Poland passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 768 px |
| File size | 2.5 MB |
| Head height, chin to crown | 70-80% The face must occupy 70-80 percent of the photo. The photo shows the whole head from the top of the head plus the upper part of the shoulders. Ears need not be visible and the hairstyle may extend beyond the frame. |
| Background | White, evenly lit, free of shadows and of any decorative elements |
| 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. |
| Ears | No |
| Photo age | 6 months |
| Also required |
|
Poland still works on a printed photo: you bring a colour 35 x 45 mm paper photo to the passport office. The old half profile rule is gone; the current instruction requires a frontal view (en face) and explicitly rejects a half profile. An electronic photo is used only in the online routes: the online identity card application (at least 492 x 633 px) and the online passport application, which is available only for a child under 12 (at least 768 x 1004 px). Both must keep the proportions of 35 x 45 mm and stay under 2,5 MB. The file format for those uploads is not stated on the government page, so no digital block is published here rather than guessing at JPEG. The head rule is published as a percentage (face 70-80 percent of the photo, which is about 31,5-36 mm on a 45 mm print) and the ministry instruction measures head size against a mask template using the chin to eyes distance. Legal basis: Ustawa z dnia 27 stycznia 2022 r. o dokumentach paszportowych.
Applying in Poland
Poland is the exception this site was waiting for. Across the countries we have checked, a photograph you produced yourself is either forbidden, overridden at the counter, or acceptable only once a business has printed and certified it. Polish government guidance takes the opposite position and states that you may prepare the photograph yourself. There is no accredited photographer scheme, no certification to obtain and no stamp on the back. If the picture meets the published requirements, its origin is not the issue.
The catch is the route rather than the photograph. An adult passport application cannot be made online at all: you attend in person with a printed photo, because fingerprints are collected at the counter. Only a child under twelve, who is exempt from fingerprinting, can be applied for entirely online with an uploaded image. The identity card allows an upload too, but from the age of twelve you still attend within thirty days to give fingerprints and a signature.
One rule is routinely misreported, so it is worth stating clearly. Polish law sets the head size as a proportion, 0.7 to 0.8 of the photograph, and publishes no measurement in millimetres at all. Commercial sites circulate a figure of 32 to 36 mm, along with margins above the head and below the chin, and cite no Polish source for any of it. Work from the proportion, which is the rule, rather than from a millimetre figure nobody official has published.
Why photos get rejected here
The face is the wrong size or off centre
The ministry's own error illustrations lead with a face too large, a face too small, and a head that is not centred. Because the rule is a proportion of the frame rather than a measurement, this is the fault people are least able to judge by eye.
Head or camera geometry
The illustrated failures include a tilted head, a half profile, and photographs taken from above or below the subject. Shooting from your own eye level with the shoulders square removes all three at once.
Background pattern, object or uneven lighting
The captions name a visibly patterned background, an object appearing behind the subject, and a background lit unevenly. A wall lit from one side fails on the lighting even where the colour is right.
Reflections on the face
Facial reflections appear in the official error set separately from background problems. They come from a light source close to the lens, which in practice means the flash.
Dark lenses without a disability ruling
Tinted lenses are allowed only with an orzeczenie o niepelnosprawnosci, a formal disability ruling. A doctor's note is not the required document, and the older wording that suggested one survives only in an outdated 2016 instruction.
What helps
You are allowed to make it yourself
Polish guidance explicitly permits a self-made photograph and requires no biometric certification. This is unusual enough that photographers may tell you otherwise, and the guidance is the authority on the point.
Use white, even though the statute says light
The statute asks for a uniform light background while the government guidance says white. White satisfies both readings, so it is the safe choice when two official texts differ.
Ears and stray hair are not the problem here
Polish rules do not require the ears to be visible, and hair is permitted to extend beyond the edge of the photograph. Both are stricter elsewhere, so advice written for France or Italy over-corrects here.
