ID Card Photo — Germany Requirements

Photo Dimensions

Size: 35 × 45 mm

Tips for Getting the Right Size

• Use idpic.app to automatically crop and resize your photo to the exact required dimensions — no manual calculation needed.
• Keep your face centred in the frame with your head fully visible from crown to chin.
• When printing, ensure you print at 100% scale (not "fit to page") to preserve the correct dimensions.
• Your face should fill the correct proportion of the photo. idpic.app shows a face guide overlay to help you position correctly.

Background Specification

Plain white or light grey background required. The background must be a single, uniform, light colour — either white or a neutral light grey. No patterns, gradients, or shadows.

How to Get the Right Background

• Stand at least 50 cm from the wall to prevent shadows falling on the background.
• Use even, diffuse lighting — a window or softbox pointed at the background helps.
• A plain white or light-coloured wall, a white sheet, or a dedicated photo backdrop all work well.
• Use idpic.app to automatically replace your background with the correct colour — no manual editing required.

Glasses requirements

Glasses are not allowed for this photo. This includes prescription glasses, sunglasses, and tinted lenses. Remove all eyewear before taking your photo. This is the official requirement for Germany.

Tips for Taking Your Photo

• Remove all glasses — including prescription glasses — before taking the photo.
• Contact lenses are fine and do not need to be removed.
• If you wear glasses regularly, check that there are no indentations on your nose from the frames.

Common Rejection Reasons

• Wrong background. Germany ID Card photos require a plain Plain light background with no shadows, patterns, or objects. Retake the photo against a flat, evenly lit backdrop.
• Wearing glasses. Glasses are not permitted in Germany ID Card photos. Remove all eyewear before taking the photo.
• Head covering. Hats, caps, and other head coverings are not permitted in Germany ID Card photos, even for fashion or warmth. Remove any head covering before the photo.
• Face size out of range. Your face must fill between 70% and 80% of the photo height. Move closer to or further from the camera and recrop.
• Photo too old. Germany ID Card photos must be taken within the last 6 months. Take a new photo if yours is older.
• Low resolution or blurry. Your photo must be sharp and at least 300 pixels on its shortest side. Use good lighting and hold the camera steady.
• Shadows. Shadows across your face or on the background — often from overhead lighting or a nearby wall — are a common rejection reason. Use soft, even lighting from the front.
• Wrong expression. Smiling, frowning, closed eyes, or an open mouth can cause rejection. Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed and both eyes open, looking directly at the camera.
• Wrong paper or printing. Home-printed photos on regular paper, or prints with a glossy coating that catches light, are often rejected. Print on quality matte photo paper at full size and 100% scale.

About photo requirements

The German Personalausweis uses the same biometric photo standard as the passport and the same electronic transmission process introduced in May 2025, but it is applied for far more often — it is the everyday identity document, renewed on a shorter cycle than a passport.

The photo follows the Bundesdruckerei template: frontal, neutral expression, plain light background, face height held within a narrow band. Because the card is checked by machine at borders inside the Schengen area, sharpness and even lighting carry more weight than for a document that is mainly read by a person.

Submitting the photo

As with the passport, the image is transmitted electronically from a certified booth or photographer to the registration office, and you identify it at the counter with a code. Applications for children follow the same route, with the additional rule that no one else may appear in the frame.

Common issues

The failures are the same as for the passport — face height outside the band, background shadow, glasses reflection — with one addition specific to the card's shorter renewal cycle: applicants often try to reuse the photo from their previous Personalausweis, which the office will not accept.

Head covering rules

Head coverings, hats, and scarves are not permitted for this photo. An exception is made for head coverings worn for religious or medical reasons, but the face from chin to forehead must remain fully visible with no shadows cast on the face.