Panamanian Passport Photo (no readable national rule; ICAO 35 x 45 mm reference): size and requirements
The Panamanian 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 Autoridad de Pasaportes de Panamá rule we could not read.
For a Panamanian passport issued by the Autoridad de Pasaportes de Panamá to Panamanian citizens, as a reference only: every host of the passport authority was unreachable to us and no archived copy exists, so the frame, head band and all other values are the ICAO Doc 9303 defaults. Not for the cédula, a Panamanian visa (which the Servicio Nacional de Migración handles and which has its own page) or a driving licence.
Check with the Autoridad de Pasaportes or a Panamanian consulate before buying: we could not read Panama's passport photo rule, so treat our 35 x 45 mm ICAO print as a best guess, not an official format. See the Panama documents we can prepare.
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 Panamanian passport rule was read: apap.gob.pa, pasaportes.gob.pa, pasaporte.gob.pa and pasaporteordinario.gob.pa do not resolve or drop the connection, the Panamá Digital trámites portal shows no passport service to our reader, and the Wayback Machine has no capture of pasaportes.gob.pa. Everything on this page is the ICAO Doc 9303 reference, flagged as such.
- CheckWhether the Autoridad de Pasaportes photographs you at its offices or wants prints, and in what size, is exactly what we could not confirm; ask the office or a Panamanian 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 Autoridad de Pasaportes de Panamá 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 Panamanian is quoted: sources/pa/_probe-log.txt lists the hosts tried on 2026-10-10 (apap.gob.pa curl 000; www.pasaportes.gob.pa / pasaportes.gob.pa no DNS, saved as sources/pa/pasaportes-home.txt; pasaporte.gob.pa and pasaporteordinario.gob.pa curl 000; panamatramita.gob.pa search renders the portal home only; Wayback CDX for pasaportes.gob.pa 0 rows). Wikipedia was used only to find the apap.gob.pa host name. 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 apap.gob.pa 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
