Passport photo at home in Italy
Italy runs on the fototessera: one 35 x 45 mm print serves the passaporto, and the same format feeds the carta d'identità elettronica. The Interior Ministry publishes unusually precise geometry — including an eye-line band almost no other country states in millimetres — and one production rule that decides most home attempts: the print must come out on high-quality, high-definition photographic paper, which means a lab, not a home inkjet.
The fototessera geometry
The Italian passport photo is at least 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, showing the whole head and the top of the shoulders so that the face occupies 70 to 80 percent of the photo's height. The CIE specification adds the measurement that surprises people: the eyes must sit between 23 and 31 mm from the bottom edge of the frame. Expression neutral, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera, no hair across the eyes. These are measured values, and the gap between 'looks fine' and 70 percent face height is exactly where rejections happen — the head-size guide shows how to verify with a ruler.
Background: white for the passport, broader for the CIE
The passport wants a plain white background. The carta d'identità elettronica page is more permissive and more precise: the background must be uniform, preferably light blue, beige, light brown, light grey or white, chosen to increase the contrast between background and face. If you have fair hair and a pale wall, that contrast clause matters more than the colour list — step away from the wall and let the light fall evenly, as covered in the shadows guide.
Taking and printing it at home
Nothing in the published rules regulates who holds the camera, so a phone photo is legitimate: rear camera, two metres distance, window light, someone else pressing the shutter. The constraint is the output. The passport rule says the photo 'deve essere stampata su carta di alta qualità e ad alta definizione' — printed on high-quality, high-definition paper — so take the file to a photo lab or kiosk and order a standard print, then cut to 35 x 45 mm. One photo is enough for a passport application. For the CIE there is a digital alternative: if you book through Agenda CIE, you can upload the fototessera as a file and bring nothing to the Comune; otherwise you bring the paper print.
What a checker adds
Italy's bands are tight enough that measuring beats guessing: our checker reports the head height and the eye line as percentages of the photo height against the published 70 to 80 percent and 23 to 31 mm figures, plus background uniformity and lighting symmetry, before any payment — and renders a cut-ready print sheet.
Frequently asked questions
Can I print the fototessera at home on photo paper?
The rule asks for high-quality, high-definition photographic printing, and consular checklists read that as lab-grade output. A pharmacy or photo-kiosk print costs little and removes the argument; a home inkjet print risks being the reason the whole application stalls.
How many photos do I need?
One for the passport and one for the CIE: Italian offices acquire the image once and reuse it digitally. Order a spare print anyway; a second copy from the same lab order costs cents.
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