Photo requirements: Any biometric travel document, ICAO standard
The published rule for this document’s photograph — from International Civil Aviation Organization, as it was read on 2026-08-20 — and a way to make one that meets it without sending your face to anybody.
# Photo requirements: Any biometric travel document, ICAO standard
The published rule for this document’s photograph — from International Civil Aviation Organization, as it was read on 2026-08-20 — and a way to make one that meets it without sending your face to anybody.
Last updated 2026-08-20
## The figures
| What is measured | What this rule publishes |
| --- | --- |
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm at 300 dpi |
| Head, chin to crown | 70.0% to 80.0% (31.5–36 mm) |
| Eye line, from the bottom | 50.0% to 60.0% (22.5–27 mm) |
| Background | Plain light grey |
| Machine-readable capture | at least 413 x 531 px, JPEG, no file-size rule stated |
[Make this photo](https://abox.tools/id-photo/#icao) Opens the photo tool with this rule already chosen. It runs in your browser: the photograph is never uploaded, and there is no account and no watermark.
## What else this rule says
- The 35 x 45 mm frame is what most of the world issues against, and 70-80 per cent head height with the eye line between half and three-fifths of the way up is the geometry every specification below is a variation of.
- Doc 9303 also asks for at least 90 pixels between the centres of the eyes in the stored image, which a 413 x 531 crop of a modern phone photograph clears comfortably.
## Where these figures come from
Transcribed from International Civil Aviation Organization — Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents, Part 3. Checked 2026-08-20. Rules change; the figures above are what to check against the form in front of you.
## What the tool does with them
- Locks the crop to this document’s shape, and draws the head and eye bands inside it, so you can see the rule on your own photograph instead of reading about it.
- Finds the crown, the chin and both pupils by measuring the picture — no face model is downloaded — and says in millimetres whether the head is too large or too small for this rule.
- Reads the background colour and how evenly it is lit, and says which of the two is the problem when there is one.
- Writes the print at the exact millimetres with the resolution in the file, a sheet of them with cut marks, and the upload file at the pixel and file size this rule states.
[Every country and document in the photo tool](https://abox.tools/id-photo/)
The figures
What is measured
What this rule publishes
Print size
35 x 45 mm at 300 dpi
Head, chin to crown
70.0% to 80.0% (31.5–36 mm)
Eye line, from the bottom
50.0% to 60.0% (22.5–27 mm)
Background
Plain light grey
Machine-readable capture
at least 413 x 531 px, JPEG, no file-size rule stated
Make this photoOpens the photo tool with this rule already chosen. It runs in your browser: the photograph is never uploaded, and there is no account and no watermark.
What else this rule says
The 35 x 45 mm frame is what most of the world issues against, and 70-80 per cent head height with the eye line between half and three-fifths of the way up is the geometry every specification below is a variation of.
Doc 9303 also asks for at least 90 pixels between the centres of the eyes in the stored image, which a 413 x 531 crop of a modern phone photograph clears comfortably.
Where these figures come from
Transcribed from International Civil Aviation Organization — Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents, Part 3. Checked 2026-08-20. Rules change; the figures above are what to check against the form in front of you.
What the tool does with them
Locks the crop to this document’s shape, and draws the head and eye bands inside it, so you can see the rule on your own photograph instead of reading about it.
Finds the crown, the chin and both pupils by measuring the picture — no face model is downloaded — and says in millimetres whether the head is too large or too small for this rule.
Reads the background colour and how evenly it is lit, and says which of the two is the problem when there is one.
Writes the print at the exact millimetres with the resolution in the file, a sheet of them with cut marks, and the upload file at the pixel and file size this rule states.