Where to Get Passport Photos in the UK: Booths, Shops, the Post Office or Online
A 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.
By Helal · Last updated
Rules last checked against official guidance on
Where can you get a passport photo in the UK?
There are five realistic routes: a photo booth, a staffed photo shop, the Post Office, a photo taken at home and uploaded during your application, or an online service that turns a home photo into a compliant file or prints. GOV.UK recognises two of them by name: you can "get a digital passport photo from a photo booth or shop" and "choose the option to get a code with your photos," or take one on your own device, in which case "you'll need someone to help you take a photo during your application."
Which one suits you depends less on price than on two questions. Are you applying online or on paper? And how much do you want someone else to check the photo before it reaches HM Passport Office?
What each route gives you
Route | What you get | Who checks it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
Photo booth | Printed photos, plus a digital photo code if you choose that option | The booth's software | A quick photo when you are passing one |
Staffed photo shop | Printed photos, and at many shops a digital code | A member of staff, before you leave | Children, older relatives, anyone who wants a person to check |
Post Office | Photos taken in branch at those offering the service | Staff | Combining the photo with Check and Send |
At home, uploaded yourself | A digital file you upload during the online application | GOV.UK's online photo check, then an examiner | Adults applying online who have a plain wall and a helper |
Online service | A file cropped and resized to the rules, and often printed photos by post | Automated checks, sometimes a person too | Home photos you want checked and formatted first |
Prices change often and, at chains such as Snappy Snaps, "can vary between our shops", so check in store or on the provider's site rather than relying on a figure from a comparison article.
Photo booths
A booth photographs you, prints a strip and, if you pick the option, gives you a photo code for an online application. The code is a short web address pointing to where your digital photo is stored; you type it into the application and the photo is attached automatically. There is more on how codes work in our guide to the digital passport photo code.
A booth's software checks framing and exposure, but it cannot stop you smiling, tilting your head or leaving hair across your eyes. Booth photos are rejected for the same reasons as any other photo. Our list of the top reasons passport photos get rejected applies to them too.
Good for: a fast, cheap-enough photo with a code included. Watch for: children under about six, who rarely sit still and level on a booth stool.
Staffed photo shops
High-street shops such as Timpson, Snappy Snaps and independent photographers take the photo for you, check it on screen and usually retake it there and then if something is wrong. Snappy Snaps, for example, says that when it takes your photo "you'll receive both printed copies and a digital ID code."
This is the best route for anyone who finds a booth awkward: babies and young children, people using a wheelchair, and anyone who wants a person to look at the photo before they leave. It usually costs more than a booth.
The Post Office
Some Post Office branches take passport photos (check your branch before you go), and the Post Office also runs Check and Send, where staff check your paper application before posting it. If you are sending a paper form anyway, doing both in one visit is convenient. Our comparison of Check and Send and applying online covers when the paper route still makes sense.
Taking the photo at home
If you apply online you can use a photo taken on your own phone or camera, as long as it meets the published rules: at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50KB and 10MB, in colour, and "unaltered by computer software". GOV.UK says you will need someone to help you, and in practice the photo works far better when someone else takes it or the phone is propped at eye height on a timer.
The difficult parts are the ones a booth or shop handles for you:
- A plain light background with no shadow behind you. GOV.UK's instructions are to stand 50 centimetres from a plain, light-coloured background, face a window for natural light, and have the person taking the photo stand 1.5 metres away. See the lighting guide.
- The right framing. Include your head, shoulders and upper body. GOV.UK says not to crop the photo yourself: "it will be done for you."
- An unedited file. No filters, beauty mode or portrait blur, and no sending it through a messaging app, which can shrink it below the 50KB minimum.
If you need printed photos, you can print a home photo yourself, but only if it is printed at exactly the right size on photo paper.
Online services
An online service sits between a home photo and a shop. You upload a photo you have taken; the service checks it against the rules, replaces or evens out the background where that is permitted, crops it to the right proportions and gives you a file to upload, printed photos by post, or both.
We run one of these services, so this section describes ours. We run automated checks on your photo first, free, and tell you what to fix if it fails. If it passes, the digital photo and a printable sheet of four cost £5.99, and packs of printed photos posted to you start at £9.99 for two. Photos our checks flag go to a person before they are released. Whichever service you use, look for a free check before you pay and a clear statement of what happens to your photo afterwards.
Which route suits your application
- Applying online, adult, confident with a camera: take it at home and upload it, or use an online service if you want it checked first.
- Applying online, want no risk of a file problem: a booth or shop with a photo code.
- Applying on paper: you need two identical printed photos at 45mm x 35mm, from a booth, shop, the Post Office or a print service. See printed passport photo requirements.
- Baby or young child: a staffed shop, or a careful photo at home. See baby passport photo rules.
- Driving licence renewal: DVLA can often reuse your passport photo, so you may need nothing at all. See reusing your passport photo for a driving licence.
Whichever route you take, the photo has to have been taken in the last month for a passport application. See how long a passport photo is valid.
Frequently asked questions
Do photo booths give you a code for an online passport application?
Many do, if you choose that option on screen. GOV.UK says to "choose the option to get a code with your photos."
Can I take my own passport photo on my phone?
Yes, for an online application. GOV.UK says you'll need someone to help you take it, and it must meet the digital rules: at least 600 x 750 pixels, 50KB to 10MB, in colour and unaltered.
Is a shop or booth photo guaranteed to be accepted?
No. Only HM Passport Office decides whether a photo is accepted. A shop or booth reduces the chance of a technical fault, but the photo can still be rejected for your expression, pose or hair. A booth photo is checked by software, not by a person.
Do I need printed photos if I apply online?
No. An online application uses a digital photo or a photo code. Printed photos are only needed for paper applications and some other forms.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Get a passport photo
- HM Passport Office, How to take a digital photo
- HM Passport Office, Photo code for digital passport photos
- Snappy Snaps, Passport photos