Morocco passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 70-80%ICAO 9303 general rule, not published by the authority The authority publishes no head height. This band is the generic ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 portrait rule, head 70-80% of the image height, which is also what every authority in this data set that publishes a percentage gives. |
| Background | Plain sky blue, light grey or white background with no shadow behind the head |
| 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 | Allowed, as long as the whole face is visible. |
| Ears | No |
| Also required |
|
Two official pages disagree slightly on colour: the photo standard PDF allows only plain sky blue or light grey, while the list of documents to supply says light blue, white or light grey. White is therefore accepted in practice but blue or light grey is the safer choice. No head height is published, so no chin to crown range is given here. The site states that for passports issued by Moroccan embassies and consulates abroad the rules are published on www.consulat.ma, which is a separate portal not covered by this spec.
Applying in Morocco
Morocco is one of the few countries that does not want a white background. The biometric passport portal publishes a four page photo standard asking for a plain sky blue or light grey backdrop, and the list of documents to supply on the same site widens that to light blue, white or light grey. Two official pages, one requirement, two slightly different answers. White is therefore accepted in practice, and blue or light grey is the safer choice when the texts disagree.
The rest of the standard is short and unusually concrete about what a bad photograph looks like: no ink marks, no flash marks, no red eye, no shadows on the face, correctly exposed and sharp. The frame is 35 by 45 with the face centred, the head straight and facing the lens, the gaze fixed on it, the mouth closed and no smile. One recent identity photograph is what the documents page asks for, in every applicant category it lists.
One boundary matters if you are applying outside Morocco. The portal states that for passports issued by Moroccan embassies and consulates abroad the rules are published on a separate site, consulat.ma, which this page does not cover. What is on this page is the domestic biometric passport standard published by the Direction Generale de la Surete Nationale. If you are applying at a consulate, treat these measurements as a starting point and confirm with the mission.
Why photos get rejected here
A white background where the standard asks for blue
The photo standard itself allows only plain sky blue or light grey. White appears on the documents page rather than in the standard, so a white background is the reading that relies on the weaker of the two texts.
Thick frames, even with clear lenses
Morocco asks for thick frames to be removed alongside tinted lenses. That is stricter than the usual rule about frames covering the eyes, and it catches a fashionable pair that sits well clear of the eye.
Flash marks on the face
The standard names flash marks and red eye separately from general exposure problems. A phone flash fired straight at the face produces both, and the fix is to turn it off rather than to correct it afterwards.
A smile
Mouth closed, no smile, eyes normally open and clearly visible. The wording leaves no room for the closed-mouth smile that several European standards tolerate.
A hat or a cap
Decorative headwear is excluded by name. The test that remains is the area one: everything from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead must be fully visible.
An adult visible while holding a child
A young child must be photographed alone, with nobody and nothing else in the frame. If an adult has to hold the child, the adult must not appear, which rules out the usual arm at the edge of the picture.
What helps
Choose blue or light grey over white
Both official pages accept light grey and blue; only one of them accepts white. Our background replacement can set a plain sky blue directly, which no wall in your house will match.
Turn the flash off
Flash marks and red eye are named failures. Even daylight from a window gives a softer, more even result than a phone flash at close range.
Take off heavy frames
Morocco excludes thick frames as well as tinted lenses, and states that wearing glasses is not compulsory. If your everyday pair is chunky, the photograph gives less trouble without it.
Keep the gaze on the lens, not on the screen
The standard asks for the head straight, facing the lens, with the gaze fixed on it. On a phone that means looking at the camera hole rather than at your own image.
Check consulat.ma if you are abroad
The portal says explicitly that consular rules are published there. Applying at a mission with the domestic standard in hand is not the same thing as applying with the right one.
One photograph is what the list asks for
The documents page repeats the same single recent identity photograph in every applicant category, which is fewer than several neighbouring countries want. Print a spare anyway.
Babies and young children
Morocco writes one of the more practical infant rules on this site. Babies do not need a neutral expression or a direct gaze, but they must be photographed from the front. What is not relaxed is the company: a young child must be photographed alone, with nobody and nothing else in the frame, and if an adult has to hold the child the adult must not appear. That combination points at one method, which is to lay the child on a plain surface in even daylight and shoot from directly above, keeping the camera square so the face is not foreshortened. The background rule applies to a child's photograph too, so a plain sky blue or light grey surface is what to lay them on.
Glasses
Glasses are not compulsory, and the standard says so, which is worth knowing because several countries insist that a daily wearer keeps them on. Morocco accepts clear lenses only. Tinted lenses must be removed, and so must thick frames, which is a stricter condition than the usual rule about a frame covering the eyes: the thickness itself is the problem, not only its position. There must be no reflection. Taken together, the shortest way through is to photograph without glasses at all, since nothing in the standard requires the picture to show you as you normally appear.
Head covering
The standard bans decorative headwear, naming hats and caps, and then sets a positive test for everything else: the whole area from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead must be fully visible. A covering worn for religious reasons that leaves that area clear satisfies the requirement as written, which is why our spec records head coverings as allowed with the face fully visible rather than as a religious exception. Nothing in the published standard asks for a written declaration or a certificate. Check for a shadow along the hairline, since the same standard refuses shadows on the face.
Applying online
We found no Moroccan route that accepts an uploaded passport photograph. The biometric passport portal publishes the printed standard and the list of documents to supply, and one recent identity photograph appears in every applicant category. For applications at Moroccan embassies and consulates abroad the portal points at a separate site, consulat.ma, whose rules we have not verified and which may differ. We could not confirm a fee or a processing time from an official page.
Questions about Morocco photos
Two Moroccan pages give different background colours. Which wins?
The photo standard allows only plain sky blue or light grey. The list of documents to supply adds white. Blue or light grey satisfies both texts, so it is the safer choice.
Do I have to wear my glasses for a Moroccan photo?
No. The standard states that wearing glasses is not compulsory, and it accepts clear lenses only, with no reflection.
Which rules apply if I apply at a Moroccan consulate?
Not these. The passport portal says consular rules are published on consulat.ma, a separate site we have not verified, so confirm with the mission handling your file.
Are thick frames a problem even with clear lenses?
Yes. Morocco asks for thick frames to be removed alongside tinted lenses, which is stricter than the common rule about a frame covering the eyes.
Does my baby have to look at the camera?
No. Infants do not need a neutral expression or a direct gaze, but they must be photographed from the front and must be alone in the frame.
What counts as decorative headwear in Morocco?
Hats and caps are named. The remaining test is that everything from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead is fully visible, which a covering can satisfy.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Normes pour les photographieschecked September 2, 2026
- Passeport biometrique: pieces a fournirchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers