Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Canada passport photo requirements
Canada now has two paths. For a paper application you supply two identical 50 mm × 70 mm prints with the studio's details on the back of one. For online renewal you upload a digital photo the photographer supplies to you (by email, USB, or file-sharing).
In both cases the photo must be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and IRCC says it must not be altered or edited in any way — technical changes and cropping included. ExactPic therefore never modifies a Canadian passport photo. The checker below is check-only: it verifies a photographer-supplied file against the online-renewal digital spec so you can confirm it before uploading.
Official source: canada.ca — Passport photo requirements
Official source checked on 2026-07-08. This records when we compared our summary to the linked government page — not when the tool was QA-tested. Requirements can change; always confirm the current rules on the official page before you apply.
Reviewed by the ExactPic Editorial Team against the official source above. See how we verify requirements.
Specifications
- Online renewal — format
- JPEG (.jpg), from the original camera file
- Online renewal — dimensions
- 1200 × 1800 px to 3000 × 4500 px (3:2 portrait)
- Online renewal — file size
- 200 KB to 5 MB
- Online renewal — head height
- 45%–50% of image height
- Paper application — print size
- 50 mm wide × 70 mm high (two prints)
- Paper application — head height
- 31–36 mm chin to crown
- Background
- Plain white or light-coloured
- Age of photo
- Taken within the last 6 months
- Source
- Commercial photographer; not altered or cropped
Every value in this table is summarized from canada.ca — Passport photo requirements (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)), checked 2026-07-08. Confirm the current values on the official page before you apply.
Check your photo
The tool below is set to the official digital limits. Drop your photo in to check it against each requirement — nothing is uploaded or altered.
For online renewal, ask your photographer for the original, unedited JPEG saved straight from the camera. This page checks that file against IRCC's digital limits and never resizes, crops, compresses, or re-encodes it. If a value fails, ask the photographer for a corrected original rather than editing it yourself.
Drop an image here, or click to browse
HEIC, JPG, PNG, WebP
- Auto-checked
- File size, pixel dimensions, aspect ratio, and file format.
- You must verify yourself
- Head size and position, background, lighting, expression, and colour profile — the tool cannot judge these.
Compliance note. This checks the online-renewal dimensions, aspect ratio, format, and file-size range only. It does not judge head position, expression, lighting, background, or whether IRCC will accept your photo. Canadian passport photos must be taken in person by a commercial photographer.
Reviewed by ExactPic editorial against the official source on 2026-07-08. Spotted something out of date or wrong? Report an incorrect requirement.
Step by step
Get the photo from a commercial photographer
IRCC requires the photo to be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio — not a self-taken or edited image.
Ask for the original digital file (online renewal)
For online renewal, have the studio send the original, unedited JPEG (email, USB, or file-sharing). For a paper application, collect two identical 50×70 mm prints instead.
Check the file below, then upload the original
Confirm the file matches the digital spec, then upload the unaltered original in the IRCC online-renewal application. Do not crop or edit it.
Private by design. Any photo you check here is processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded. ExactPic is not affiliated with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and does not guarantee acceptance — always follow the official guidance.
Source change log
- 2026-07-09 — Added the paper-application head-height requirement (31–36 mm chin to crown) to the specification table.
- 2026-07-08 — Added the IRCC online-renewal digital spec (JPEG, 1200×1800–3000×4500 px, 3:2, 200 KB–5 MB) as a check-only verifier; kept the paper 50×70 mm print path. Corrected the earlier statement that there was no self-submitted digital file.
Other portals
Frequently asked questions
- What are the Canadian passport photo size requirements?
- Paper applications need two identical 50 mm × 70 mm prints with a 31–36 mm head height. For online renewal you upload the photographer's original JPEG, 1200×1800 to 3000×4500 px (3:2), 200 KB to 5 MB.
- Can I take my own Canadian passport photo?
- No. IRCC requires the photo to be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and it must not be altered, edited, or cropped in any way.
- Can I resize my Canada passport photo to fit the upload?
- No. IRCC requires the original, unedited camera file. This page only checks a photographer-supplied file against the spec — if a value fails, ask the photographer for a corrected original rather than editing it yourself.
Keep going
All passport & visa portals
Browse verified photo requirements for every country and document we cover.
Check your photo against custom rules
Enter any form's KB, dimension, and format limits and diagnose your photo privately.
Passport photo maker
Crop to 2×2 inch, 35×45mm, and other passport presets in your browser.
How we verify requirements
Our sourcing, review cadence, and correction policy for government specs.
Official source checked: 2026-07-08