Canada · Passport

Canadian passport photo requirements — in plain English.

Here is the full specification a Canadian passport photo is measured against, transcribed from the Government of Canada's own requirements. One honest heads-up first: unlike US and UK passport photos, a Canadian one cannot be made by an online tool — the reasons are below, and they're worth knowing before you pay anyone.

SIZE: 50 × 70 MM · WHITE BACKGROUND · NO SMILE

The specification

Canadian passport photo size and requirements

These are the rules your photo is measured against, transcribed from the Official Canadian passport photo requirements (canada.ca) — verifiable at the source, linked under the table:

Photo size	50 × 70 mm (2 × 2¾ in), portrait
Head height	Chin to crown 31–36 mm — about 45–50% of the photo height
Background	Plain white
Expression	Neutral — no smile, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera
Glasses	No sunglasses or tinted glasses (including tinted prescription lenses); plain glasses only if your eyes are clearly visible with no glare
Prints (paper application)	Two identical photos on plain photographic paper — home printing is not accepted
Digital (online renewal)	.jpeg / .jpg, 3:2 portrait, 1200 × 1800 to 3000 × 4500 px, 200 KB – 5 MB
Recency	Taken no more than 6 months before you apply

Official Canadian passport photo requirements (canada.ca)

Why we don't offer a Canadian passport photo maker

We'd rather tell you the truth than sell you a rejection.

Our maker turns a selfie into a compliant photo by replacing the background and cropping to spec. For US and UK passports that's fine — both let you take your own photo. Canada is different, in three ways that no software can get around:

It must be taken in person by a commercial photographer: IRCC does not accept a selfie or a self-produced photo for a Canadian passport, even for the online renewal upload — the photo has to be taken in person at a commercial photographer or photo studio.
Editing, filters, AI and background replacement are banned: The official rules require an original, unaltered photo, and state plainly that altering “includes using photo editing software, filters and AI tools.” Replacing the background from a selfie — the core of how our maker works — is exactly what that prohibits.
The back needs a photographer (and often a guarantor) attestation: On the back of one printed photo the photographer must write or stamp the studio name, address and the date the photo was taken; new adult and child applications also need a guarantor to certify the likeness and sign. Those are attestations only a real photographer and guarantor can give — a downloaded file cannot.

So there's nothing for us to sell here that would actually pass. Visit a commercial passport-photo studio (most pharmacies and print shops offer this), and for an online renewal follow the official canada.ca upload guidance linked above.

What we can make

Making a US or UK passport photo? We do those.

Both let you take your own photo, so our maker produces a compliant file (and a print-ready sheet) in about a minute — see your finished photo free, pay only if it passes:

US Passport2×2 IN · 600×600 PX · WHITE BG UK Passport35×45 MM · LIGHT GREY BG US Visa · DS-160600×600 PX · WHITE BG