Denmark passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 30-36 mm Rigspolitiet measures the head from the tip of the chin to the top of the hair (hagespids til hartop) and requires 30-36 mm on the 45 mm high photo. |
| Background | Uniform light-coloured background with no pattern, for example light blue or light grey |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| Head covering | Only for religious or medical reasons, and the face must be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. |
| Also required |
|
Danish passports are applied for in person at any municipal borgerservice, and you normally bring a printed 35x45 mm photo. Some municipalities require the picture to be taken at the counter instead, so check with yours first. The same photo standard covers passports and driving licences. Note that Denmark measures the head to the top of the hair, not to the crown, so the 30-36 mm range is not directly comparable with the ICAO chin-to-crown figure used by most other countries. The background wording is a uniform light colour with light blue and light grey given as examples; the hex value here is a light grey and the alternatives cover light blue and white. The poster states that the rules have applied since 1 August 2006. No maximum photo age is published, only the requirement that the photo be a good likeness.
Applying in Denmark
Denmark measures the head differently from almost everyone else, and that one difference makes most international advice unusable here. Rigspolitiet measures from hagespids til hartop, the tip of the chin to the top of the hair, and requires 30 to 36 on the 45 frame. Every other authority on this site that publishes a range measures to the crown of the skull instead. A tall hairstyle therefore counts here and does not count elsewhere, so a photograph cropped to a German or Swiss template will usually be wrong.
The application itself happens in person at a municipal borgerservice, and you normally bring a printed photograph of 35 by 45. Some municipalities require the picture to be taken at the counter instead, so the useful first question is not about the photograph at all: ask your kommune what it does before you prepare one. The same photo standard covers passports and driving licences, and it has been in force since 1 August 2006.
The fees are steeply banded by age, and there is a trap in them. As of September 2026 a passport is 150 kroner for a child up to eleven, 182 for a child of twelve to seventeen, 894 for an adult and 382 for a pensioner. Those figures double if you cannot present a valid or expired passport, or if the one you present is damaged. Delivery is 11 to 15 working days from your visit to borgerservice, with an express route of about five.
Why photos get rejected here
A head measured to the crown rather than to the hair
The Danish range runs from the chin to the top of the hair. A photograph cropped to satisfy a chin to crown rule leaves the head over-sized here, and volume in the hair makes the error larger rather than smaller.
A background that does not separate light hair
The poster is explicit that people with white or light hair, or wearing a light headscarf, need a background in sharp contrast. A light grey wall behind white hair leaves no edge for the scan to find.
A spectacle frame crossing the eyes
The rule is stated as clearance rather than as visibility: the eyes must be completely clear of the frames, and the lenses must not be tinted or reflect. A wide upper rim that sits on the eyebrow line fails it.
More than one person in the frame
Only one person may appear, showing the face and the top of the shoulders. Since children are held for photographs more often than not, this is the rule families break without noticing.
A shadow on the face or on the background
Lighting must be even, with no shadows on either. A single ceiling light produces both at once, dark eye sockets and a hard shadow on the wall behind the head.
A damaged, stamped or perforated print
The photograph must be a photograph or printed on good photo paper at very high resolution, with no holes, stamps or other damage. A print stapled to a form once is no longer usable.
What helps
Ask your kommune first
Some municipalities take the photograph at the counter and will not accept one you bring. Which practice applies to you decides whether there is anything to prepare.
Crop to the hair, not to the skull
Denmark measures to the top of the hair. If you have volume on top, the whole head sits lower in the frame than a European template would place it.
Bring the old passport, even an expired one
Presenting a valid or expired passport keeps the fee at the normal rate. Without it, or with a damaged book, the fee doubles, which on an adult application is a difference of several hundred kroner.
Choose a background against your hair
Light hair or a light headscarf needs a background in sharp contrast rather than the default light grey. Our background replacement can set a darker value for exactly this case.
One photo standard covers two documents
The same requirements apply to passports and driving licences, so a single sitting prepared correctly serves both.
Count in working days, not calendar days
The published figure is 11 to 15 working days from your visit to borgerservice until the passport reaches you, with an express route of about five working days.
Babies and young children
Denmark states it in four words: alle regler gaelder ogsaa for boern, all rules apply to children as well. There is no relaxed expression, no relaxed gaze and no smaller head range, which is unusual among the Nordic countries and unusual next to Belgium and Switzerland. The rule that only one person may appear in the frame is the practical difficulty, because it removes the obvious way to hold a baby steady. Where a child genuinely cannot meet a requirement, the poster does leave a door open: in special cases individual requirements can be waived, and that decision is made where you apply, not in advance.
Glasses
Glasses may be worn, with two conditions that are worth reading as separate tests. The eyes must be completely clear of the spectacle frames, which is about geometry rather than about transparency, and the lenses must not be tinted or reflect. The frame clearance rule catches heavy or wide upper rims that sit across the eyebrow line, and it fails them even when the eyes are perfectly visible through the lens. Photochromic lenses are the other common problem, since they tint in daylight and a window-lit room is enough. If either applies, a photograph without the glasses is the simpler route.
Head covering
A head covering is allowed for religious reasons only, and the visibility test names three areas rather than a general one: the forehead, the chin and the cheekbones must stay visible. The cheekbones are the part people miss, because a scarf pinned close under the chin can leave the face clear and still cross the cheekbone line. Nothing in the published poster asks for a written declaration. There is a separate point that bears on this: a light headscarf triggers the same contrast problem as white hair, so it needs a darker background rather than the default light one.
Applying online
There is no photograph upload for a Danish passport. You attend a municipal borgerservice in person and either bring a print that meets the requirements or are photographed there, depending on the municipality. Some kommuner require the picture to be taken at the counter, so check yours before preparing anything. The same standard covers passports and driving licences. Delivery runs 11 to 15 working days from the visit, and an express route takes about five working days. Where a requirement cannot be met, the office where you apply can waive it in a special case.
Questions about Denmark photos
Does Denmark measure the head to the crown or to the top of the hair?
To the top of the hair. That makes the Danish 30 to 36 range not directly comparable with the chin to crown figures published almost everywhere else.
Why has my passport fee doubled?
Because you could not present a valid or expired passport, or the one you presented was damaged. Bringing the old book, even an expired one, keeps the fee at the ordinary rate.
Will my kommune let me bring my own photo?
Some will and some will not. A number of municipalities require the photograph to be taken in borgerservice, so ask yours before you prepare a print.
Is there an express option in Denmark?
Yes. Ordinary delivery is 11 to 15 working days from the borgerservice visit, and an expedited route takes about five working days.
Is there any way to have a requirement waived?
In special cases, yes. The police poster says individual requirements can be waived, and the decision is made where you apply for the passport or driving licence.
What does a Danish passport cost for a pensioner?
382 kroner as of September 2026, against 894 for an adult below pension age, 182 for a child of twelve to seventeen and 150 for a younger child.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
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