A passport photo is rejected less often for the wrong size than for the wrong framing: a face that fills 90% of the frame, a chin clipped at the bottom, a crown touching the top edge, or a shot taken from below. Automated checks measure the face geometry, not just the file dimensions. This guide explains the chin-to-crown rule, how it is expressed in millimetres and in percent, and how to line yourself up so the face lands exactly where the system expects.
What "head size" actually means
The number authorities care about is the chin-to-crown measurement: the straight vertical distance from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head, excluding hair height where it is puffed up. It is written either as an absolute millimetre range inside a fixed print frame, or as a percentage of the photo's total height. Both describe the same thing - how large your face reads in the picture.
Why two units? Print-based rules use millimetres because the frame is a fixed physical size. Digital-upload rules often use percent because the government performs its own crop and only needs the face to occupy a certain share of the raw file.
Millimetres vs. percent
The conversion is simple: divide the chin-to-crown millimetres by the photo's total height in the same units. On a 45 mm-tall photo, a 32 mm head is about 71% of the height. On a 51 mm square, a 30 mm head is about 59%. Most international rules land in the 70-80% band, but national outliers exist and matter - for example Canada's digital upload wants only 45-50% face coverage, because IRCC crops the image itself.
Head-size limits by country
| Country | Photo frame | Chin-to-crown | Share of frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 51x51 mm square | 25-35 mm | 50-69% |
| United Kingdom | 35x45 mm | 29-34 mm | 70-80% |
| Canada (print) | 50x70 mm | 31-36 mm | 45-50% |
| Australia | 35x45 mm | 32-36 mm | - |
| Schengen / Europe | 35x45 mm | 32-36 mm | 70-80% |
| Germany | 35x45 mm | 32-36 mm | 70-80% |
| Japan | 35x45 mm | ~34 mm | ~75% |
| South Korea | 35x45 mm | 32-36 mm | 71-80% |
| China | 33x48 mm | 28-33 mm | 58-69% |
| India | 51x51 mm square | 25-35 mm | 60-70% |
| Russia | 35x45 mm | 25-30 mm | 70-80% |
| Vietnam | 40x60 mm | 40-48 mm | 67-80% |
| Indonesia | 40x60 mm | 30-36 mm | 50-60% |
| Nigeria | 35x45 mm | ~70% of frame | ~70% |
Notice how much the absolute number moves with the frame size: a 32 mm head on a 45 mm frame and a 30 mm head on a 51 mm square are both "correct" even though the millimetres differ. Always read the row for your exact country, not a neighbour's.
Top clearance and centring
Once the head is the right size, it must sit in the right place:
- The crown must not touch the top edge; leave a small even margin (Nigeria specifies about 4.5 mm, India 5-8 mm).
- The face must be centred horizontally - not shifted toward one shoulder.
- The bottom of the chin should not be clipped; leave a small gap between chin and the lower frame line.
- On digital uploads where the government crops itself (Canada, UK), leave extra space around the head rather than cropping tight yourself.
Eye line, camera height and shoulders
Your eyes should sit in the upper third of the frame, and the camera lens must be level with your eyes. Shoot from below and you get a double chin and wide nostrils; shoot from above and you look down at the lens, which reads as not facing forward. Show the tops of both shoulders, keep the head straight (no tilt), and push hair off the forehead so the crown measurement is honest. Both ears should be visible where the rules ask for them.
Framing babies and children
Children use the same face proportion, but the pose rules relax. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet, shoot from above, and centre the face so it fills the same share of the frame. A tiny head floating in the middle of a large square fails the "too small" check the same way an adult's does. No parent's hand, toy or dummy may appear in frame.
Five framing mistakes that pass the eye but fail the check
- The selfie stretch. An outstretched arm at 50 cm uses the wide end of the lens, which widens the forehead and chin. Back up to 1.5 metres and use the rear camera.
- The tilted head. Even a five-degree tilt breaks the "face straight to camera" rule. Sit square on, shoulders level, and look straight down the lens.
- The hair puff. Big hair is measured to the crown, not to the top of the volume. If your hair adds 20 mm of height, the effective head proportion drops - comb it flat or account for the margin.
- The double chin. A camera below chin level adds a fold. Raise the phone to eye level and move slightly forward.
- The tight crop. Cropping so the chin nearly touches the bottom edge is the most common digital rejection. Leave the same small margin below the chin as you leave above the crown.
On paper applications the same rules apply to print: a 35x45 mm photo printed at a lab must show the same 32-36 mm chin-to-crown band. A home inkjet print that comes out 34 mm wide instead of 35 will also fail, which is why printing on a 6x4 sheet at a lab beats standalone home printing.
One final check: rotate the crop so the line through your eyes is perfectly horizontal. A head that is slightly turned or tilted reads as a non-compliant pose even when the millimetres are correct. Both pupils should sit on the same horizontal line, and the vertical line through the nose should be centred between the ears.
How to check framing with the tool
- Open the ID photo tool and choose your country.
- Drop in the phone photo; the tool overlays the correct chin-to-crown box and centring guides.
- Drag the crop until the face sits inside the guide - not touching the edges, shoulders in frame.
- Export the result at the exact pixel box for your portal (see the file-size table).
- If the wall is the wrong colour, use the smart background tool before export.
All of this runs locally in your browser; the photo never leaves your device.
Common questions
What is chin-to-crown head height?
It is the vertical distance from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head (the crown), measured in millimetres inside the photo frame. It is the single number most authorities use to check that your face is not too big or too small.
How big should my head be in the photo?
Most countries want the chin-to-crown head to be about 70-80% of the photo height. The US wants 25-35 mm on a 51 mm square (50-69%), the UK wants 29-34 mm on a 35x45 frame, and Australia wants 32-36 mm. Canada is unusual: on its digital upload the face is only 45-50% of the frame.
How much space should be above the head?
Enough so the crown is not touching the top edge and the face is centred vertically. Nigeria specifies about 4.5 mm clearance from the top of the hair to the edge; India leaves roughly 5-8 mm. Too much empty space above the crown and the face reads as too small.
Where should the eye line be?
Your eyes should sit roughly in the upper third of the frame, at the same height as the camera lens. The camera must be at eye level - not looking down from above or up from below - or the proportions distort.
Should both ears and shoulders be visible?
Most authorities want the full face visible, ears shown where possible, and the tops of both shoulders in frame. A head-only crop that cuts the shoulders is usually fine for digital uploads, but a tight crop that clips the chin or crown is not.
How do I check the framing without a ruler?
Use the ID photo tool with your country selected: it overlays the correct chin-to-crown box and centring guides on your photo, and you can drag the crop until the head lands in the right range. It runs locally in your browser.
Do children have the same head-size rules?
Children follow the same framing, with relaxed posture and eye-open rules for babies. The child must fill roughly the same face proportion of the frame; a tiny head in a big square will be rejected for being too small.