UK Driving Licence Photo: Prepare Online Now

Driving Licence Picture UK: Common Questions

1. What are driving licence photo requirements UK?

   The government provides us with pretty much the same rules as for the other types of official document pictures. This means that these official photo guidelines and patterns are quite straightforward and easy to follow. Here’s a short yet complete list of the UK driving licence photo requirements. These specifications should be very helpful for those who have just finished their driving lessons and want to take their shot themselves:

   Photo size

   The British driving licence photo size for printed shots is 35×45 millimetres, with your head taking up no less than 29 and no more than 34 mm in the frame. The proportions for digital shots stay the same.
    
   The driver’s whole head, shoulders and a part of the upper body must be fully visible in the frame.

   Image quality

   No matter whether you’re applying for a full or provisional licence: in the UK, you need to provide coloured photos (submitting black and white images is one of the most common mistakes; these will be rejected instantly). The photograph must be perfectly clear and have a sharp contrast and focus (also, no red-eye effect), so use a high-quality camera. Finally, your snapshot can’t have been altered in any way.
    
   As for the printing quality, your picture has to be printed on high-quality photo paper and have no tears or creases. Such paper used in most places that do printing. If you’re printing at home, remember that you can’t use the usual paper.

   Photo background

   According to the regulations, your new driving licence photo must have a uniform background of light cream colour: it can’t have textures, patterns or include any other objects (otherwise, it’ll make an unsuitable background).

   Lighting and shadows

   If you’re taking your images in a photo booth or a studio, you’ll hardly need to worry about that (as a rule, their lighting is okay). However, if you’re taking your UK driving licence picture at home, make sure that the light seems natural and your face is lit completely. Any shadows are strictly forbidden: the requirements clearly state that lighting must be soft and even.”

   Facial expression and appearance

   As you’d do in any official snapshot, make sure to maintain a strictly neutral facial expression—no smiling, mouth closed, eyes open, look straight into the camera. And if makeup is your thing, it’s best to keep it natural and lowkey (no heavy makeup).
    
   In the UK, facial piercings are generally allowed in the photograph for your driving licence but there shouldn’t be any glare whatsoever. So, if a facial piercing shines, remove it if possible or adjust the lighting.
    
   One more thing about your facial appearance—your photograph must be taken within the last 30 days (i.e. the last month) to match your current appearance and thus be valid. In other words, take your picutre as soon as you get the driving test pass certificate. Don’t take too long: one of the most commonly made mistakes is to use an old shot.

   Hair

   Make sure your hair doesn’t cover your face. If it normally obscures your facial features, try tucking it behind your ears or use an invisible hair clip. In fact, you can’t wear anything that’s not transparent (like headbands and so on).

   Clothes, Glasses and Accessories

   Hats are not accepted in a UK driving licence photo. Headwear is allowed for religious purposes only (but it can’t cover, hide or obscure your facial features anyway). As for accessories, make sure not to wear any (like head covering, decorative glasses and so on; lowkey jewellery is allowed).
    
   As for usual glasses, they’re acceptable to wear only if you can’t see properly without them (but any glare or reflections are unacceptable). Also, their frames cannot obscure your appearance and their shape should be neutral (avoid wearing star-shaped glasses, for instance).
    
   As for clothes, try to wear something business-like that won’t match the background colour.
    
   As you see, these requirements are not so strict. Following these pieces of advice, drivers shouldn’t have any trouble submitting their photocard driving licence application form.

2. What are the benefits of getting a UK driving licence photo online?

   Hassle-free digital photos

   Get a UK driving licence photo online without almost any effort. This is how it works: take a usual picture (with your iPhone or Android smartphone, digital camera or webcam), upload it here and our service will automatically crop, edit and convert it into a 100% valid official image. Then, you can save its digital version, a print-ready template or a photo code.

   You meet the DVLA photo rules

   Get pictures 100% compliant with the licence photo guidelines in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland—our certified expert will check that your photo meets the rules. You can easily use shots made here for your British driving licence (to drive a car in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area) or other documents.

   You get same-day prints for £0.59

   Crop and prepare a print-ready 6×4 template with several copies of your perfect biometric photo. Then, have it printed online (say, at the Max Spielmann page www.maxphoto.co.uk/photo-printing.html) for £0.59, pick up your printout in 20 minutes and use it to update an existing licence or get a new one.

   Expert photo verification

   Our certified expert will thoroughly double-check your biometric image—it’ll have the correct UK driving licence photo size, background of light-grey colour, etc. Thanks to this expert verification, your new photo will be 100% suitable for the official application (by post or on the online submission page).

3. Who can sign a driving licence photo?

   If you decide to use another image for your new document but don’t have a biometric residence permit and aren’t a resident of an EEA country, you’ll need to have your photo signed. You can print it and ask another citizen of the United Kingdom with enough authority to sign the back of your printout and thus verify it and confirm your identity.
    
   This signature serves as a kind of certificate: it documents that the signing person has known you at least for two years and ensures that it is really you shown in that photo. Sadly, you can’t just ask your friend to do it. Here’s the list of people who can sign the photo for your UK driving licence:
    

   • Lay magistrate or Justice of the Peace, a local councillor
   • A minister of religion
   • A lawyer, teacher, librarian, or engineer
   • Local business person or shopkeeper
   • A bank or building society officer
   • An established civil servant, a police officer

    
   The person who signs your photo must fill in section 8 of your DL1 application form.

4. What do you write on the back of a driving licence photo UK?

   Once you’ve found your countersignatory (see the previous question), ask them to sign your photograph. It’s not enough for them to simply put a signature on it—any printed shot must be signed as follows:
    
   I certify that this is a true likeness of [title and full name]
    
   Under these words, you guarantor should put their signature and today date.