A bad photo means a request, not a refusal
Where the photograph does not meet the requirements, the official asks you to supplement the application rather than refusing it. That is a delay rather than a lost fee, but it is still a second trip.
Check whether you pay at all
The standard passport fee is 140 zloty as of September 2026, with a 50 percent reduction for some applicants and 75 percent for a student from a large family up to the age of 25. It is free from the age of 70, and the dowod osobisty is free for everyone.
Online now needs an e-Doreczenia mailbox
From 1 January 2026 an application submitted over the internet requires an e-Doreczenia electronic delivery mailbox. This is new friction on the online route and worth setting up before you start rather than halfway through.
Babies and young children
Poland publishes the most generous relaxation we have found anywhere, and it is not limited to babies. Children under five, people holding a disability ruling, and anyone whose state of health prevents compliance may have their eyes closed, their mouth open, or an expression that is not natural. A crying toddler is therefore not a failed photograph here. Practically, a child under twelve is also the only applicant who can complete a passport application entirely online, because fingerprints are not collected below that age: the photograph is uploaded at 768 by 1004 pixels, at most 2.5 MB, in the proportions of the printed photo.
Glasses
Prescription glasses are accepted provided the eyes remain visible, the frames do not cover the eyebrows and there are no reflections on the lenses. The eyebrow condition is the unusual one, since most countries stop at the eyes, and a wide upper frame that sits high on the face can fail on it alone. Tinted or dark lenses are a separate matter and require an orzeczenie o niepelnosprawnosci, a formal disability ruling issued by a board, rather than a doctor's certificate. Older guidance mentioning a medical note is out of date.
Head covering
Poland recognises two distinct grounds and treats them differently, which is worth knowing because the paperwork differs. A covering worn on religious grounds requires a certificate of membership of a religious community registered in Poland, and the face oval and the line of the ears must remain exposed. A covering worn for medical reasons falls under a separate provision covering the after-effects of treatment or an accident, and here the applicant only has to make the reason plausible: no formal certificate is demanded. Confusing the two is the usual reason someone arrives with the wrong document.
Applying online
The answer depends entirely on who is applying and for what. An adult passport cannot be applied for online, because fingerprints are taken in person, and the photograph is brought as a print. A passport for a child under twelve can be applied for entirely online with an uploaded image, since fingerprints are not collected below that age. The identity card accepts an uploaded photograph through gov.pl or mObywatel and has its own, smaller pixel requirement published by gov.pl, but from twelve you still attend within thirty days for fingerprints and a signature. From 1 January 2026 any online application also requires an e-Doreczenia mailbox.
Questions about Poland photos
Can I really take my own passport photo in Poland?
Yes. Government guidance permits a self-made photograph and requires no biometric certification or accredited photographer. Poland is the only country in our current research where this is stated outright for a passport.
Can I apply for an adult passport online?
No. Fingerprints are collected in person, so an adult application is made at the office with a printed photograph. Only a child under twelve, who is exempt from fingerprinting, can apply entirely online.
What is the head height in millimetres?
There is no Polish figure in millimetres. The statute sets the face at a proportion of the photograph, and the 32 to 36 mm range circulating on commercial sites cites no Polish source. Use the proportion.
Should the background be white or light?
The statute says uniform and light; the government guidance says white. White satisfies both, so it is the safer of the two when the texts differ.
What happens if my photograph is wrong?
The official asks you to supplement the application rather than refusing it outright. You lose time rather than the fee, and you will need to return with an acceptable photograph.
Is the Polish thirty days a limit or an estimate?
Government guidance says about a month for a passport as of September 2026, and a maximum of thirty days for the identity card. Note the difference in wording: one is an estimate, the other a limit.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Zdjecie do dowodu lub paszportu - informacjechecked September 2, 2026
- Instrukcja wykonywania zdjec do dokumentow paszportowych oraz dowodow osobistych (PDF)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers