Everything people ask us, answered against the official New Zealand rules rather than what other photo tools would like to be true. If your question isn't here, it probably belongs in the full requirements.
Yes. New Zealand accepts a digital photo you take yourself, provided it meets the specification. The practical catch is distance and light: prop the camera at eye level about 1.5 metres away, stand in front of a plain light wall, and face a window so the light on your face is even.
A photo taken at arm's length usually fails. A lens that close enlarges the nose and forehead, and distorted photos are rejected. You can absolutely take it yourself — just put the phone down somewhere and step back rather than holding it out.
Either. The booth runs in the browser on both. A phone's rear camera is the sharpest option if someone can hold it for you at eye level; a laptop on a table with you sitting back also works well because the camera stays perfectly still.
New Zealand has no clothing requirement, so a t-shirt is genuinely fine. Practically, a plain darker top contrasts better against a light background than white or a busy pattern. Take off hats, headbands and earphones — those are in the rules.
No. Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and looking straight at the lens. It feels strange and it is the rule everyone breaks by accident — the booth watches your expression and holds off the shutter until it's right.
Sunglasses, tinted lenses and thick frames are out. Clear prescription glasses may be worn if there's a visible gap between your eyes and the frames and no glare on the lenses. Our honest advice is to take them off — glare is nearly invisible on a phone screen and is a leading cause of rejection.
Plain and light — light grey, cream or off-white — with no pattern, no objects and no shadow behind your head. Standing about half a metre off the wall stops you casting one. If the wall is the only thing wrong, we can replace it digitally; that's the one part of a passport photo it's legitimate to fix.
Religious and medical head coverings are permitted, as long as your full face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead is clearly visible and not shadowed. Hats, caps, hoods and headbands are not.
Only if it stays off the person. New Zealand forbids using AI or filters to change how you look, and can reject a photo that has been altered that way — which is worth knowing before you use a tool that quietly smooths skin or straightens your head. Our cleanup replaces the background and nothing else. If something about you is wrong, we tell you to retake it.
35 × 45 mm printed. For an online application, a 3:4 JPEG between 900 × 1200 and 4500 × 6000 pixels, between 250 KB and 5 MB. Every measurement, in one table →
An online passport application takes a digital upload. A paper application needs printed 35 × 45 mm photos. You get both — a JPEG and a 6×4" sheet of six with cut lines — so you don't have to decide first.
Any photo kiosk that does standard 6×4" prints — most supermarkets, pharmacies and photo labs. Choose photo paper rather than plain paper, and don't let the kiosk crop or "auto-enhance" the image.
Taken within the last six months, and it needs to look like you do now. If your appearance has changed noticeably — a beard, very different hair — take a new one even if the old photo is technically in date.
Retakes here are free and unlimited until the photo passes our check — that's the whole point of checking before you download. And if Internal Affairs rejects a photo you bought from us, email the rejection notice to [email protected] and your reshoot is free — as many times as it takes.
$9.99 for the digital photo and the print sheet together. One flat price, no subscription, no upsell, and you only pay once you have a photo you're happy with. Retakes later are free — shoot again any time.
No, and be wary of anyone who does — the decision belongs to Internal Affairs, and an application can be held up for reasons that have nothing to do with the photo. What we guarantee is the photo: it's checked against the published rules before you download it, and if it's rejected your reshoot is free — as many times as it takes. Running it through the official checker before you apply is still a good idea.
Older children who can hold still, yes. For infants the guided capture isn't the easiest tool — a phone held above a plain white sheet usually works better. New Zealand relaxes some rules under one year old: the eyes needn't be fully open, and the baby may lie down. No hands, toys or dummies may be visible.
You can — a pharmacy, stationery shop or AA office will happily do it, usually for around $25, in their opening hours, once you've made the trip and waited your turn. But it's the same job: correct framing, plain background, correctly sized file. Doing it here costs $9.99, takes about two minutes at whatever hour suits you, requires no trip at all, and you can retake it thirty times without anyone sighing at you.
No. The face tracking that frames you runs entirely in your browser, so nothing leaves your device while you're lining up. Only the single captured photo is sent — for the compliance check, and for the background cleanup if you ask for it.
We build for New Zealand ID photos generally — passports, licences and more — but this page, and the check behind it, are written against the passport specification, which is the strictest of them. Other documents have their own rules and we'd rather not imply a photo will pass a check we haven't built. More document types are on the way.
The camera step is free — you'll see your photo and its verdict before you pay a cent.
The same capture serves all five, but each agency asks for its own file. Open a document to see exactly what it wants and where the photo goes — or pick your documents on the home page and shoot them together.
Upload a 3:4 JPEG of 900–4500 × 1200–6000 px, 250KB–5MB, taken within the last 6 months. Upload the JPEG when the online application at passports.govt.nz asks for your photo. Run it through the official checker at onlinephotochecker.passports.govt.nz for the final word.
Upload a 3:4 JPEG of 900–4500 × 1200–6000 px, 25KB–10MB, taken within the last 12 months. Upload the JPEG in the MyFirearms portal when your licence application or renewal asks for a photo. Scanned prints are not accepted — use the digital file.
Upload a JPEG of under 2048 × 2048 px, under 2MB, taken within the last 6 months. Attach the JPEG to your online PSPLA application at justice.govt.nz. Posting a paper form instead? Print the 35 × 45 mm sheet on photo-quality paper.
Upload a 3:4 JPEG of 900–2250 × 1200–3000 px, 512KB–3.14MB, taken within the last 6 months. Upload the JPEG with your online visa or NZeTA application at immigration.govt.nz.
Supply a printed 35 × 45 mm photo taken within the last 12 months. Print the 35 × 45 mm sheet on photo-quality paper at any pharmacy or supermarket kiosk, cut on the lines, and attach a photo to your Kiwi Access application (kiwiaccess.co.nz, AA, or NZ Post).
Driver licence photos are the exception: the licensing agent always takes that photo in store, so no online service can supply one. See the full requirements and the size tables.