"Passport size photo" means different things on different forms. The confusion mostly comes from units: 35 × 45 mm and 3.5 × 4.5 cm are exactly the same size, written in millimetres and centimetres. The real difference is between that portrait shape and the square 2 × 2 inch photo. If you need the conversion to pixels at different DPIs, the resize in cm tool has a full table. This page is about which form wants which shape.
The two shapes
| 35 × 45 mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm) | 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Portrait, 7 : 9 | Square, 1 : 1 |
| Typical use | Indian passport prints, most Indian exam and ID forms, Canada | US visa, OCI card, MHT CET |
| At 200 DPI | 276 × 354 px | 400 × 400 px |
| At 300 DPI | 413 × 531 px | 600 × 600 px |
Forms that use 35 × 45 mm or its proportions
- Passport Seva: 630 × 810 px upload, which is the same 7 : 9 shape.
- CTET, HTET and MPSC: 3.5 × 4.5 cm.
- Sarathi (driving licence): 420 × 525 px, given as 35 × 45 mm.
- Voter ID (Form 6): 3.5 × 4.5 cm.
- Canada visa: 35 × 45 mm, with the head 31–36 mm tall.
Forms that want a square photo
- US visa (DS-160): 600 × 600 px, up to 240 KB.
- OCI card: square, 200 × 200 to 900 × 900 px, on a light background that is not white.
- MHT CET: 2 × 2 inch, 100 KB to 5 MB.
- UPSC: 550 × 550 px. Not called 2 × 2 inch, but square.
Neither shape
Some forms use their own sizes: UPPSC 5 × 6 cm, PAN (Protean) 3.5 × 2.5 cm, the bank format 200 × 230 px, and UK passport at least 600 × 750 px (4 : 5). Use the exam page for the exact numbers.
Don't reuse one photo for everything
Cropping a portrait 35 × 45 photo into a square, or the other way round, either cuts off the top of your head or leaves too much space around it. Keep the original full-resolution photo and crop it again for each form. The passport photo maker also lays out printed copies on A4 or 4 × 6 inch paper at 300 DPI.