Indian Passport Photo: 630×810 px for Passport Seva
The Passport Seva portal needs a photo that is exactly 630 × 810 pixels, JPEG, and under 250 KB. Not approximately — exactly. This tool produces that file in your browser, so your photo is never uploaded to us.
Passport photo rules change over time. Always confirm the current requirements with the official issuing authority before you submit. This tool prepares your file; it cannot guarantee acceptance.
You get 12 upload attempts
Passport Seva caps photo and signature uploads at 12 attempts per application. Run out and you start a new application from the beginning. The portal also gives famously unhelpful error messages, so people burn attempts guessing at what failed.
Prepare the file completely before you log in. Getting the pixel dimensions and file size right removes the two failures the portal checks first.
What changed in September 2025
India began enforcing ICAO biometric standards, and two rules tightened in ways that invalidate older photos:
- Face coverage went from 70-80% to 80-85% of the photo height. That is a noticeably tighter crop, with only a small margin of white above the head.
- Glasses became effectively banned. Even frameless anti-glare lenses can fail on reflection or shadow.
If you are reusing a photo that passed a previous application, it very likely fails now. The framing is the part people miss — it looks correct by the old standard and is simply too loose by the new one.
Cropping and resizing is allowed. Editing your face is not.
Passport Seva Program 2.0 introduced automated detection of digitally altered photos — beauty filters, skin smoothing, AI-generated or replaced backgrounds, and colour correction that changes skin tone all trigger rejection.
The line is between formatting and altering. Cropping to 630 × 810, resizing and compressing to fit the file limit are formatting operations and are fine. Anything that changes how your face actually looks is not.
This tool crops, resizes and compresses. It does not retouch, smooth, relight or replace backgrounds — which is worth knowing when choosing between services, since several passport photo tools do exactly those things by default.
Using a photo from another country
NRIs applying from abroad routinely try to reuse a local passport photo, and it fails for reasons that are not obvious:
- From the UK: a UK passport photo uses a cream or light grey background. Passport Seva requires plain white, and UK face coverage is far looser than 80-85%.
- From the US: a US passport photo is square at 600 × 600 px. Passport Seva needs the 7:9 rectangle. These are not convertible.
- From Europe: a Schengen visa photo shares the 35 × 45 mm shape but uses a light grey background and different pixel dimensions.
If you have the original uncropped photo, start from that and re-crop it here rather than trying to convert an already-cropped file.
Passport Seva photo specifications
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Pixel dimensions | Exactly 630 × 810 px |
| Aspect ratio | 7:9 portrait, equivalent to 35 × 45 mm |
| File size | About 10 KB minimum, 250 KB maximum |
| Format | JPEG only — not PNG, HEIC or WebP |
| Face coverage | 80% to 85% of photo height |
| Background | Plain white, uniform, no shadows |
| Glasses | Not permitted |
| Editing | No filters, retouching or AI alteration |
| Signature | Rectangular scan, under 100 KB |
| Upload attempts | 12 per application |
How to make your Passport Seva photo
- Take a photo against a plain white wall in even front lighting, with no shadow behind your head, no glasses and a neutral expression.
- Upload it here — the output is locked to exactly 630 x 810 px.
- Crop tightly: your head from chin to hair should fill 80-85% of the frame height, leaving only a small margin of white above your head.
- Click Resize & compress. The file will land between 10 KB and 250 KB, inside the portal limits.
- Download the JPEG, then upload it to Passport Seva from a desktop browser.
The signature upload
Sign on plain white paper with a black or blue bold pen, then scan or photograph it and crop to a rectangle. The only published limit is the file size: under 100 KB. Our compress tool will bring a scan into that range, and the crop tool handles the trim. Do not upload a signature in block capitals or a typed name.
Why Passport Seva photos get rejected
- Pixel dimensions not exactly 630 × 810.
- File over 250 KB — most phone photos are several megabytes.
- File over-compressed below roughly 10 KB, or compressed hard enough to show artefacts.
- Face filling less than 80% of the frame, usually a photo taken from too far away.
- A background that is off-white, shadowed or uneven.
- Wearing glasses.
- Uploading a PNG or HEIC renamed to .jpg — the portal reads the actual file, not the extension.
- Head tilted or turned rather than square to the camera.
One honest note: this tool produces a file at exactly the right dimensions and file size, which clears the two checks the portal runs first. It cannot judge your face coverage, lighting or background — no browser tool can. Check your photo against the official instructions on the Passport Seva portal before you use one of your 12 attempts.
Indian passport photo — FAQ
What is the photo size for the Passport Seva portal?
Exactly 630 pixels wide by 810 pixels tall, saved as a JPEG, with a file size between roughly 10 KB and 250 KB. The word exactly matters — the portal checks the pixel dimensions and rejects anything that does not match, even by a few pixels.
How many times can I upload a photo?
Twelve. Photo and signature uploads are capped at 12 attempts per application. If you exhaust them, you have to start a new application from scratch. That is why it is worth getting the file right before you log in rather than experimenting inside the portal.
How much of the frame should my face fill?
80 to 85 percent of the photo height, measured from the chin to the top of your head including hair. This changed in September 2025 when ICAO standards were enforced — the old requirement was 70 to 80 percent. A photo made under the old rule will now fail, which catches out people reusing an older file.
Can I wear glasses?
No. Glasses are banned, and the rule tightened alongside the ICAO update. Even frameless or anti-glare lenses can trigger rejection because of reflection or shadow. Remove them entirely.
Will a 2 x 2 inch photo work?
No. A 2 x 2 inch square photo is the format used for US passports, Indian visas and OCI cards. Passport Seva needs the rectangular 630 x 810 shape, which is a 7:9 ratio. Stretching a square into a rectangle distorts your face and will fail the portal checks.
Is using a resizing tool allowed?
Yes, for cropping and resizing. Since Passport Seva Program 2.0 the portal actively detects digital alteration — beauty filters, skin smoothing, AI-generated backgrounds and colour correction that changes skin tone. Tools that crop, resize and compress your photo are fine. Tools that change your face are not. This tool only does the former.
What about the signature upload?
Sign on white paper with a black or blue bold pen, scan or photograph it, crop it to a rectangle and keep the file under 100 KB. There is no published pixel dimension for the signature, only the file size cap.
Is my photo uploaded to a server?
No. The photo is cropped and compressed entirely inside your browser. For an identity document that matters — nothing is transmitted, stored or seen by anyone but you.
Passport photo sizes by country
Every country sets its own pixel size, file size and background rules. Each page below locks the tool to that exact official spec.
Other tools
Shot on an iPhone? Convert HEIC to JPG first — Passport Seva rejects HEIC. Applying for an Indian exam instead? See our exam photo guides.