🇩🇪 Germany Passport Photo Requirements (2026 Guide)

Photo Dimensions

German passport photos must be 35 mm wide x 45 mm tall (1.38 x 1.77 inches), following the European biometric standard. For digital submissions, the resolution should be 413 x 531 pixels at 300 DPI.

Biometric Standard

Germany enforces strict biometric photo requirements (biometrisches Passfoto). The face must be positioned precisely for automated facial recognition systems. The eyes must be at a specific height in the frame, and the face must be perfectly centred. German authorities are among the strictest in Europe when it comes to biometric compliance.

Background Requirements

The background must be white or light grey, uniform and without shadows, patterns, or other objects. The background should provide clear contrast with the face and hair.

Face and Expression

A neutral expression with mouth closed is required. No smiling. Both eyes must be open and clearly visible, looking directly at the camera. The head height must be 32-36 mm from chin to crown. The face must be symmetrically positioned.

Glasses

Glasses are not allowed in German passport photos for new applications since 2024. This change was made to improve biometric recognition accuracy. Previously, glasses were allowed with restrictions.

Head Coverings

Head coverings are not allowed except for religious reasons, with a signed declaration required. The full face must remain visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead.

Photo Recency

Photos must have been taken within the last 6 months and must accurately reflect your current appearance.

German Passport Fee Schedule

German passport fees are set federally under the Passverordnung (PassV) and Special Fee Ordinance (AABGebV), so the base price is identical at every Bürgeramt in Germany. Applications filed at a German mission abroad carry an additional surcharge to cover consular handling and shipping. Payment is required at the time of application — most Bürgerämter accept EC-Karte or cash, while missions abroad typically accept credit card (charged in EUR) or cash in local currency.

Fees last verified May 2026. Always confirm with the local Bürgeramt or German mission before paying. USD equivalents are approximate and fluctuate with the EUR/USD exchange rate; missions charge in Euro and convert at the day's posted rate.

The Kinderreisepass was abolished on 1 January 2024. Existing booklets remain valid until their printed expiry date but cannot be renewed, extended, or amended. Children of any age — including infants — now apply for a standard biometric Reisepass, which is valid for 6 years for anyone under 24.

Where to Apply in Germany

In Germany, passport applications are handled by the local Bürgeramt (also called Bürgerbüro, Bürgerservice, or Kundenzentrum depending on the city). You must apply in the municipality where you are registered (gemeldet) — your Meldebescheinigung determines which office is responsible. Applying outside your registered municipality is possible but adds an "outside jurisdiction" surcharge.

• Berlin: Over 60 Bürgerämter across the 12 districts. Book through the central Serviceportal at service.berlin.de. You may book at any office regardless of district.
• München: Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR) on Ruppertstraße plus district Bürgerbüros. Appointments via stadt.muenchen.de.
• Hamburg: Multiple Kundenzentren in each Bezirk. Online booking through hamburg.de / HamburgService.
• Köln: Nine district Bürgerämter plus the Kalk passport office. Book via koeln.de/termine.
• Frankfurt am Main: Bürgerämter in each Stadtteil; central booking at frankfurt.de.
• Stuttgart: Bürgerbüros across the 23 Stadtbezirke. Express-Pass service available; book at service.stuttgart.de.
• Düsseldorf: Ten Bürgerbüros plus the Express-Pass counter. Booking via duesseldorf.de/termine.

Online Terminbuchung (appointment booking) is effectively mandatory in every major German city. Walk-in capacity is minimal and reserved for emergencies. In Berlin, demand routinely outstrips supply — new slots typically appear in the morning between 08:00 and 11:00, and third-party scraping sites have emerged because the official portal can sell out within minutes.

Since 1 May 2025, Bürgerämter no longer accept printed passport photos. Photos must be transmitted digitally — either captured on site at the Bürgeramt's own biometric terminal, or sent through a secure channel by a registered photo studio. This rule was implemented to combat morph-attack fraud (where two faces are blended into a single submitted image) and is enforced nationwide.

All German passports — regardless of where the application is filed — are physically produced at the Bundesdruckerei in Berlin and then shipped back to the issuing office for collection.

Applying at German Embassies Abroad

German citizens living outside Germany apply at the embassy, consulate-general, or (for limited services) honorary consul responsible for their place of residence. Appointments are mandatory and biometric data must be captured in person. The application can be prepared in advance through the federal Consular Services Portal at digital.diplo.de, but the appearance at the mission remains compulsory.

• United States: Embassy in Washington, DC; Consulates-General in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles
• United Kingdom: Embassy in London (Belgrave Square); Consulate-General in Edinburgh
• Canada: Embassy in Ottawa; Consulates-General in Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver
• Australia: Embassy in Canberra; Consulate-General in Sydney; honorary consuls in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide
• Turkey: Embassy in Ankara; Consulates-General in Istanbul, Izmir, and Antalya — among the busiest passport sections worldwide due to the large German-Turkish diaspora
• India: Embassy in New Delhi; Consulates-General in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru

Processing through embassies is materially slower than in Germany. The mission must courier the application to Berlin for production by the Bundesdruckerei, then receive the finished booklet back before notifying you. Standard quoted processing is 6–8 weeks but can stretch longer during peak season or if any supporting document needs verification. If you need to travel before the new passport arrives, the mission can usually issue a Vorläufiger Reisepass on the spot for an immediate trip.

Processing Times

Peak season for German passport offices runs from late spring through early autumn, with a secondary spike before the Christmas holidays. Factors that push processing toward the upper end of the range include: applying for a 48-page passport (requires additional production steps), name or address changes that need verification, applications submitted at smaller offices where the courier run to Bundesdruckerei is less frequent, and incomplete supporting documents. If you have a confirmed trip within four weeks, request the Express service or the Vorläufiger Reisepass — Bundesdruckerei will not "rush" a standard application based on travel pressure alone.

