UK Driving Licence Photo
This photo type is for a DVLA driving licence application or renewal. It is fully compliant with the latest official requirements.
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Four steps you can see.
Every rule, measured before you pay.
- Photo size
- 35 × 45 mm
- Head size
- 29–34 mm
- Background
- #F5F5F0
- Resolution
- 300 dpi
Personalised UK Driving Licence Photo Prints — 4 Pack
Physical photographs on photo paper, made to order and posted to you. From £12.99 including VAT and free UK delivery.
UK Driving Licence Photo Requirements
The DVLA doesn't publish a photo standard of its own. It asks for a passport-type photo, so one good photo does the job for both. Here's what it needs to show.
Size and framing
- 45mm high by 35mm wide, in portrait orientation
- Head measuring 29mm to 34mm from chin to crown
- Taken within the last month
- Recent, unfiltered and a true likeness of you
Background and lighting
- Plain cream or light grey background
- Not pure white, which blends into pale skin and hair
- Even light on your face, with no shadows under the chin or eyes
Pose and expression
- Face forwards, head square and looking straight at the camera
- Neutral expression with your mouth closed
- Eyes open and clear, with no hair across them
- No headwear unless it's religious or medical, and your face must stay visible
- Glasses only if you need them, with no tint and no glare
How you supply it
- Renewing online: the DVLA can use the photo on your passport record, so you may not send one at all
- Applying online with your own image: it has to meet the same standard
- By post: a printed photo at exactly 45mm by 35mm
That's the short version. For the full rules, and the common ways licence photos get sent back, learn more in our complete guide.
Accepted, or double your money back.
If the official issuing office rejects a photo you bought from us, email the rejection notice within 60 days and we'll refund double what you paid. No hoops.
Questions people ask first.
A recent printed passport-type photo. The DVLA doesn't keep a separate standard, so the same rules apply to a UK driving licence photo as to a passport: 45mm high by 35mm wide, your head measuring 29mm to 34mm from chin to crown, a plain light background and a photo taken in the last month. Our step-by-step licence photo guide goes through the lot.
Often, yes, and it's the easiest route. When you renew a photocard online the DVLA can pull the photo and signature already on your passport record, so there's no UK driving licence photo to send at all. What you can't do is resubmit an old file yourself. It has to be recent. This explains how the reuse works.
Not really. It should be plain cream or light grey. Pure white feels like the safe option but pale skin, light hair and pale tops blend into it, and the edge of your head gets hard to read, which is the most common reason a UK driving licence photo is sent back. There's more in our note on background colour.
It's worth resisting. A UK driving licence photo is an identity document that gets checked at the roadside, so it needs a neutral face with your mouth closed and your eyes open. A smile shifts your cheeks and jawline, which is exactly what the photo is meant to record. Here's where the line really is.
You can keep them on if you need them, as long as the lenses aren't tinted, there's no glare and the frames don't cross your eyes. Taking them off for the shot removes the risk altogether. If you'd like the detail on how it applies to a UK driving licence photo, we've written a short guide for glasses wearers.
Every ten years on a standard photocard, and the renewal is there mainly to refresh your picture. From 70 it moves to every three years, and it's free. Both routes are covered in our 10-year renewal explainer, with the over-70 rules in a separate article.
Yes, a phone camera is fine, a selfie usually isn't. At arm's length the lens is too close, your face distorts and the arm often creeps into the frame. Get someone to shoot your UK driving licence photo from about two metres away, in daylight, in front of a plain wall. We explain why selfies struggle if you're curious.
