🇲🇽Mexico Passport Photo
for $1

The official requirements

The Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) sets the standard. A photo that misses any of these is rejected at the cita:

• Size: 3.5×4.5 cm (35×45 mm), portrait — not the US 2×2 inch square
• Background: plain white, no shadows, no patterns, no border
• Head size: face fills 70–80% of the photo height (about 30–36 mm chin to crown)
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, no smile, both eyes open and visible
• Glasses: not allowed — remove them, even prescription
• Recency: taken within the last 30 days (much stricter than the US 6-month rule)
• Format: color, matte paper, no digital retouching or filters
• Print: physical photo only — SRE does not accept a digital upload for the passport itself

For a digital file (consular paperwork, matrícula consular, INE renewals), aim for 413×531 pixels.

How to take a compliant photo

The 35×45 mm portrait frame and the 30-day recency rule trip up most self-shot photos. The setup that works:

1. Stand 1.5–2 metres in front of a plain white wall with enough space behind you that no shadow lands on it.
2. Face a window — soft, even light from the front. Overhead light leaves shadows under the eyes and chin.
3. Have someone else take it from chest height, straight on. Selfies distort the face and almost never frame the head correctly for the SRE ratio.
4. Look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, hair clear of the eyebrows and ears.
5. Crop to 35×45 mm with the face filling 70–80% of the height — or upload the shot to a tool that crops to the SRE spec and prints on matte paper for you.

Shoot it the same week as your cita. SRE counters do reject photos that look older than 30 days.

Why photos get rejected

The SRE oficina counter and consular windows bounce the same handful of problems again and again. Each one, and the fix:

• Wrong size — bringing a US 2×2 inch print is the single most common consular rejection. It must be 35×45 mm.
• Glasses left on — automatic rejection, prescription included.
• Smiling or mouth open — neutral expression only. A small natural smile gets bounced.
• Background not truly white — cream, grey, or a textured wall reads as off-spec. Use a white wall or replace the background.
• Head outside the 70–80% window — too small, too large, or sitting too high. Re-crop or re-shoot from the right distance.
• Photo older than 30 days — recency is enforced. A photo from last summer will not pass.
• Glossy paper or visible retouching — print on matte; no smoothing, no filters, no edits.

What to wear (and not wear)

There’s no formal dress code, but a few choices reliably get a photo bounced:

Avoid: glasses of any kind, hats, caps, headphones, large earrings, ornaments that sit on the hairline or near the eyes, uniforms or camouflage. A white or pale top blends into the white background — wear a darker, solid colour instead.

Fine: ordinary everyday clothing, light makeup that keeps your everyday appearance, religious head coverings worn daily (face fully visible from the forehead to the chin), and medical devices like hearing aids worn every day.

SRE is particularly strict on accessories that change the visible shape of your face — large frames, thick headbands, or hair clips at the hairline are likely rejections.

Where to get your photo

Mexicans get a passport photo from a neighbourhood estudio in Mexico, or — for the roughly 12 million Mexicans living in the US — from a US retailer before a consular appointment. Prices and trade-offs:

A neighbourhood estudio is the default in Mexico — they know the SRE spec and hand you matte prints. In the US, the trap is that the default “passport photo” at Walgreens or CVS is the US 2×2 inch square; you have to specifically ask for the 35×45 mm Mexican format, and some store clerks will refuse or get it wrong. An online tool that crops directly to the SRE spec and gives you a print-ready sheet you can take to any US photo printer is often more reliable than a US retailer counter.

Submitting your photo

How you submit depends on where you apply:

In Mexico (SRE oficina with cita) — Bring one printed 35×45 mm matte photo to your appointment. Some oficinas also offer an on-site photo service for an extra fee; in practice many applicants bring a print from a neighbourhood estudio rather than wait in a second line. The SRE does not accept a digital upload for the passport application itself.

At a Mexican consulate abroad (US, Canada, Europe) — Most consulates require two identical printed 35×45 mm photos brought to the cita. Mobile consular units that visit US cities work the same way. Always check the specific consulate page — a few accept on-site photo capture, most do not.

For matrícula consular, INE renewal, and visa appendices — Different documents at the same consulate counter still ask for the 35×45 mm print. Bring spares — counters routinely keep one and ask for another for the secondary document.

Babies, kids & special situations

Infants and small children follow the same 35×45 mm rule. Lay the child on a plain white sheet and shoot from directly above; both eyes open, nothing in the mouth, no hands or arms in the frame. For very young infants, consular and SRE counters accept eyes-not-fully-open photos in practice, but the rest of the spec is enforced.

Religious head coverings are allowed when worn daily for religious reasons; the face must be fully visible from forehead to chin, with no shadow on the face.

Glasses are not permitted, even prescription. The only exception is a recent eye surgery, and it requires a signed medical letter.

Dual nationals applying for a Mexican passport at a consulate sometimes try to reuse the photo from a recent US passport. Don’t — the size and head ratio are different, and the photo will be rejected at the window.