Top Reasons German Passport Photos Get Rejected

Since May 2025, photos are checked twice: first by the photo studio's certified capture software, and again at the Bürgeramt against Bundesdruckerei's automated biometric scanner, which applies ISO/IEC 19794-5 and the German Passbildschablone (photo template). The scanner is unforgiving — even small deviations in head tilt, eye position, or lighting cause rejection. These are the most common failure modes:

1. Eyes outside the upper-third zone. The biometric template requires the eyes to sit in the upper third of the photo, with the eye line at a precise height. Photos taken too close or too far throw this off and are rejected automatically.
2. Glasses still on. Since 1 January 2024, glasses are not permitted in new German passport photos — not even thin frames or clear lenses. Medical exemptions exist but require documentation in advance and are rarely granted.
3. Head height outside 32–36 mm. Chin-to-crown height is tightly enforced. Cropping a photo from a wider portrait usually produces a head that is too small relative to the 35 x 45 mm frame.
4. Head tilted or rotated. The face must be square to the camera, with the imaginary line between the eyes perfectly horizontal. The scanner detects yaw, pitch, and roll independently — a slight side-turn fails even if the tilt is invisible to the human eye.
5. Shadows on the face or background. Overhead lighting causes shadows under the nose, chin, and eye sockets; side lighting throws a head-shaped shadow on the background. The automated scanner detects these as luminance gradients and rejects the image.
6. Background not uniform light grey or white. Germany prefers a light grey background; pure white is accepted but more prone to shadow detection. Cream, blue, or textured backgrounds are rejected outright.
7. Neutral expression not held. Any smile, parted lips, or visible teeth fails. The mouth must be closed and the expression neutral — no raised eyebrows, no squinting.
8. Hair covering the eyes or eyebrows. Fringes (bangs) must be clear of the eyes. Both eyebrows must be fully visible. Even partial hair cover over the brow line is grounds for rejection.
9. Religious head covering without a Religionserklärung. Hijabs, kippahs, turbans, and other religious head coverings are permitted, but you must submit a signed Religionserklärung (religious declaration) confirming the covering is worn for religious reasons. The covering itself must not cast shadow on the face or obscure any feature from chin to forehead.
10. Photo submitted as a printed paper print. Since 1 May 2025, paper prints are no longer accepted. The photo must arrive digitally — either captured on site or transmitted by a registered studio through the secure channel. Walking in with prints means you cannot complete the application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I wear glasses if I have a medical exemption?

In principle yes, but medical exemptions are rare and require documentation. You must present a doctor's letter or other written justification explaining why removing the glasses is not possible, and the Bürgeramt has discretion to refuse. Even when granted, the lenses must be completely glare-free and the eyes must be fully visible. For nearly all applicants, the simpler path is to remove the glasses for the photo.

Are children's passport (Kinderreisepass) photo rules different?

The Kinderreisepass was abolished on 1 January 2024 and is no longer issued. Children — including newborns and infants — now apply for a standard biometric Reisepass, which uses the same 35 x 45 mm specification as adults. The biometric scanner is somewhat more forgiving for very young children on neutral-expression and eyes-open requirements, but dimensions, background, and head positioning are still enforced.

Can I submit a self-taken phone photo at the Bürgeramt?

No. Since 1 May 2025, Bürgerämter only accept biometric photos that are either (a) captured on site at the office's own terminal, or (b) transmitted digitally through a secure channel by a registered photo studio. A phone photo emailed to yourself or uploaded from a USB stick cannot be processed. This rule was introduced to prevent morph-attack fraud, where two faces are digitally blended into a single submitted image.

What happens if the Bundesdruckerei rejects my photo after submission?

If the Bürgeramt scanner accepts your photo but Bundesdruckerei's downstream quality control rejects it, the office will contact you to retake the photo and resubmit. This restarts the production clock — your 4 to 8 week processing window begins again from the day the new photo is accepted. The application fee is not charged twice, but you may pay for a new photo session. This is uncommon because the Bürgeramt-level scanner uses the same algorithm as Bundesdruckerei.

How does the Schengen visa photo standard differ from the German passport standard?

Schengen visa photos and German passport photos both use the 35 x 45 mm size and follow ICAO biometric principles, so the dimensions and head positioning are effectively identical. The key differences are operational: Schengen visa photos may be submitted as paper prints to the consulate, glasses are sometimes tolerated for visas where they would not be for German passports, and the visa standard is generally enforced less strictly than Bundesdruckerei's automated scanner. A photo that passes the German passport check will always pass a Schengen visa check, but the reverse is not always true.

Are religious head coverings (hijab, kippah, turban) permitted?

Yes, but only with a signed Religionserklärung (religious declaration) submitted alongside the application. The covering must be plain, contrast clearly with the background, and leave the entire face visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, with no shadow on the face. The Bürgeramt provides the standard Religionserklärung form. Coverings worn purely for fashion, warmth, or privacy are not accepted — only sincere religious practice qualifies.

How Germany Compares to the US

Common Mistakes

• Wearing glasses: Since 2024, glasses are not permitted in new German passport photos. Remove all eyewear.
• Non-biometric positioning: Germany has precise requirements for face centering and eye height. Professional photographers in Germany are trained for this.
• Incorrect expression: Even the slightest smile can cause rejection. Maintain a completely neutral face.
• Using US dimensions: Germany uses 35x45mm, not the US 2x2 inch format.
• Shadows: Any shadow on the face or background will result in rejection due to biometric scanning requirements.