Iraq Driving Licence Photo: Official Requirements and How to Prepare

The Iraqi driving licence is issued under the authority of the Traffic Police Directorate (مديرية المرور), Iraq's central body for all driver licensing. A compliant photo follows the international biometric standard: 35×45 mm (827×1063 px at 600 dpi), a pure white background, and a face occupying 70–80% of the total frame height — the same specification applied across Iraqi government identity documents.

Iraq's driving licence is a biometric smart card. Under the standard process, your photograph is captured digitally on-site at the traffic department during your application visit — a printed photo is not handed in for the card itself. That said, certain offices, renewal cases, or associated paperwork may still require a physical 35×45 mm print. Knowing the exact official standard means you arrive at the Traffic Police Directorate fully prepared for any format the officer requests, and you have a ready compliant image to reuse for Iraqi visa applications and other documents that do accept submitted photographs.

• Size: 35×45 mm (digital equivalent: 827×1063 px at 600 dpi)
• Background: solid white (#FFFFFF) — no shadows, gradients, or patterns
• Face coverage: 70–80% of total frame height
• Expression: neutral, relaxed, mouth closed
• Eyes: open, clearly visible, looking directly at the camera
• Glasses: not permitted, including prescription lenses
• Headwear: not permitted except for documented religious reasons; full face must remain visible from chin to forehead
• Recency: taken within the last 6 months
• Alterations: no filters, heavy retouching, or digital manipulation

Common reasons photos are rejected in Iraq:

• Off-white or coloured background. Iraqi traffic offices enforce a strict pure white (#FFFFFF) backdrop. Cream, grey, or light-blue backgrounds — even subtly off-white — are turned away outright.
• Glasses present in the photo. Any eyewear, including clear prescription lenses, is prohibited under the biometric standard. This is one of the most frequent rejection causes.
• Incorrect face proportion. A face that is too small or too large in the frame fails the 70–80% biometric check during document processing.
• Head tilted or turned. Any lateral tilt, chin drop, or rotation triggers rejection. The face must be perfectly centred, level, and facing directly forward.

Our tool automatically crops and resizes your photo to the precise 35×45 mm specification, replaces the background with pure white (#FFFFFF), and checks face framing against the official 70–80% standard. A free watermarked preview is available before any payment, so you can confirm the result before downloading your print-ready file. You walk into your Traffic Police Directorate appointment knowing exactly what a compliant Iraqi driving licence photo looks like — and with a ready-to-use image whenever a submitted photo is called for.