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Pakistani CNIC / NICOP Photo (NADRA: live capture in the PakID app or at a centre): size and requirements

The Pakistani CNIC / NICOP Photo size is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches). Not stated for the live capture. White is our reference rendering; it was also the colour the withdrawn 2020 Pak-Identity upload guideline required.; head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height. Last verified 2026-10-08 against National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), 'Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC)' and 'About PakID' pages; former Pak-Identity 'Photograph Capturing & Uploading Guidelines' (archived 2020) for the change note.

For a NADRA Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC, Smart CNIC) or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) applied for through the PakID mobile app or at a NADRA Registration Centre. NADRA captures the face image live; this page exists to tell you so and to record that the old Pak-Identity upload format no longer applies. Not for a Pakistani passport.

For a CNIC or NICOP, apply in the PakID app and let its live capture (or the NADRA centre camera) take the picture. See the Pakistan documents we can prepare.

Make this photo for $6.99Read the full rules
Badshahi Mosque courtyard in Lahore at dusk
VerifiedNo national rule published; ICAO 9303 standard appliesLast checked 2026-10-08National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), 'Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC)' and 'About PakID' pages; former Pak-Identity 'Photograph Capturing & Uploading Guidelines' (archived 2020) for the change note

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 (Take a real-time photo that meets ICAO standards for official identification purposes. (in-app live capture; no upload size is published any more; ICAO Doc 9303 35 x 45 mm and crown-to-chin 70 to 80 per cent shown for reference only))
Background
Not stated for the live capture. White is our reference rendering; it was also the colour the withdrawn 2020 Pak-Identity upload guideline required.
Expression
Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking at the camera
Glasses
Not allowed
Head covering
Only for religious or medical reasons; full face visible
We deliver
827 x 1063 px (600 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet

What trips people up

  • Check
    THE FORMAT CHANGED (pain-points PP-19). The old Pak-Identity web portal accepted an uploaded photo 'taken professionally against a white background with dimensions not less than 350 x 467'. That portal now answers 403 and NADRA's current pages describe only in-app 'Live Photo Capture' and centre visits. Tools still selling the 350 x 467 upload are stale.
  • Check
    PakID feature list: 'Take a real-time photo that meets ICAO standards for official identification purposes.' NADRA describes the portrait only as live capture inside the app and publishes no upload specification for it; the app's separate 'Document Upload' feature ('capturing photos or selecting files from your device') is described for supporting documents, and NADRA does not say whether it can be used for the portrait.
  • Check
    The CNIC and NICOP pages both warn: 'Biometric verification and photograph may require a visit to a NADRA Registration Centre.'
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    NADRA frames its own journey as a move 'from web-based portals to a comprehensive mobile-first ecosystem', which is why the 2020 upload sheet (sources/pk, ARCHIVED) is no longer linked anywhere.
  • Check
    The withdrawn 2020 guideline also banned glasses and caps ('Photograph must be taken without glasses and cap') and black-and-white photos; expect the same posture rules from the live capture even though NADRA no longer publishes them.

Known portal issues

  • Note

    Pak-Identity portal unreachable (HTTP 403)

    Start from nadra.gov.pk or install the PakID app instead of the old portal. Read the fix

Source and verification

VerifiedLast checked 2026-10-08National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), 'Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC)' and 'About PakID' pages; former Pak-Identity 'Photograph Capturing & Uploading Guidelines' (archived 2020) for the change note

No national rule published; ICAO 9303 standard applies. Last checked 2026-10-08 (archived copy dated 2020-08-10) at National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), 'Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC)' and 'About PakID' pages; former Pak-Identity 'Photograph Capturing & Uploading Guidelines' (archived 2020) for the change note.

  • Biometric verification and photograph may require a visit to a NADRA Registration Centre.
  • Take a real-time photo that meets ICAO standards for official identification purposes.
  • Tracing the digital transformation of Pakistan's identity services from web-based portals to a comprehensive mobile-first ecosystem.
  • Photograph must be taken professionally against a white background with dimensions not less than 350 x 467
  • Photograph must be taken without glasses and cap
  • 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.

Quote 1 is from the CNIC page at source.url and recurs on the NICOP page (sources/pk/nadra-cnic-new.txt, nadra-nicop-new.txt; nadra.gov.pk is a Next.js app read via the text proxy). The CNIC page also carries a collapsed FAQ 'Can a CNIC be issued if a citizen refuses to have their photograph captured due to personal reasons?' whose answer was not rendered by the proxy and was not read; it bears on eligibility and is not relied on. Quotes 2-3 are from 'About PakID' https://www.nadra.gov.pk/aboutPakID (sources/pk/nadra-about-pakid.txt). Quotes 4-5 are from the WITHDRAWN Pak-Identity PhotoGuidelines.pdf, read from Wayback (snapshot 2020-08-10, sources/pk/nadra-pak-identity-photo-guidelines-2020-ARCHIVED.txt); they document the format change recorded in pain-points.md PP-19 and are NOT current rules. Quote 6 is ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (sources/icao/, Wayback 2024-09-12). eligibility 'no' rests on the in-app live capture and the centre-visit sentence; NADRA does not publish any upload specification today (inference flagged). physical, head band and background are ICAO-style reference values. glasses 'not-allowed' and headCovering follow the withdrawn guideline's 'without glasses and cap' as the best available indication (flagged; no current NADRA page states a glasses rule, and the batch-7 fact-check noted that the other icao-default specs use 'discouraged'; 'not-allowed' is kept because it is the only NADRA statement on glasses and gotcha 5 shows the flag). The 'no file picker for the portrait' wording was dropped in the fact-check: NADRA does not say so; it only describes the portrait as live capture (inference). maxPhotoAgeMonths, printsRequired and child left undefined.

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

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