Prepare a France passport photo from a picture you already have — 35 × 45 mm on a plain light blue-grey or light grey background. Unlike most countries, France explicitly does not accept a plain white background. Verified directly against the official Service-Public.fr guidance.
Official requirements
Verified — last checked 2026-08-19
These figures were directly confirmed against the official source below.
Digital photo requirements
No official digital pixel specification was found for this document — see printed requirements below.
Printed photo requirements
Photo size
35 × 45 mm
Head height (chin to crown)
32–36 mm
Paper / printing
The photo must be produced by an authorized professional photographer or an approved photo booth meeting the AFNOR NFZ 42-080 standard — a plain self-taken photo may not be accepted.
Other requirements
Head / face position
Bare head, full face, centered, looking directly at the camera, both ears visible
Background
Plain light blue-grey or light grey background — a plain white background is explicitly NOT permitted.
Expression
Neutral expression, mouth closed.
Glasses
Permitted only with thin frames and clear, non-reflective lenses; tinted or glare-prone lenses are not accepted.
Maximum photo age
6 months
Source: Service-Public.fr — Ministère de l'Intérieur (French passport & national ID card photo requirements), last verified 2026-08-19.
Common mistakes
✕Plain white background — France requires light blue-grey or light grey, not white
✕Photo older than 6 months
✕Head height outside the 32-36mm range
✕Glasses with thick frames, tint, or visible glare
✕A self-taken photo not produced by an authorized photographer or AFNOR-approved booth
How to take a good photo
✓Use a photo taken by an authorized professional photographer or an AFNOR NFZ 42-080 approved photo booth
✓Use a plain light blue-grey or light grey background — never plain white
✓Keep a neutral expression with mouth closed and both ears visible
✓Remove glasses, or wear only thin, clear, glare-free frames
How Vekyo works for a France passport
Upload a recent photo, and Vekyo detects your face, then checks it against the France passport specification above — including its plain light blue-grey or light grey background — a plain white background is explicitly not permitted. background requirement — before letting you crop and position it to match. Face detection, quality checks, cropping, and resizing run in your browser by default. Vekyo never changes your facial features, skin tone, or facial structure, and never generates or beautifies a face. If your background doesn't look plain and evenly lit enough for this document, you'll see a warning rather than a silent pass, and you can choose the optional background tool to replace it with a plain color — nothing is replaced unless you ask. The optional high-quality background removal option sends the cropped photo to our server for that one step.
Frequently asked questions
Vekyo prepares your France passport photo at 35×45mm, based on the published specification linked on this page — you don't need to measure or crop it yourself.
Plain light blue-grey or light grey background — a plain white background is explicitly NOT permitted. Vekyo's compliance check flags a background that looks patterned, shadowed, or uneven before you pay, so you can retake the photo if needed.
Yes. A recent phone photo works well as long as it is a clear, front-facing shot in good, even lighting against a plain background. Vekyo crops and resizes it to the required dimensions in your browser.
Yes. Vekyo lets you prepare a photo that matches the France passport photo specification from an existing picture, without visiting a photo studio. You still need to check your final photo, and print it, according to your application's instructions.
No. Vekyo crops, resizes, and repositions your existing photo to match the required dimensions, and can optionally replace the background or adjust lighting when you choose. It never alters your facial features, skin tone, or facial structure, and never generates or beautifies a face.
Not by default. Face detection, cropping, resizing, and file generation happen locally in your browser. If you choose the optional high-quality background removal service, the cropped image is securely sent to our server for that processing step only; the standard option stays entirely on your device. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
No. You get a free preview of your finished photo — including its compliance score and checklist — before paying anything. Payment only unlocks the full-resolution, watermark-free download and the printable sheet.
Your compliance checklist shows exactly which checks passed, which need attention, and which failed, with a plain-language explanation for each. From there you can use Auto-Fix to automatically correct issues like cropping, brightness, or sharpness, adjust the crop yourself, or upload or retake a different photo — you can keep adjusting until it looks right, all before you pay. A mistake we see often for a France passport: plain white background — france requires light blue-grey or light grey, not white.
Yes. Vekyo generates a printable PDF sized for a France passport — 35×45mm — with multiple copies laid out on a 4x6 inch or A4 sheet, so you can print it at home or at a photo lab without distortion.
Vekyo prepares your photo according to the published France passport photo specification linked on this page. You are responsible for confirming your final photo meets your specific application's requirements before submitting it.
We cannot guarantee acceptance. Vekyo prepares your photo according to the published photo specifications, but final acceptance is always decided by the receiving government authority. Always verify the latest requirements on the official source before submitting your application.
Prepared according to the published requirements — not a guarantee of acceptance and not government approved. Always verify the latest requirements with the official authority before submitting your photo.