What the specification means in practice
Germany changed the mechanics of photo submission rather than the measurements. Since 1 May 2025, you cannot bring a printed photo when applying for a Personalausweis or Reisepass. The photo is either captured at a terminal in the issuing office or produced by a photographer and transmitted digitally. The 35 × 45 mm frame and the 32–36 mm optimal face height still describe what that image must contain.
What the change means for you
If you use a photographer, the studio sends the image electronically rather than handing you prints. If you do not, the issuing office can capture the photo on site. Either way, arriving with an envelope of printed photos no longer works, and a photo booth that only produces paper prints is no longer useful for these documents.
The measurements below still matter, because a photographer’s digital submission is assessed against exactly the same standard the printed one was.
Optimal and tolerated face height
The official template distinguishes two bands. The optimal face height (Gesichtshöhe) is 32 to 36 mm, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. Outside that, there is a wider tolerated band marked on the template, which is checked rather than automatically rejected.
The template is used in two steps. First the eye region is checked: the photo is 35 × 45 mm, the eyes fall inside a marked horizontal band, they are level with each other and clearly visible, and the middle of the nose falls inside the marked zone. Then the template is shifted so the bottom of the chin sits on the chin line, and the top of the head is checked against the optimal band.
Light grey, not white
The background must be a single colour, preferably light grey. This is a real difference from the United States, India or Korea, and a German photo submitted to one of those processes will be refused for it — as will a white-background photo submitted here, in the sense that light grey is what the standard asks for.
Lighting must be even with no shadows, and the photo sharp and contrasty. Digital photos must be in colour.
Pose and expression
The head must be straight — not tilted, turned or tipped — and the photo must be a frontal shot. The expression must be neutral with the lips closed, and the eyes recognisable and not covered.
These are the same requirements the biometric standard makes everywhere, but the German template is unusual in giving you a physical means of checking them yourself before submission rather than describing them in prose.
Practical notes
Do not submit a photo with creases or contamination — an instruction that made more sense for paper, and now mostly translates into not photographing a print. If you have an older printed photo you were planning to use, treat it as a reference for framing and have a new digital image made.