Phone passport photo: 9 reasons why it gets rejected
Published
Today's smartphones take sharper pictures than most photo booths. Even so, authorities keep sending home-made passport photos back, and usually for the same reasons. Here are the nine most common ones. For each, you'll find out exactly what the authorities require and how to avoid the mistake from the start.
Good to know: for eight of these nine points, Photo Express helps you automatically before you pay. The app checks the framing, shoulder position, smiling, sunglasses, heavy glasses frames and black-and-white images, aligns the crop with your face and replaces the background.
The rules are based on the international ICAO standard and on each country's own requirements. Swiss passports, identity cards and driving licences follow fedpol's photo guidelines, German documents those of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior. Most requirements are the same, but the measurements and the facial expression differ. You'll find an overview in ICAO-compliant biometric photos.
1. The head is too small or too large
Authorities specify exactly how large the face must be in the photo. On Swiss documents, it must measure at least 29 and at most 34 millimetres from chin to crown, and at least 23 millimetres for children under 11. For the German passport, it is 32 to 36 millimetres from the chin to the top of the head (not counting hair).
Phone photos often fail here because they are cropped by hand. If too much space is left above the head, the face becomes too small. If the crop is too tight, the chin or hair is cut off.
How to avoid it: Don't crop the photo yourself. Leave some space around your head and shoulders when taking it.
What Photo Express does: The crop is automatically aligned with your face and set to the exact dimensions of the document you've chosen.
2. The framing is wrong
The face must be centred, the whole head in the picture and the shoulders visible. A photo taken at an angle or from too close cannot be cropped properly afterwards.
How to avoid it: The person taking the photo holds the phone straight and at your eye level. Your head and shoulders are fully visible.
What Photo Express checks: the framing. If it isn't right, you'll be asked to retake the photo.
3. The picture is blurred
A sharp, high-contrast image in which the whole face is clearly recognisable is required. Blur comes from a smudged lens, a shaky hand or too little light.
How to avoid it: Clean the lens, use the rear camera, take the photo in daylight and hold the phone steady.
What you check yourself: Look at the preview to see whether your face is sharp. If it isn't, take the photo again.
4. The background is busy or has shadows
A plain, neutral background without patterns, objects, other people or shadows is required. That's hard at home: a picture frame, the edge of a door or your own shadow on the wall is enough for a rejection.
How to avoid it: Stand a little way in front of a wall. There should be no windows, lamps or other people behind you.
What Photo Express does: The background is removed automatically and replaced with a neutral shade that suits the format you've chosen.
You see the finished photo before you pay, and only then do you decide.
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The file costs CHF 8.90, no account needed, processed in Switzerland.
5. Head or shoulders are tilted
A front-facing photo is required: shoulders straight, head neither tilted, turned nor tipped, looking straight into the camera. Even a slightly slanted posture can lead to a rejection.
How to avoid it: Stand upright with your weight on both legs and your shoulders parallel to the camera.
What Photo Express checks: your shoulder position.
6. Smiling with an open mouth
A friendly expression is allowed on Swiss documents, while German documents require a neutral one. In both cases: mouth closed, eyes open, no smile showing teeth. A broad smile changes the facial proportions that are measured in biometric matching.
How to avoid it: Close your lips loosely and look into the camera in a relaxed way. For Swiss documents: friendly yes, teeth no. For German documents, keep a neutral expression.
What Photo Express checks: whether you are smiling.
7. Sunglasses or tinted lenses
Sunglasses and tinted lenses are not allowed. The only exceptions are for medical reasons, such as a visual impairment.
How to avoid it: Take off your sunglasses, even if they're only pushed up into your hair.
What Photo Express checks: whether there are sunglasses in the picture.
8. The glasses frame hides the eyes
Ordinary glasses are allowed. But your eyes must be fully visible: the frame must not cover them and the lenses must not reflect. Thick frames and reflections from a window or flash are typical problems.
How to avoid it: If in doubt, take your glasses off for the photo. If you keep them on, don't use the flash and let the light come slightly from the side.
What Photo Express checks: whether the glasses frame is noticeably heavy.
9. The photo is black and white or filtered
Many authorities require a colour photo, for example road traffic offices for the driving licence, even though the picture on the licence is later printed in black and white. Skin tones must also look natural. Filters, beauty mode or portrait mode with artificial blur change exactly that.
How to avoid it: Use the standard camera app and switch off all filters and effects.
What Photo Express checks: whether the image is black and white.
What to watch out for yourself
Some points depend on the light when the photo is taken or on how it is submitted. These are best checked by you:
- Shadows on the face. A shadow on the skin can't be removed afterwards. Face a window and avoid a ceiling light directly above your head.
- Headwear. Hats and caps are not allowed. For Swiss documents, exceptions are only made for proven religious or medical reasons; the face must then be recognisable at least from the chin to the hairline. For German documents, exceptions are possible mainly for religious reasons; the face must then be visible from the chin to the forehead.
- Age of the photo. The photo must be recent. For the Swiss driving licence, the guideline is one year at most. An old holiday snap won't do.
- Paper. If a paper photo is required, it must be printed on real photo paper. The Zurich road traffic office, for example, accepts neither scanned nor self-printed photos.
- The right format. A square US visa photo (2 × 2 inches) doesn't fit a Swiss form that asks for 35 × 45 mm. Always choose the format of your specific document.
What you need
- Format: the format of your document, for example 35 × 45 mm for the Swiss driving licence and many European documents. For the Swiss passport, the passport office usually takes the photo itself.
- Light: soft daylight from the front, no direct sun.
- A second person: they take the photo with the rear camera at eye level.
- Paper or file: stated on the form or on the authority's website. Paper photos only on real photo paper.
- At Photo Express: the matching format, for example "Swiss Driver License", "German Passport / ID" or "EU / Schengen Visa".
Paper or file?
That's for the authority to decide. Many road traffic offices want the photo on paper with the application, others offer an upload. For visas, it depends on the country: some applications run through an online portal with a file upload, others require paper photos. What your canton requires is stated on your road traffic office's website. For Aargau, Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Lucerne, Ticino and Vaud, you'll find the details in our overview Driving licence photos by canton, and for visas in the overview Visa photos by country.
Photo Express always gives you the checked file (CHF 8.90). If you need paper, order printed photos by post to a Swiss address (CHF 14.90, file included). Or have the file printed on photo paper by a photo service. In that case, make sure the image is neither scaled nor cropped.
Frequently asked questions
Do authorities accept passport photos taken with a phone?
Often, yes, if the photo meets the requirements, for example at the road traffic office or, in some cantons, for the identity card without a chip at your municipality. There are exceptions, though: for the Swiss passport, the passport office usually takes the photo itself. In Germany, passport and ID authorities now only accept photos taken at the office or by a photo service provider and transmitted digitally. The Zurich road traffic office, on the other hand, lets you take the photo for a provisional licence application with your own phone at the counter if you submit the application there in person.
Can I take a selfie?
Better not. At arm's length, the front camera distorts proportions. Have a second person take the photo with the rear camera at eye level.
Do I need a white wall?
No. Photo Express removes the background automatically. A plain wall still helps, because no light comes from it. There should be no windows, lamps or people behind you.
Can I retake the photo?
Yes. Retake it if the app asks you to or if you don't like the result. You only pay after you've seen the finished photo.
What if my photo is rejected anyway?
If an authority rejects your Photo Express photo because of insufficient photo quality, we refund the full amount. Submit your request within 60 days of purchase using the refund form; the conditions are in the GTC. What else you can do is explained in our guide "Photo rejected: what now?".
As of October 2026. The current requirements of the authority receiving your photo are authoritative.
