Canadian Passport Photo Requirements: Size, Specs, and Guarantor

Canadian passport photo requirements are strict and unforgiving: two identical prints measuring exactly 50 mm wide by 70 mm high, taken in person by a commercial photographer within the last six months, showing a neutral expression against a plain light background with even lighting and no digital retouching of any kind. Miss any one of these and the application comes back. The full specifications below cover printed photos for mail-in and in-person applications, and the separate rules for the digital photo used in online renewals.

Exact Size and Framing

Each photo must measure 50 mm wide by 70 mm high (roughly 2 inches by 2¾ inches). Inside that frame, your face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head must fall between 31 mm and 36 mm.¹ That range is narrow on purpose; a face a couple of millimeters outside it will not scan properly.

Your face and shoulders must be centered and squared to the camera, with both shoulders visible in the lower part of the frame and the face sitting evenly between the left and right edges. A commercial photographer who does passport work will use a template to hit these numbers without guessing.

Background, Lighting, and Print Quality

The background must be plain white or light-coloured, with enough contrast against your clothing and features that your face is clearly distinguishable.² Patterned, textured, or dark backgrounds are not accepted.

Lighting has to be uniform across your face, shoulders, ears, and the background. Any shadow or glare will get the photo rejected, and so will red-eye, whether it came from the flash or from someone trying to correct it afterward.² A faint shadow behind one ear is one of the most common reasons applications come back.

Prints must be produced professionally on plain, high-quality photographic paper. Home-printed photos and heavyweight paper are not accepted.¹ Colour or black and white is fine as long as your natural skin tone is reflected. Two identical, unaltered prints go with each application.²

Expression, Head Position, Glasses, and Head Coverings

Keep a neutral expression with your eyes open and your mouth closed. No smiling, no frowning. Look straight at the camera with your eyes clearly visible.¹ Even a slight smile shifts your face enough to interfere with biometric matching.

Your head has to be squared to the camera with no tilt or rotation, both sides of your face showing in equal proportion. A small turn hides one ear and foreshortens the other side.

Glasses are allowed if your eyes are clearly visible through the lenses, there is no glare, and the frames neither cover your eyes nor cast shadows. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are never accepted.¹ With thick or reflective frames, it’s often easier to take them off for the shot.

Head coverings are accepted only when worn daily for religious or medical reasons, and even then your full face must be clearly visible with no shadows cast by the covering. If you wear medical headwear or a nasal cannula, your eyes must be clearly visible and you need to include a signed letter of explanation with the application.¹

No Alterations, No Filters, No AI

The government’s definition of an altered photo is broad, and it will reject your application if the image has been changed in any way. That includes editing software, filters, and AI tools.¹ The prohibition covers corrections most people would consider harmless:

Changes to colour, brightness, contrast, or sharpness
Cutting your image out and pasting it against a white background instead of shooting against one
Removing red-eye, scars, or birthmarks, or changing hair colour
Removing shadows or changing the background after the fact

If something looks wrong, the fix is to reshoot, not retouch.

Commercial Photographer and the Six-Month Window

Every passport photo, printed or digital, must be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio. Selfies and scans of printed photos are not accepted, even for online renewals. And the photo must have been taken no more than six months before the date you submit your application.¹

What Goes on the Back, and Who Your Guarantor Can Be

For mail-in and in-person applications, the photographer must clearly write or stamp the date the photo was taken along with the name and complete address of the studio on the back of one of the two photos.¹

On that same photo, your guarantor writes “I certify this to be a true likeness of [your name]” and signs underneath.¹ Your guarantor must be a Canadian citizen aged 18 or older who has known you personally for at least two years, and who holds a valid 5-year or 10-year Canadian passport (or one that expired no more than a year before you submit). They must have been at least 16 when they applied for their own passport.³

For a child’s application, the parent or legal guardian submitting the form cannot also be the guarantor. The other parent or legal guardian can act as guarantor if they meet the standard requirements. Guarantors cannot charge for their services and must be reachable if the government has questions.³

For adult applications, the guarantor also has to sign and date photocopies of each supporting identification document you submit. Regular Military Force officers may act as guarantors for Regular Force personnel and their dependants by verifying service records rather than certifying two years of personal knowledge.³

Digital Photos for Online Renewals

Online renewals use a digital photo instead of prints, but a commercial photographer still has to take it in person. Scans of printed photos are not accepted.¹ When you upload, you enter the photographer’s name, studio address, and the date the photo was taken.

No guarantor signature is required on a digital photo.¹ The file must be in portrait orientation with a 3:2 aspect ratio, at least 1,800 pixels high by 1,200 pixels wide, and no larger than 4,500 pixels high. Every other rule (expression, lighting, background, no alterations) still applies.

Photos of Infants and Children

Children’s photos meet the same size, quality, and background standards as adult photos, with a few practical allowances for the youngest applicants. A newborn may be photographed sitting in a car seat as long as a white blanket is placed over the seat behind the child’s head to create a clean background, and no shadows appear around the ears, in the background, or on the face.¹

Some range in facial expression is allowed for infants, since a strict neutral look isn’t realistic. Neither the parent’s hands nor the child’s hands may be visible in the frame. As with adults, the photo must be taken in person by a commercial photographer and submitted within six months.¹

Handling and Submitting the Prints

Keep the two printed photos loose in the envelope. Do not staple, glue, or paperclip them to the application. Creases, smudges, or bent corners can make the image unusable for digital scanning, so pack them so they stay flat.

If you submit in person at a Service Canada Centre that offers passport services, staff review the photos and supporting documents on the spot, so you find out immediately if something needs to be corrected rather than waiting weeks for a mailed rejection.⁴

1
Government of Canada. Passport Photo Requirements
2
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Passport Photo Specifications
3
Government of Canada. References and Guarantors for Canadian Passport and Other Travel Document Applications
4
Government of Canada. What Passport Applications You Can Submit at a Service Canada Centre