Cameroon Driving Licence Photo — Exact Official Standard

A correctly prepared photograph is one of the most common sticking points when applying for a Cameroon driving licence. The document is now issued in biometric format by the Ministry of Transport (MINT) in coordination with the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN), and the photo must conform to their standardised ID-photo specification — 35×45 mm on a plain white background — before the file is processed. Submit a non-compliant photo and the entire application is returned, costing you an additional trip to the issuing office.

Cameroon's biometric driving licence rollout brought the country's photo requirements into alignment with international ID standards. The key practical consequence: the photo is digitally scanned and matched against biometric data at the MINT/DGSN processing stage, so image quality, background cleanliness, and correct face framing are checked by the system itself, not just by a counter clerk. A slightly off-white or grey background that might have been overlooked under the old paper licence is now automatically flagged. Equally important: glasses are tolerated provided the eyes are fully visible, with no tinted lenses and no light glare obscuring the iris — the biometric scan must read both eyes clearly.

• Print size: 35×45 mm (digital equivalent: 827×1063 px at 600 dpi)
• Background: plain white (#FFFFFF) — no shadows, gradients, or patterns
• Face coverage: the face must fill 70–80 % of the frame height
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open and looking directly at the camera
• Glasses: permitted only when eyes are completely unobstructed — no tinted, reflective, or heavy-framed glasses that cast shadows
• Head coverings: not permitted except for documented religious reasons; the full face from chin to hairline must remain visible
• Recency: photo must have been taken within the last six months

Common reasons photos are rejected for the Cameroon driving licence:

• Off-white or cream background — the biometric system flags anything that deviates from pure white; photos taken against a light-beige or light-grey wall are a frequent cause of rejection
• Incorrect face framing — a face that occupies less than 70 % of the frame height fails the automated proportionality check; overly wide shots with too much headroom are rejected
• Glasses with glare or tint — even light prescription lenses that catch the flash can obscure the iris and trigger a biometric mismatch error
• Head tilted or turned — the face must be straight-on; even a slight tilt causes the facial geometry measurements to fall outside tolerance

To get your photo right the first time: upload any clear, recent photo of yourself and it will be automatically cropped and sized to the exact 35×45 mm MINT/DGSN standard, background corrected to pure white, and proportions verified. You receive a free watermarked preview before any payment is required — so you can confirm the result looks correct. If you pay and your photo is still rejected by the issuing authority, we will redo it at no charge or refund you in full. You only pay for a file you are confident in.