Photo Ferret
English

Check your Irish passport photo before you upload it

Renewing online with a photo taken at home? We check it against the Passport Service’s rules, for free, and give it back untouched: the service crops it itself.

A live guide helps the person holding the phone. Your photo stays on this device.

Before you take it

  1. Someone else takes it. No selfies, no computer webcam.
  2. Plain light background: light grey, white or cream, with no shadows.
  3. Glasses off if you can. Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open.
  4. Include your head and body down to mid-chest, with space around you. Don’t crop it.

What we check and do

  • One face, head straight and facing the camera, eyes open, mouth closed, plain light background, even lighting. Glasses: a warning.
  • Framing: head and upper body in the photo, not too close.
  • The file: JPEG, at least 715 × 951 pixels, up to 9 MB.
  • We don’t crop or edit it. The Passport Service crops the photo itself.

What we can't check

  • Rimless glasses, glare, small shadows (we only catch a strong shadow on one side), hair covering the eyes: look at the photo yourself.
  • Whether the photo is less than 6 months old, and whether it looks like you today.

Our measurements are estimates. Only the Passport Service decides whether a photo is accepted: we help you catch problems, we don't guarantee acceptance.

Can I take it at home?

Yes, as long as someone else takes it: the Passport Service’s photo guidelines say not to take a selfie or use a computer webcam.

ireland.ie blocks automated reading, so these specs come from search results quoting its photo guidelines. Check the guidelines when you apply.

We are not affiliated with the Passport Service or the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland.

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