Tips, guides, and advice to help you get the perfect passport or ID photo every time.
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A biometric photo is one taken so that software can measure and compare your face. That single purpose explains every passport photo rule, from the neutral expression to the ban on filters. Here is how it works.
Read moreWhen you upload a photo to an online passport application, it is screened automatically before anyone sees it. What that screen can and cannot catch, what a warning usually means, and when to retake instead of carrying on.
Read moreRenewing an adult passport online costs £102 and takes one sitting if you have a good photo ready. What to have to hand, how the photo step works, when you need a countersignatory, and what happens to your old passport.
Read moreApply for or renew a driving licence by post and DVLA wants a printed passport-type photo in the envelope. What size and quality it must be, when someone has to sign the back, and how to attach it so it survives the post.
Read moreA photo booth, a high-street shop, the Post Office, a photo taken at home or an online service: each route gives you something slightly different. Here is how they compare on what you get, who checks the photo and what happens if it is wrong.
Read moreRailcards, Oyster photocards, the Freedom Pass, Blue Badges, voter ID, the Veteran Card and proof-of-age cards all ask for a passport-style photo, but no two ask for quite the same thing. Here is what each one actually accepts.
Read moreA passport photo that fails costs you time you may not have. Work through these 15 checks, each taken from GOV.UK and HM Passport Office guidance, before you upload or print, and catch the faults that cause most rejections.
Read moreYou can apply online yourself, apply on paper, or use the Post Office Check and Send service. Here is how they differ on cost, speed and the photo, and how to choose without being upsold.
Read moreTwo urgent passport services, one for renewals, changes, replacements and children, one for adult renewals only. Here is how they differ on timing, fees, who is eligible and what photo you need, and when to pick each.
Read moreReport a lost or stolen passport as soon as you can, then apply for a replacement. Here is the order to do it in, what a replacement application needs (including a countersignature on paper), and how to have the photo ready so it does not slow you down.
Read moreBeards, moustaches and tattoos are accepted. Hair across your eyes and multiple facial piercings are where photos fail. Here is exactly what HM Passport Office's examiner guidance says about your hair, face and body jewellery.
Read moreGOV.UK says a passport photo must be unaltered by computer software, but HM Passport Office's own guidance does accept some filters. Here is where the line falls between a brightness tweak and a rejection.
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