Passport Photo Size for India (35×45 mm): The Complete Guide

Whether you are applying for a passport, a PAN card, a government exam, or a college admission, you will be asked for a "passport-size photograph" that meets an exact specification. Getting the size, background and file weight wrong is the number-one reason applications get sent back. This guide gives you the exact numbers and shows you how to produce a compliant photo for free from a picture you already have.

What is the correct passport photo size in India?

For an Indian passport, the official requirement is a 35 mm wide × 45 mm tall colour photograph. At 300 DPI (the standard print resolution), that works out to 413 × 531 pixels. Different portals phrase it differently, but the physical size is the same:

The rules that actually get photos rejected

The dimensions are only half the story. These are the requirements people most often miss:

• Background: plain white or very light grey. No patterns, no doorways, no shadows behind the head.
• Face coverage: the face should fill about 70–80% of the frame, centred, looking straight at the camera.
• Expression: neutral, both eyes open, mouth closed. No sunglasses; spectacles allowed if the eyes are clearly visible with no glare.
• Recency: taken within the last 6 months so it looks like you.
• File size: most portals want the final image between 20 KB and 50 KB.

How to make a passport photo from an existing picture (free)

1. Take or choose a clear, front-facing photo against a plain wall.
2. Open KaagazPDF Image Studio and select your photo.
3. Choose the Passport 35×45 mm preset. The tool crops from the centre to the exact size so your face is not stretched.
4. If the background is not clean, Pro users can switch it to plain white automatically using on-device AI.
5. Use the quality slider to bring the file under your portal's KB limit, then download.

Printing a sheet of passport photos at home

Studios usually give you 8 copies on a 4×6 print. You can do the same at home: the Passport Photo Sheet tool tiles your single photo into a printable 4×6-inch or A4 sheet with thin cutting guides, so you can print it at any local shop and cut out as many copies as you need. This is handy during exam season when you need physical prints for offline forms and interviews.

Signature specification (bonus)

Alongside the photo, forms ask for your signature, usually as a separate image between 10 KB and 20 KB, often at 140 × 60 pixels. Sign on plain white paper with a dark pen, photograph it, then use Image Studio's Signature preset to crop and shrink it to the required size.