Swiss Passport Photo (Schweizer Pass, digital colour image, Fotomustertafel): size and requirements
The Swiss Passport Photo size is 827 x 1063 pixels for online upload. Hintergrund einfarbig, einheitlich und neutral; keine Schatten. Klare Trennung zwischen Hintergrund und Kopf. (No colour is named; light grey is our rendering choice and the Fotomustertafel rejects 'zu heller Hintergrund'.); head 64 to 76 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last 12 months. Last verified 2026-10-07 against fedpol, Bundesamt für Polizei (Federal Office of Police), Fotomustertafel.
For the digital colour face image some cantonal Passstellen let you bring to a Schweizer Pass appointment instead of being photographed there. Not for an Identitätskarte applied for at the Gemeinde, which takes a paper photo, and not for the Ausländerausweis, which the canton photographs.
Use our photo only if your canton allows a digital photo and you declare it when applying; everywhere else the Passstelle takes the picture and you need nothing. See all Switzerland documents.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 827 x 1063 pixels for online upload
- Head height
- Head 64 to 76 percent of the photo height (Bildgrösse 35 x 45 mm (ohne Rand). Gesichtshöhe vom Kinn bis zur Schädeldecke mindestens 29 mm, höchstens 34 mm; bei Kindern unter 11 Jahren mindestens 23 mm)
- Background
- Hintergrund einfarbig, einheitlich und neutral; keine Schatten. Klare Trennung zwischen Hintergrund und Kopf. (No colour is named; light grey is our rendering choice and the Fotomustertafel rejects 'zu heller Hintergrund'.)
- 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 12 months
- We deliver
- 827 x 1063 px , plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckYou normally do not bring a photo at all: the cantonal Passstelle (or the Swiss representation abroad) records your face image, signature and fingerprints at the appointment. Only some cantons let you bring a digital photo, and you must say so when you apply ('muss sie dies beim Antrag auf Ausstellung eines Ausweises mitteilen').
- CheckThe passport needs a colour image ('Für den Schweizer Pass wird ein digitales Farbbild benötigt'), even though the Fotomustertafel itself also admits black-and-white prints and the photo in the document is printed in black and white.
- CheckThe Swiss head is measured 'vom Kinn bis zur Schädeldecke' (chin to top of skull): 29 to 34 mm on the 45 mm frame, i.e. 64 to 76 percent. That is a touch lower than the ICAO 70 to 80 percent band, so an ICAO-cropped photo can exceed the 34 mm maximum. Voluminous hair may run out of the frame; the face must not shrink below 29 mm.
- CheckA photo may be up to one year old ('Das Foto darf nicht älter als 1 Jahr sein'), twice the six months Germany, Austria, France and Italy allow in our specs for those countries; a friendly expression is explicitly permitted ('freundlicher Gesichtsausdruck ist erlaubt !') as long as the mouth stays closed.
- CheckTinted lenses and sunglasses are refused; darkened lenses are allowed only for the visually impaired. Headbands, conspicuous hairbands and glasses pushed up on the head count as head coverings and are refused.
- CheckBringing your own photo saves no money: 'Es hat keine Gebührenreduktion oder Entschädigung der antragstellenden Person für die Auslagen zur Folge.'
Known quirks of the official upload
- Notefedpol publishes no pixel size, file format or file-size limit for the cantonal digital photo; the canton that accepts it defines how it is handed over (ask the Passstelle). We export a 35 x 45 mm frame at 600 dpi (827 x 1063 px JPEG) as a sensible default.
Source and verification
Read from the official page and translated by us. Last checked 2026-10-07 at fedpol, Bundesamt für Polizei (Federal Office of Police), Fotomustertafel.
Manche Kantone gestatten das Mitbringen einer digitalen Fotografie.
Für den Schweizer Pass wird ein digitales Farbbild benötigt.
Es hat keine Gebührenreduktion oder Entschädigung der antragstellenden Person für die Auslagen zur Folge.
In some cantons, you can submit a digital photo. If you wish to do so, you must indicate this when applying for your identity document.
Bildgrösse 35 x 45 mm (ohne Rand).
Gesichtshöhe vom Kinn bis zur Schädeldecke mindestens 29 mm, höchstens 34 mm.
Bei Kindern unter 11 Jahren muss die Gesichtshöhe vom Kinn bis zur Schädeldecke mindestens 23 mm betragen.
Hintergrund einfarbig, einheitlich und neutral; keine Schatten.
Das Foto darf nicht älter als 1 Jahr sein.
Keine getönten Gläser oder Sonnenbrille.
Ausnahmen sind nur aus nachgewiesenen medizinischen oder religiösen Gründen gestattet
Es werden Schwarzweiss- und Farbfotos zugelassen. Das Foto im Ausweis wird schwarzweiss sein.
Quotes 1-3 are German from the fedpol page 'Beantragen' at source.url (sources/ch/fedpol-beantragen.txt); quote 4 is the same page in English, https://www.fedpol.admin.ch/en/application (sources/ch/fedpol-application-en.txt). Quotes 5-12 are German sentences from the Fotomustertafel PDF https://www.fedpol.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/ZA--3ny9zRWt/fotomustertafel.pdf (sources/ch/fedpol-fotomustertafel-pdf.txt; the PDF is laid out in columns and the text dump breaks sentences across lines, so quotes 6, 7 and 12 span two dump lines and quote 11 stops before a hyphenated line break). Head fractions are 29-34 mm / 45 mm. digital.min/target 827 x 1063 px and format jpeg are OUR rendering of the 35 x 45 mm frame at 600 dpi: fedpol publishes no pixel, format or file-size rule, the accepting canton does. background 'light-grey' is our rendering choice (the Fotomustertafel names no colour; it only demands a uniform neutral background and flags 'zu heller Hintergrund' as a fault). headCovering 'religious-medical-only' matches the source (medizinische oder religiöse Gründen). editing 'background-replacement-ok': the Fotomustertafel forbids no retouching as such, it only demands a uniform neutral background and refuses visible pixel structure. child.underAge 11 is the 23 mm minimum age; the expression and gaze waivers are for 'Kleinkinder' without an age. The EN page dates the same PDF 7 November 2025, the DE page 18 August 2014; the imprint reads 09.06.
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