5. How to renew photo on driving licence?

   You can change your picture when you:
    

   1. Replace your expired document with a new permit
   2. Apply for a provisional version of the document
   3. Replace your UK driving licence with a new one in case it was lost, damaged, or stolen

    
   Whatever the reason, any citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should be able to update their photo online via the DVLA website or a postal services office (provided that they’ve passed the driving test, of course).
    
   Should you choose the former option, the total price will amount to £14, while renewal via a post branch will cost you at least £17. The first option will be most efficient for you: by taking a shot for your documents at home, you’ll save money and time.

6. How to change driving licence photo?

   The first way is to do it online right at the government licensing agency’s website. Once you’re there, go through the list of online submission rules (e.g. you must have a valid UK passport and your National insurance number, be a resident, etc.). When you’ve looked through all the important information and made sure you meet the UK driving licence photo requirements, you need to send your new headshot in. All in all, the website’s instructions are pretty clear, so you shouldn’t have any trouble there.
    
   This same page also has information on the other, more traditional way. Basically, you just need to fill out the submission form, attach your printed photo, a copy of your current driving permit (and a cheque for £17 to it) and head to the nearest post office to have your documents sent.
    
   No matter what option you choose, PhotoBooth Online can help you with either one. You can use practically any photograph to make it into a compliant headshot (just make sure it’s taken within the last month, it’s one of those requirements each photo must follow).

7. How much is a photo driving licence in the UK?

   The total cost can be broken down into two. First, there’s the processing fee. Offline application renewal via a postal service costs £17, but the online application for a driving permit is a little cheaper (£14). Here, you can’t possibly reduce the price (although it’s still worth it: once you get the document it can be used as a European driving licence as well!).
    
   However, when it comes to taking a headshot for your document, there’s this money-saving trick: you don’t have to take your photo in a store, studio or a special machine, just make it online! The available options are numerous, although some are paid and others are non-compliant (and still others are both). By contrast, PhotoBooth Online will make you a biometric photo in seconds!
    
   Whether you need to renew your UK driving licence online or offline (or get a new one), this option is very much worth considering. Get a cheap biometric image here and print it for less than a pound! However, please mind the above-mentioned fee for the update procedure.

8. Where can I get a photo for my driving licence?

   No matter what part of England you live in, there should always be several places where you can get a photo:
    

   • Use a local photo booth (say, a Max Spielmann one). Most stores near your address will most likely have one of those on their premises. Although these machines can give you a set of compliant pictures in a couple of minutes, they are fairly outdated and not too comfortable to use (at least, this is often the case in the UK). For example, they won’t retake your full or provisional driving licence photo if you don’t like it for some reason (if they will, it won’t be free).
      
     Also, this option is far from perfect in terms of control—say, if you don’t manage to keep a plain expression when the countdown ends, you’ll have to pay and take a photo again (and it’ll be the full price of at least thirteen pounds).
      
   • Go to a local shop. In this case, an employee will take and print UK driving licence picture, which makes the whole process more user-friendly (after all, nobody will take a picture of you if you’re not even looking at the camera). Don’t expect a premium service though: for most store employees, taking photos is only a side duty. While you may have to wait for your photographer, they’ll likely want to get it done as quickly as possible, no matter the quality (some shops will give you a compliance certificate though).
      
     Also, this isn’t your best bet if you feel a bit uncomfortable when photographed by a stranger, and the same goes for the next option.
      
   • Visit a dedicated photo studio like Snappy Snaps. A trained photographer will take your image in full compliance with the UK driving licence photo requirements, but you’ll need to pay around £10 or more for two images in print. Should you choose this variant, you’ll have a lot more room for mistakes. In most places, you should be able to retake your picture if it turns out downright bad (and some businesses even offer a compliance certificate and money-back guarantee).
      
     However, there is a major drawback here as well—the prices in such places can go far higher than in photo booths. So, paying that much for a couple of UK driving licence photos may not seem too reasonable.
      
   • Use an online service. There are a lot of options on the web: most of them are paid and only a couple is free. Interestingly, a free driving licence photo isn’t necessarily better than a paid one. While being free, some driving licence photo websites are hopelessly outdated and can’t give you decent quality.
      
     And only a few will offer you good pictures without any unexpected hassle. One of these few is PhotoBooth Online–you can use it to get a valid photo for your documents instantly. All you need to get a picture for your UK driving licence is Internet access and a camera or smartphone. Simply take a usual snapshot with your face fully visible, go to this page, hit the photo upload button and add your newly-made shot. Next thing you know, we turn it into a compliant picture: you’ll be able to download one JPEG for online submission or a template with two digital printable photos.
      

9. How to take a driving licence photo?

   Here’s how to take a picture at home with a digital camera or mobile device:
    

   1. Wear casual clothes. Obviously, it’s the upper body garment that matters most here. Your head and face should be fully visible, so no head coverings or other headwear (however, you’re allowed to wear religious attire)
   2. If you wear glasses for medical reasons, you can keep them on. Please note that any tinted glasses (like sunglasses) are strictly forbidden in the UK driving licence photo requirements. Make sure there’s no reflection that’s too clear
   3. Set up a plain light grey or cream background (same as with the passport photo background colour)
   4. If possible, use even natural sunlight (if it’s too bright or insufficient, turn on an artificial light source). Thus you will avoid shadows on your face and won’t get a wrong background
   5. Stand still, keep a straight pose
   6. Keep eyes open, mouth closed, neutral face expression (don’t smile)
   7. Ask a friend to help you or use tripod to take your own shot for your UK driving licence. You can also try taking a shot on your own but make sure the angle and distance are right

    
   If you’ve taken a bad-quality headshot (with a red-eye effect, for example), just retake it. Don’t use retouch or any selfie editing apps, or photo editing computer software like PhotoShop.