🇫🇷France Passport Photo
for $1

The official requirements

France’s passport photo follows the ICAO 35×45 mm format, but with a background rule that surprises most applicants. The spec set by ANTS (Agence nationale des titres sécurisés):

• Size: 35×45 mm, portrait
• Background: plain light grey or light blue — white is not accepted
• Head size: 32–36 mm from chin to crown (70–80% of the photo height)
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open, looking straight at the camera
• Glasses: allowed only with thin frames and clear lenses — no reflections, frames cannot cover the eyes
• Head covering: none, except for medical or religious reasons (face fully visible from chin to forehead)
• Recency: taken within the last 6 months
• Color: color photo on quality paper, no filter, no retouching

For a digital photo submitted with an online pre-demande, the file must be a JPEG at 413×531 pixels (or larger) and no bigger than 240 KB.

How to take a compliant photo

The 35×45 mm format is the same one most of Europe uses, but the no-white-background rule means a photo that passes for a UK or German passport will often fail in France. The setup that works:

1. Stand 1.5–2 metres in front of a plain light grey or light blue wall — never white. A pale wall with no pattern is ideal.
2. Light yourself evenly from the front. Face a window or use two soft lamps on either side. Overhead lighting casts shadows under the eyes and the chin.
3. Have someone else take it from chest height, straight on. Selfies distort facial proportions and almost always frame the head wrong.
4. Look directly at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open, hair clear of the eyes.
5. Crop to 35×45 mm with the head occupying 70–80% of the height — or upload the shot to a tool that crops and validates the head ratio for you.

If your only option is a white wall, replace the background digitally with a light grey (around #D3D3D3) before printing.

Why photos get rejected

French town halls and the ANTS portal bounce the same handful of problems again and again. Each one, and the fix:

• White background — the most common French-specific rejection. Use a light grey or light blue wall, or replace the background.
• Head too small or too large — it must fall in the 32–36 mm chin-to-crown window. Re-crop or re-shoot from a different distance.
• Glasses reflections — even allowed thin-frame glasses get rejected if there’s glare on the lenses. Tilt the head down a few degrees, or take them off for the shot.
• Thick or tinted frames — frames that cover any part of the eye fail. Remove them.
• Smile — even a closed-mouth smile that lifts the cheeks can fail. Stay neutral.
• Shadows — on the face or on the wall behind you. Step away from the wall and light from the front.
• Photo older than 6 months — the photo must reflect your current appearance.
• Filtered or beautified photos — phone “portrait mode” smoothing and any retouching are grounds for rejection.

What to wear (and not wear)

There is no formal dress code, but a few choices reliably cause trouble:

Avoid: sunglasses, hats and caps, hoods, large jewellery near the face, headphones or earbuds, uniforms. A light grey or pale top will blend into the grey background — wear a darker, solid colour to define the head and shoulders.

Fine: ordinary everyday clothing in a colour that contrasts with the background, light makeup that doesn’t change your everyday appearance, hearing aids and other daily medical devices, and religious head coverings worn for religious reasons (the face must remain fully visible from chin to forehead).

Glasses are a grey area: French rules permit them with thin frames and clear lenses, but acceptance depends on reflections at the moment of the shot. Many photographes agréés now recommend taking them off to remove the risk.

Where to get your photo

For a French passport, the photo must come from a source the mairie accepts. In practice this means an agréé (approved) Photomaton booth, a photographe agréé, or a digital photo with an ANTS e-photo code. Prices and trade-offs:

Only booths and photographers displaying the agréé ANTS logo can issue the e-photo code that lets you complete a passport pre-demande fully online. A purely online tool gives you a compliant file you can print at any Photomaton or photo lab, but you will still need to bring printed photos to your biometric appointment unless the booth issues the ANTS code. Whichever you choose, the photo must meet every rule above.

Submitting your photo

A French passport application is filed at any mairie equipped with a biometric station — not only the one in your area of residence:

Online pre-demande (timbre fiscal + ANTS account) — Start the application on the ANTS portal, pay the timbre fiscal online, and book a biometric appointment at a participating mairie. If you have an ANTS e-photo code from an agréé booth or photographer, you enter it here and skip bringing prints.

Biometric appointment at the mairie — You appear in person with your supporting documents. If you did not use an e-photo code, you bring one recent printed photo meeting the spec; the agent attaches it to the file. Fingerprints are captured at the counter. Some mairies can take an in-house photo at the appointment, but availability is not guaranteed — call ahead.

Renewals and lost/stolen passports — Same channel: pre-demande online, then biometric appointment. The photo rules do not change for renewals.

Babies, kids & special situations

Infants and young children follow the same rules as adults — no pacifier, no toys, no hands or arms in the frame, head straight, eyes open, mouth closed. For babies who cannot sit unaided, lay them on a plain light grey or light blue sheet and shoot from directly above. Both parents must usually be present at the biometric appointment for a minor’s passport.

Religious head coverings are permitted if worn for religious reasons; the face must remain fully visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, and both edges of the face must be visible.

Medical exemptions — A medical condition that prevents removing glasses, keeping eyes open, or holding a neutral expression can be accommodated with a doctor’s certificate (certificat médical) presented at the appointment.

French nationals abroad apply through their consulate. The 35×45 mm spec and the no-white-background rule are identical; only the appointment channel changes.