Italy passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 31.5-36 mm The Polizia di Stato writes the rule as a share of the frame: il viso deve coprire il 70-80% della foto dalla base del mento alla fronte, the face must cover 70-80% of the photo from the base of the chin to the forehead. The millimetre range is that share applied to the published 45 mm height. |
| Background | Plain white background lit evenly, with no shadow and nothing else in frame. |
| 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. |
| Photo age | 6 months |
| Also required |
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The police page and the illustrated PDF differ on one number: the page fixes the print at 35x45 mm, while the PDF only says the photo must have a width of 35-40 mm and gives no height. The 35x45 mm figure from the page is used here because it is the operative instruction for the counter. The same photo standard is applied to the Italian electronic identity card. The PDF is served behind a bot filter and may refuse plain downloads; it opens normally in a browser from the linking page.
Applying in Italy
Italy still runs on paper, and it does something with your photograph that most countries no longer do. You bring one printed photo to the appointment, and the public official performs the legalizzazione della fotografia: an act of certification attaching that specific print to your application. This is why the process cannot happen remotely, why a second photo is not asked for, and why the quality of the single print you carry matters more here than in a country where a clerk scans whatever you hand over.
The photograph itself follows the international standard closely. It is 35 by 45, in colour, on a white background lit uniformly, taken no more than 6 months ago, with a neutral expression and the lips closed. The face has to occupy 0.7 to 0.8 of the frame measured from the base of the chin to the forehead, you must be alone in the picture with no other objects, and the print has to be on high-quality, high-definition paper.
The other thing to plan is the money, because Italy charges in two parts and changed how one of them is paid. An ordinary adult passport costs EUR 73.50 for the contrassegno amministrativo, bought at a tabaccheria, plus EUR 42.70 paid separately, giving EUR 116.20 in total as of September 2026. From 1 December 2025 that second payment is no longer made by bollettino postale, and goes through Poste Italiane channels or an enabled payment service provider instead.
Why photos get rejected here
Flash reflection on spectacle lenses
The requirement asks for the eyes to be clearly shown with no reflection from the flash. The official advice is to tilt the head slightly to move the reflection off the lens, which is a rare case of a passport authority telling you how to solve the problem rather than only naming it.
Heavy frames, or frames over the eyes
Separately from reflection, the frame must not cover any part of the eyes and must not be heavy. A thick fashionable frame fails on its own even with perfectly clear lenses and no glare.
Lips parted, or an expression that is not neutral
The wording asks for a neutral expression with the lips closed. A faint open-mouthed smile that would pass unnoticed in a family photograph is the version of this that people submit without realising.
A background that is not white or not evenly lit
Both halves of the requirement matter. A white wall lit from one side produces a gradient, which fails the uniform lighting condition even though the colour is correct.
The face fills the wrong proportion of the frame
Italy measures from the base of the chin to the forehead rather than to the crown, so a photograph framed against another country's chin-to-crown habit often sits outside the Italian band.
Another person or an object in the picture
The requirement states that the applicant must be alone, with no other objects or people. For a child this rules out a visible supporting hand as well as a toy.
What helps
Buy the contrassegno before the appointment
The EUR 73.50 contrassegno amministrativo comes from a tabaccheria, not from the police station. Arriving without it means leaving to find one, which in practice means losing the slot.
Do not look for a postal payment slip
The bollettino postale route ended on 1 December 2025. Payment now goes through Poste Italiane channels or an enabled payment service provider, so instructions printed before that date are wrong.
Tilt your head slightly if you keep your glasses on
This is the authority's own suggestion for moving a flash reflection off the lens. Taking the glasses off works better still, and also removes the heavy-frame problem in the same movement.
Consider home delivery
Passaporto a domicilio through Poste Italiane costs EUR 9.88 as of September 2026, paid in cash to the postal operator on delivery. An older published figure of EUR 9.05 dates from 2014 and is out of date.
Collect it within the year
An uncollected passport is destroyed after one year. You are emailed when the document is ready, so keep an eye on the address you gave at the counter.
Check whether your identity card is one of the expiring ones
Under EU rules, identity cards that do not meet the ICAO minimum security standards or lack a functional machine-readable zone cease to be valid at expiry or by 3 August 2026, whichever comes first. Italy's older paper carta d'identita is the clearest case, so a card you assumed was valid for years may not be.
Babies and young children
The photographic rule that bites hardest for a small child is the requirement that the applicant is alone in the picture, with no other objects or people, which excludes a visible supporting hand. We did not find a published Italian relaxation of the expression, gaze or open-eyes rules for infants, so we are not claiming one exists. On consent, note a change that is often misremembered: since 2023 a parent of a minor no longer needs the other parent's consent to obtain their own passport, but the consent of both parents is still required for a passport for the minor.
Glasses
Glasses are permitted under four conditions, and they are cumulative: the eyes must be clearly shown, there must be no reflection from the flash on the lenses, tinted lenses are excluded, and the frame must be neither heavy nor covering any part of the eyes. The requirement adds an unusual piece of practical advice, suggesting a slight tilt of the head to move a reflection off the lens. Removing the glasses is still the shorter route, since it satisfies all four conditions at once rather than three of them.
Head covering
A head covering is accepted for religious reasons. The Italian condition is worded slightly more demandingly than most: the outline of the face must be clearly visible from the base of the chin to the forehead and on both sides of the face. That second clause is the one to plan for, because a covering pinned close at the jaw can satisfy the chin-to-forehead test while still obscuring the sides. We did not find a requirement for a written declaration to accompany the application.
Applying online
The appointment is booked online through Agenda Passaporto, but the photograph is not uploaded. One printed photo is brought to the counter, where the public official legalises it as part of the application. Attendance in person is required and fingerprints are taken, then deleted after the document is produced. We publish no pixel or file size figures on this page because there is no channel through which an applicant sends a file.
Questions about Italy photos
Why does the official stamp or sign my photograph?
That is the legalizzazione della fotografia. The public official certifies that the specific print in front of them belongs to your application, which is why a single printed photo is required and why the step cannot be done remotely.
How do I pay for an Italian passport now?
In two parts: a EUR 73.50 contrassegno amministrativo bought at a tabaccheria, and a EUR 42.70 payment, giving EUR 116.20 in total as of September 2026. Since 1 December 2025 the second part is no longer paid by bollettino postale.
Can the passport be delivered to my home?
Yes. Passaporto a domicilio through Poste Italiane costs EUR 9.88 as of September 2026, paid in cash to the postal operator. Otherwise you collect in person, and an uncollected passport is destroyed after a year.
Do I need my partner's consent to get a passport?
Not for your own. Since 2023 a parent of a minor no longer needs the other parent's consent for their own passport. Both parents' consent is still required for a passport issued to the minor.
Is there a published Italian processing time?
We could not confirm an official processing time, and no standard period is published on the pages we read. You are notified by email when the document has been issued.
What does a carta d'identita elettronica cost?
We could not confirm a national figure, because the fee is set by each comune. Ask your own comune rather than relying on a number quoted for a different one.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Passaporto: il rilasciochecked September 2, 2026
- Foto per passaporto (qualita delle fotografie)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers