned scarf fails.
A scanned or copied photograph
Scanned, copied and retouched photographs are all excluded, and the print must be in colour and of visibly good quality. Photographing an existing print to make a digital copy produces the exact object the rule refuses.
What helps
Print matte, not glossy
Bulgaria is the exception in this region. Smooth matte stock between 0.12 and 0.20 mm thick is what the regulation asks for, and glossy paper is refused outright.
Put the camera at eye height
The regulation states it as a rule rather than as advice: the lens axis horizontal, level with the eyes. Propping the phone on a stack of books at eye level does more for a Bulgarian photograph than any editing.
Set the background to a light grey, not white
The published value is 20 percent grey density, with 15 to 25 percent accepted. Our background replacement can set that directly, rather than hunting for a wall inside the range.
Use the two year window
A Bulgarian photograph may be up to 24 months old. If you photograph well once, the same sitting can serve more than one document application.
Leave a centimetre of hair showing under a scarf
Both ears and at least 1 cm of hair have to be visible. Setting the scarf back off the hairline satisfies both conditions at once.
Choose the speed on the new euro tariff
As of September 2026 the service is priced at 27 euro for the ordinary 30 calendar day route, 54 euro for three working days and 135 euro for eight working hours, with reductions for children under 14, people over 70 and people with disabilities.
Babies and young children
Bulgaria gives children their own face height band rather than the adult one: for a person under 14 the face on the photograph must measure between 25 and 35 mm, instead of 31.5 to 36. That is a wide range and it reflects how differently a toddler and a thirteen year old fill a frame. Everything else in Annex 5 applies unchanged, including the matte paper, the grey background, the frontal pose and the ban on retouching. The fee is reduced for a child under 14 across all three speeds. Since most offices capture the face digitally, a child usually attends rather than arriving with a print.
Glasses
Glasses are allowed on a condition that is about your habits rather than about the photograph: they are accepted only if you wear them constantly. Beyond that the lenses must not be tinted, and there must be no reflections that spoil the image of the eyes. The constant-wear condition sits alongside the same treatment of beards, moustaches and wigs, which are allowed if worn permanently. Bulgaria is being consistent rather than fussy here: the document should show the face people see every day. If you wear glasses occasionally, the photograph is better without them.
Head covering
Hats and headscarves are both allowed, with a visibility test written more precisely than usual: both ears and at least 1 cm of the hair must be visible. The hair clause is the unusual one, and we have not seen it published by any other authority on this site. It means a covering pinned at the hairline is not enough, since a centimetre of hair has to show below it. Nothing in the regulation limits the permission to religious grounds, which makes the Bulgarian wording broader than most of its neighbours, and nothing asks for a written declaration.
Applying online
Bulgaria has no photograph upload. Article 9 says no photograph is submitted where the office can capture the face digitally, and the official service description for passport issuance lists none among the documents to attach, so most applicants are photographed at the counter. Where a print is required it must come from a photographer registered under the Commercial Act or under EU or EEA law, who is obliged to display the requirements visibly in the studio. Fees as of September 2026: 27 euro for 30 calendar days, 54 euro for three working days, 135 euro for eight working hours.
Questions about Bulgaria photos
If I shave my moustache, do I need a new document?
Yes, according to the regulation. Beards, moustaches and wigs are accepted if worn permanently, and removing a beard or moustache means a new photograph and a replacement document.
Why does Bulgaria refuse glossy photo paper?
The regulation specifies smooth matte material 0.12 to 0.20 mm thick and excludes glossy and raster stock. It is the opposite of the glossy requirement used by several neighbouring countries.
Is the Bulgarian two year photo limit real?
It is what the regulation says, and it is the longest limit on this site. The picture still has to show your current appearance, so the practical limit is how much you have changed.
Are Bulgarian passport fees published in euro now?
The official service description gave the fees in euro when we read it in September 2026: 27, 54 and 135 for the three speeds, with reductions for children under 14, people over 70 and people with disabilities.
How much hair has to show under a headscarf?
At least 1 cm, along with both ears. It is a condition we have found published nowhere else, and a tightly pinned scarf fails it.
Why does this page cite the foreign ministry rather than the interior ministry?
Because mvr.bg, the issuing authority's own site, refused every request from our network. The same regulation text is published by the foreign ministry for consular applications, and that is what we read.
Where these numbers come from
Secondary sourceThe issuing authority does not publish these numbers in a form we can cite directly. They come from a reputable secondary source and are marked as such.
- Pravilnik za izdavane na balgarskite lichni dokumenti, chl. 9 i Prilozhenie No 5 (photo requirements, DOCX)checked September 2, 2026
- Izdavane na pasport na balgarski grazhdani (administrative service 1074)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers