Photo requirements: Passport and identity card, South Africa
The published rule for this document’s photograph — from Department of Home Affairs, as it was read on 2026-09-19 — and a way to make one that meets it without sending your face to anybody.
# Photo requirements: Passport and identity card, South Africa
The published rule for this document’s photograph — from Department of Home Affairs, as it was read on 2026-09-19 — and a way to make one that meets it without sending your face to anybody.
Last updated 2026-09-19
## The figures
| What is measured | What this rule publishes |
| --- | --- |
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm at 300 dpi |
| Head, chin to crown | 64.4% to 75.6% (29–34 mm) |
| Eye line, from the bottom | 50.0% to 60.0% (22.5–27 mm) (guidance) |
| Background | Light grey or cream |
| Upload rule | none published — this one is a print |
[Make this photo](https://abox.tools/id-photo/#za-passport) 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 same 29 to 34 mm head the United Kingdom asks for, shorter than most of Europe’s — and the photograph may be no more than one month old. Offices that issue the smart ID card photograph you themselves; the prints are for the ones that do not, and the leaflet warns that a print made at home is unlikely to be good enough.
- No eye line is published, so the band shown is where the eyes fall on a head sitting centred in the frame. It is guidance rather than a requirement, and is never painted red.
## Where these figures come from
[Transcribed from Department of Home Affairs — Passport & ID Photograph Specifications. Checked 2026-09-19. Rules change; the figures above are what to check against the form in front of you.](https://stanonprodmtpdxpzan.blob.core.windows.net/dxp/2024-04/dha-passport-id-photo-specifications.pdf)
## 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.
## Other documents, South Africa
- [Driving licence](https://abox.tools/id-photo/za-driving-licence/) — 35 x 45 mm
[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
64.4% to 75.6% (29–34 mm)
Eye line, from the bottom
50.0% to 60.0% (22.5–27 mm) (guidance)
Background
Light grey or cream
Upload rule
none published — this one is a print
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 same 29 to 34 mm head the United Kingdom asks for, shorter than most of Europe’s — and the photograph may be no more than one month old. Offices that issue the smart ID card photograph you themselves; the prints are for the ones that do not, and the leaflet warns that a print made at home is unlikely to be good enough.
No eye line is published, so the band shown is where the eyes fall on a head sitting centred in the frame. It is guidance rather than a requirement, and is never painted red.
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.