Norway Passport Photo: Exact Politiet Standard, Done Right
Everything you need to know about the Norwegian biometric passport photo standard — exact size, the #E6E6E6 background, and why the police now capture your photo on-site.
This photo must be taken by an accredited service
For this document, Norway does not accept a self-prepared photo. By law it must be captured on site by an authorised service and submitted electronically, so we cannot produce a submittable file for it. The official specification is shown below so you know exactly what to expect at your appointment.
This photo is captured on site — but we can make your Norway photos online:
A document photo is a headache of its own
A Norway Passport photo has strict requirements, and a mistake costs time and money. We’ll show you how to pass on the first try.
It gets rejected
Wrong size, background or cropping — and the system returns the application.
Expensive and slow
A trip to a photo studio means a queue, time and €7–12 for a reshoot.
Confusing requirements
Exact size, head height, light background, facial expression — easy to get wrong.
Redo it all over
Rejected — take another photo, pay and submit again. Round and round.
«Below are the exact requirements from the official source, so you arrive at your appointment prepared.»
Ordinary photo → ready for submission
We remove the background and clutter, set the framing and lighting — keeping your face without «beautifying».
Your face stays yours — we do not change features, only the background, lighting and framing.
Your Passport photo: what matters
Getting a Norwegian passport photo right means matching the strict biometric standard enforced by the Norwegian Police (Politiet), the issuing authority for all passports and national ID cards. The specification calls for a 35x45 mm portrait on an evenly lit, light-grey background, with the face centred and squarely facing the lens — a true ICAO-compliant biometric image with no margin for guesswork.
There is one peculiarity that sets Norway apart from most countries: you no longer bring your own photo. Since the rollout of the biometric passport, your portrait is captured digitally on-site by the police in a biometric kiosk at your appointment. The officer photographs you as you look on the day, so a self-supplied print or upload is generally not accepted for submission. The kiosk handles framing, lighting and the background automatically to guarantee the image meets the international standard.
The exact technical requirements Politiet works to are:
- Size: 35x45 mm (827x1063 px), portrait orientation
- Background: plain, even, light grey (#E6E6E6), no shadows
- Face size: the head fills roughly 75-80% of the frame height
- Expression: neutral, eyes open and looking at the lens, mouth closed
- Glasses: not allowed — remove them entirely
- Headwear: none, except for genuine religious or medical reasons, and the full face must stay visible
- Recency: the image must reflect how you look today (taken within the last 6 months)
- Common reasons photos are rejected in Norway:
- Eyebrows, ears or both eyes partly hidden by hair, a fringe or a frame
- Glasses left on, causing reflections or covering the eyes — strictly prohibited
- An uneven or coloured background instead of the required even light grey
- A slight smile or open mouth instead of a neutral, closed-mouth expression
Because the police capture the official image themselves, the smartest preparation is to know exactly how a compliant portrait must look before you arrive. Our tool automatically crops your own picture to the precise 35x45 mm Norwegian standard, with the correct face proportion and the #E6E6E6 background — a perfect reference image to check your framing, hairstyle and expression, or to use for other documents. Be transparent with yourself: this is preparation, not a submission file. Walk into your Politiet appointment knowing your eyes, ears and expression already meet the standard, and the on-site capture becomes a formality.
What an accepted Passport photo looks like
Norway · 35 × 45 mm. Tap any requirement to see what it means on a real photo.
- Size
- 35 × 45 mm · 827 × 1063 px
- Background
- Light plain
- Head in frame
- 75–80%
- Glasses
- Not allowed
- Facial expression
- Neutral, mouth closed
- Headwear
- Only for religious reasons
- File
- JPG · ≤ 2 MB
Print size is 35 × 45 mm and the digital file is 827 × 1063 px.
Official requirements source: politiet.no, udi.no
Requirements verified: 08.2026
How to take a good photo
The most common reasons a Norway Passport photo gets rejected — and how to avoid them. Compare good and bad shots.
1Format and freshness
A color photo taken no more than 6 months ago.
2Lighting and background
Even light with no shadows on the face; a plain light background, without glare.
3Head position
Face head-on, head centered, no tilt or turn.
4Facial expression
Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and looking at the camera.
5Glasses and accessories
No glasses (especially sunglasses); eyes fully visible, without glare.
6Headwear
Only for religious reasons and not covering the face — the face fully visible.
7Clothing
Ordinary everyday clothes; no uniforms or face-covering clothing.
Common questions about Norway Passport photos
Can I submit my own photo for a Norwegian passport?
What size is a Norway passport photo?
What background colour is required?
Can I wear glasses in my Norwegian passport photo?
Is headwear allowed?
How recent does the photo need to be?
Your photo is protected
A photo is personal data, so we handle it carefully and in line with GDPR. We process it only to prepare the document and delete it within clear deadlines.
- Only with consentWe process the photo only after your explicit consent before upload.
- Auto-deletionWe delete the source photo within a day, the ready file after 7 days.
- No sharing with third partiesYour photos are not sold or used to train any third-party systems.
- Deletion on requestYou can ask to delete your data at any time — with a single request.