Mexico passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | Placeholder value; the SRE publishes no background rule because it takes the photograph itself |
NOT VERIFIED, and probably not applicable. The SRE requirement list read on 2026-09-02 at gob.mx/pasaporte contains no photograph: the applicant books an appointment (MexITEL) at a passport office or consulate and the photograph is captured there, which is why no size, background, expression or eyewear rule is published for an applicant-supplied photo. The 35 x 45 mm in this file is a placeholder standing for what tamano pasaporte conventionally means in Mexico; it is not an SRE figure and must not be shown to users as one. The gob.mx tramite catalogue entry SRE185 now redirects to the portal home page, and consulate sites under consulmex.sre.gob.mx link straight back to gob.mx/pasaporte. Before this spec is published, someone should confirm whether any Mexican consular procedure (for example the documento de identidad y viaje, or a Mexican visa handled by the SRE) does ask for printed photographs and cite that page instead. No head height is published, and no fallback band is applied: an unverified spec carries a labelled placeholder size and must not be dressed up with borrowed numbers.
Applying in Mexico
In Mexico you do not bring a photograph. It is taken at the appointment, along with your fingerprints, your signature and an iris scan, by the SecretarÃa de Relaciones Exteriores. The requirements list for a passport application runs to seven documents and a photograph is not among them, which is the clearest possible confirmation that nothing you prepare at home will be used. What the ministry publishes instead is a set of grooming rules for how to turn up.
Those rules are worth reading before the appointment rather than after. The photograph is taken with the head completely uncovered, facing forward, with nothing covering the face, and without glasses. Hair should be pulled back so that it does not hide your features, and adornments that obscure the face are not acceptable. None of that is negotiable at the counter, and every item on the list is something you can only fix before you sit down.
There is one exception worth knowing. A few consulates abroad still publish a bring-your-own-photo specification, and where they do the requirements are specific: a 35 by 45 print on a white background, facing forward, without smiling, without glasses, showing the whole head, and taken no more than 30 days ago. That thirty day limit is much shorter than the international norm and is the detail most likely to catch someone reusing an existing photo.
Why photos get rejected here
Wearing glasses
The consulate examples label glasses as the first unacceptable case, and the ministry's own grooming rule for the appointment is that the photograph is taken without them. There is no conditional exception about glare or clear lenses.
A grey or stained background
Where a photo is supplied, the background must be white. The labelled rejected examples name a grey or stained background specifically, which is what a plain wall photographed in poor light usually produces.
The face too close to the camera
One of the labelled examples is a face photographed too close. At arm's length a phone lens exaggerates the nose and forehead, which reads as a distorted face rather than as a framing error.
The head too far away, or in profile
The opposite failure is also illustrated: a head too small in the frame, and a photograph taken in profile. The face and the body must both be square to the camera rather than turned.
Turning up with your head covered
The photograph at the appointment is taken with the head completely uncovered and the hair pulled back. Arriving with a hat, or with hair arranged over the face, means a delay rather than a different photograph.
What helps
Prepare yourself, not a file
For an application in Mexico the useful preparation is how you arrive: head uncovered, hair back, no glasses, nothing obscuring your features. The photograph itself is out of your hands once you sit down.
Check your consulate's page before assuming
Most consulates capture the photograph like the offices in Mexico, but a few still publish a bring-your-own specification. The page for the consulate you will actually attend is the one that governs your application.
Where a photo is required, take it within thirty days
The consular specification we read asks for a photograph no more than 30 days old. That is shorter than almost every other country and it invalidates a picture taken earlier in the year.
The consular route is often same day
At consulates in the United States the passport is issued the same day as the appointment, in around two hours. Elsewhere abroad the wait is closer to a month, so the country you apply in changes the answer.
Ask about the age discount
Fees as of September 2026 are MXN 1,795 for three years, MXN 2,440 for six and MXN 4,280 for ten, with a 50 percent reduction for people aged 60 or over and people with disabilities. The amounts are set annually by the Ley Federal de Derechos, so they move each year.
Babies and young children
The photograph is captured at the appointment for children as well as adults, so there is no home photo to prepare for a Mexican passport made in Mexico. What families need to know is administrative rather than photographic: a minor's application needs the OP-7 permit, and both parents must attend with official identification matching the birth certificate. Validity is shorter for the youngest applicants, with one and three year documents for children under three, which means the photograph is retaken more often than an adult's. We found no published relaxation of the photograph rules for infants.
Glasses
Glasses are not worn. The ministry's instruction for the appointment is that the photograph is taken without them, and the consular examples that show a supplied photo label glasses as an unacceptable case. This puts Mexico with Nigeria, the United States and Australia rather than with the countries that permit clear lenses subject to glare. Because the rule is unconditional, there is no lighting arrangement or frame choice that makes a photograph with glasses acceptable here.
Head covering
The published instruction is that the photograph is taken with the head completely uncovered, and that nothing may cover the face. We did not find a published religious or medical exception in the material we read, which is a genuine gap rather than evidence that no exception exists. If a head covering is part of your application, ask the office or consulate handling it before the appointment rather than arriving and hoping, and tell us what they say so that we can add it with a citation.
Applying online
There is no upload and no photograph among the required documents. Your picture, fingerprints, signature and iris are captured at the appointment. A small number of consulates abroad still publish a bring-your-own-photo specification, and where they do the print requirements apply instead. No pixel or file size figures are published for Mexico, because there is no file to submit.
Questions about Mexico photos
Do I need to bring a photo to my passport appointment?
Not in Mexico. The photograph is taken at the appointment along with your fingerprints, signature and iris scan, and a photograph does not appear on the list of required documents at all.
How should I turn up for the photo?
With your head completely uncovered, facing forward, with nothing covering your face, your hair pulled back so it does not hide your features, and without glasses. These are the ministry's own instructions for the appointment.
Is it different at a consulate abroad?
It can be. Most consulates capture the photograph, but a few still publish a bring-your-own specification asking for a white background, front-facing, no smiling, no glasses, the whole head, and a photograph no more than 30 days old. Check the page for your consulate.
Who gets the 50 percent discount on the Mexican passport fee?
People aged 60 or over and people with disabilities. The full fees as of September 2026 are MXN 1,795 for three years, MXN 2,440 for six and MXN 4,280 for ten. Consular fees are set separately in dollars.
How long does it take at a consulate?
At consulates in the United States the passport is issued the same day, in around two hours. Elsewhere abroad it is closer to a month.
What do I need for a child's passport?
The OP-7 permit, with both parents present carrying official identification that matches the birth certificate. Children under three receive one or three year documents rather than the longer validities.
Where these numbers come from
Not verifiedWe could not verify these numbers from a source we trust. Treat them as a starting point and check with the authority before you apply.
- Pasaporte Mexicano, requisitoschecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers