South African ID Book Photo (green barcoded ID, 35 x 45 mm): size and requirements
The South African ID Book Photo size is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches). Be taken with a light grey or plain cream-coloured background; head 64 to 76 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last month. Last verified 2026-10-08 against Department of Home Affairs (DHA), 'Identity Documents' page; DHA 'Passport & ID Photograph Specifications' template (Canberra mission copy).
For the two identical photographs handed in with an application for the green barcoded South African Identity Book at a Home Affairs office that does not offer Smart ID cards, or at a South African mission abroad. Not for the Smart ID card, which is applied for only at modernised offices and banks where the image is captured digitally; not for a passport.
Buy only if you are applying for the green ID book at a non-Smart-ID office or at a mission abroad; Smart ID offices capture your image themselves. See the South Africa documents we can prepare.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches)
- Head height
- Head 64 to 76 percent of the photo height (At least 29mm, No more than 34mm (diagram labels on a 45 mm high photo, read as the head height); face takes up 70 – 80% of the photograph (the same DHA 'Passport & ID' template applies to IDs))
- Background
- be taken with a light grey or plain cream-coloured background
- 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 month
- Prints needed
- 2
- We deliver
- 827 x 1063 px (600 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckThe ID book route exists only 'Where offices do not offer Smart ID Cards' and for South Africans applying at missions abroad; everywhere else you get a Smart ID card and the counter photographs you.
- CheckThe Identity Documents page asks for 'Two identical colour photographs', but the DHA template allows black and white for IDs: 'two identical colour or black and white photos for IDs'. We deliver colour to satisfy both.
- CheckSame frame as the passport: 35 x 45 mm, head 29 to 34 mm, light grey or cream background, not more than one month old, professionally printed.
- CheckFirst-time ID applicants aged 16 or over must also give 'A full set of fingerprints in an applicable form'; the photo is only one of three items.
Source and verification
Read from the official page. Last checked 2026-10-08 at Department of Home Affairs (DHA), 'Identity Documents' page; DHA 'Passport & ID Photograph Specifications' template (Canberra mission copy).
APPLYING FOR AN ID BOOK (Where offices do not offer Smart ID Cards)
Two identical colour photographs
A full set of fingerprints in an applicable form.
two identical colour or black and white photos for IDs
Black and white photos for IDs must also meet these requirements
35mm in width and 45mm in height
not more than one (1) month old
be taken with a light grey or plain cream-coloured background
Quotes 1-3 and the eligibility sentence are from the DHA Identity Documents page at source.url (sources/za/dha-identity-documents.txt, read via the text proxy; the page also says 'Smart ID cards can only be applied for at modernised offices ... which include banks, DHA offices in the Malls and mobile offices'). Quotes 4-8 are from the DHA photographic template PDF (sources/za/dirco-canberra-passport-photo-requirements.txt, https://dirco.gov.za/canberra/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2026/04/Passport_Photo_Requirements.pdf). Geometry, background, age, glasses and head-covering values are the template's and are applied to the ID book because the template is titled 'Passport & ID Photograph Specifications' and names IDs explicitly. The head band 0.644-0.756 reads the diagram labels 'At least 29mm' / 'No more than 34mm' as the head height; the extraction carries no caption for them, so the referent is inferred from the diagram layout (see za/passport note). The Identity Documents page itself states no size. Smart ID collection: the page says 'collections can be done at your preferred modernised office that you would have chosen at the time of applying' (the office is fixed at application time). dpi 600 is our rendering choice. eligibility 'restricted' rests on the page's statement that Smart ID cards are issued only at modernised offices (where the image is captured) and the ID-book route being limited to the other offices. child left undefined (IDs are issued from 16).
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
