Bulgarian Passport Photo (no readable national rule; ICAO 35 x 45 mm reference): size and requirements
The Bulgarian Passport Photo size is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches). Not read; white is our rendering choice for the reference frame; head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last 6 months. Last verified 2026-10-10 against ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (Eighth Edition, 2021), Section 3.9 displayed portrait, standing in for the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior rule we could not read.
For a Bulgarian passport (паспорт) issued by the Ministry of Interior to Bulgarian citizens, as a reference only: the ministry's identity-documents pages and the foreign ministry's consular pages were unreachable to us, so the frame, head band and all other values are the ICAO Doc 9303 defaults. Not for the identity card, a Bulgarian visa or a driving licence.
Confirm with the Ministry of Interior directorate or your consulate whether they photograph you or want a print, and what size; this ICAO-shaped file is a starting point, not the Bulgarian rule. See all Bulgaria documents.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches)
- Head height
- Head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height (no national rule read; ICAO Doc 9303 crown-to-chin 70 to 80 per cent of the 45 mm height applied)
- Background
- not read; white is our rendering choice for the reference frame
- Expression
- Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking at the camera
- Glasses
- Allowed without glare or tint
- Head covering
- Only for religious or medical reasons; full face visible
- Photo age
- Taken within the last 6 months
- We deliver
- 413 x 531 px (300 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckNo Bulgarian rule was read: www.mvr.bg returned a bot-verification page ('This website uses a security service to protect against malicious bots.') to every fetch, www.mfa.bg a Radware browser check, and the Wayback Machine was offline when we tried. Everything on this page is the ICAO Doc 9303 reference, flagged as such.
- CheckBulgarian biometric documents are issued by the Ministry of Interior's regional directorates; whether the office captures your image or takes a print is exactly what we could not confirm, so ask the directorate (or your consulate) before paying for photos.
- CheckICAO reference frame: 'Submitted portraits should be 45.0 mm x 35.0 mm (1.77 in x 1.38 in) in dimension.' with the head 70 to 80 per cent of the height and a plain light background.
- CheckICAO recency: 'A submitted portrait shall have been captured within the last six months before application', and portraits older than three months 'should not be accepted' where the issuer is strict.
- CheckIf a print is wanted, ICAO asks for photo-quality paper with a smooth, non-structured surface and no folds, creases or ink marks.
Source and verification
No national rule published; ICAO 9303 standard applies. Last checked 2026-10-10 (archived copy dated 2024-09-12) at ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (Eighth Edition, 2021), Section 3.9 displayed portrait, standing in for the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior rule we could not read.
Submitted portraits should be 45.0 mm x 35.0 mm (1.77 in x 1.38 in) in dimension.
The crown-to-chin portion of the facial image shall be 70 to 80 per cent of the longest dimension defined for Zone V, maintaining the aspect ratio between the crown-to-chin and ear-to-ear details of the face of the holder.
A submitted portrait shall have been captured within the last six months before application, as outlined in [ISO/IEC 39794-5]. Portraits with a capture time dating back more than three months should not be accepted.
Where the portrait is supplied to the issuing authority in digital form, the requirements specified by the issuing authority must be adhered to.
The submitted portrait shall be clean, not bent, not scratched, not folded and not damaged. There shall be no ink marks or creases on the printed portrait.
All quotes are ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (sources/icao/icao-9303-part3-portrait-excerpt.txt, Wayback capture 2024-09-12 of source.url). Nothing Bulgarian is quoted: sources/bg/mvr-bulgarian-id-documents.txt and sources/bg/mfa-visa-bulgaria-direct.txt hold the bot-wall responses from https://www.mvr.bg/en/for-the-citizens/bulgarian-identity-documents and https://www.mfa.bg/en/services-travel/consular-services/travel-bulgaria/visa-bulgaria (2026-10-10), and web.archive.org returned 503 'Temporarily Offline' to CDX and capture requests the same day. physical 35 x 45 mm, head 0.7-0.8, maxPhotoAgeMonths 6 from quotes 1-3; background 'white', dpi 300, glasses and headCovering are ICAO-style defaults. Re-fetch mvr.bg (or its Wayback copy) in a later pass.
We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.
Frequently asked questions
