Chad National ID Card Photo — Exact Requirements & How to Prepare

A compliant photo for Chad's Carte Nationale d'Identité (CNI) must meet the biometric standard set by ANATS (Agence Nationale des Technologies de Sécurité) — the same unified specification applied to the Chadian biometric passport. Getting every detail right ensures your appointment goes smoothly and your enrollment is processed without delay.

One important aspect of the CNI process is worth knowing upfront: the identity photo is captured digitally on-site during your biometric enrollment appointment at an ANATS office or authorized point. You do not bring a printed photo to submit. However, preparing a reference image in advance is genuinely valuable: you can see exactly what a compliant photo looks like before you arrive, ensure your appearance (clothing, background at home) will meet the standard, and have a ready-to-use biometric image for other documents — such as visa applications, residency permits, or any form that does accept submitted photos.

• Photo size: 50 × 50 mm (591 × 591 px at 300 dpi)
• Background: plain white (#FFFFFF) — no gradients, shadows, or patterns
• Face coverage: the head must fill between 65% and 78% of the frame height (approximately 68% is the practical target)
• Expression: neutral, relaxed — mouth closed, no smile
• Eyes: fully open, looking directly at the camera
• Glasses: not permitted under any circumstances
• Headwear: not permitted except for confirmed religious or medical reasons; the face must remain fully visible
• Photo age: taken within the last six months, accurately reflecting current appearance
• Lighting: uniform, no harsh shadows on the face or behind the head

Common reasons photos are rejected at ANATS enrollment:

• Tinted or off-white background — even a cream or light grey backdrop fails the strict white-only requirement
• Glasses worn in the photo — including clear or prescription frames; ANATS follows the same no-glasses rule as the biometric passport standard
• Head size outside the 65–78% range — a head that is too small or cropped too tightly is one of the most frequent technical rejections
• Shadows on the background or face — poor home lighting setups often produce uneven illumination that biometric scanners flag

Our tool automatically crops and sizes your photo to the exact 50 × 50 mm / 591 × 591 px ANATS specification, checks head-frame ratio, and sets the correct white background — producing a reference image that matches what the enrollment camera is calibrated to expect. You can preview your result free with a watermark before downloading the full resolution file. Whether you're using it to prepare for your CNI appointment, to check your appearance meets the standard, or to reuse across visa and permit applications, you get a perfectly measured, professional result in under two minutes.