UK Passport Photo Generator — Official 35×45mm HMPO Studio

His Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) enforces biometric photograph standards for British passport applications and renewals. The mandatory physical size is 35 mm wide by 45 mm high, with the head measuring between 29 mm and 34 mm from chin to crown.

Crucially, HMPO requires a plain, uniform cream or light grey background. Pure white backgrounds can cause automated boundary detection errors on official submission scanners.

Official British Passport Photo Rules (HMPO)

• Physical Dimensions: Exactly 35 mm wide by 45 mm high (413 × 531 px at 300 DPI).
• Head Height: 29 mm to 34 mm from bottom of chin to top of skull.
• Background: Solid plain cream or light grey background without shadows or patterns.
• Facial Expression: Plain, neutral facial expression with lips pressed together and both eyes visible. Smiling, frowning, or tilted head positions will cause instant refusal.
• Eyeglasses: Banned since 2018. All glasses must be removed before photographing.
• Attire & Headwear: Head coverings permitted only for religious reasons, provided the face is visible from chin tip to forehead.

Consider an applicant preparing photos for an HMPO renewal:

• Input Image: A 2400 × 3200 pixel portrait captured in soft room light against a cream wall (2.7 MB JPEG).
• Standard Selected: UK HMPO (35 × 45 mm, 413 × 531 px at 300 DPI).
• Guide Adjustment: The user adjusts the boundary markers so the chin sits on the lower guide and the top of the skull rests at the 32 mm line.
• Export Output: A 300 DPI printable card formatted to 10 × 15 cm carrying 4 identical 35 × 45 mm photos ready for postal submission.

Operational breakdown of UK passport portrait generation:

• In-Browser HMPO Sizing: 35 × 45 mm dimension locking, 29–34 mm head height guides, and multi-up sheet tiling operate exclusively in local browser RAM via HTML5 Canvas.
• Temporary Remote Cutout: Opting for automated background replacement transmits your image over TLS to an isolated container that generates the silhouette cutout and drops session data immediately without disk caching.