Reference
How big is a passport?
Every passport booklet in the world is the same size, and it is not the size people usually mean when they say "passport size".
The short answer
A passport measures 125×88 mm (4.92×3.46 inches) closed. That is the ID-3 format from ICAO Doc 9303, the standard behind every machine-readable passport, so a Japanese passport and a Nigerian passport share the same footprint. Open, the booklet is 125×176 mm; thickness is the one thing that varies, because page counts do.
If you searched for this while preparing an application, you probably need the photo size, not the booklet: that is 35×45 mm in most of the world and 2×2 inches in the US. Every photo size by country is here.
The four sizes travel documents come in
ISO/IEC 7810 and ICAO Doc 9303 define a small family of formats, and nearly every identity document you will ever hold is one of them.
| Format | Millimetres | Inches | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport booklet (ID-3) | 125×88 mm | 4.92×3.46 in | Every machine-readable passport, worldwide. Same footprint as B7 paper. |
| ID cards and passport cards (ID-1) | 85.6×54 mm | 3.37×2.13 in | Bank-card format: national ID cards, the US passport card, driving licences, green cards. |
| Older ID documents (ID-2) | 105×74 mm | 4.13×2.91 in | A5-quarter format used by some older documents, including France's pre-2021 laminated ID card. |
| Visa sticker (MRV-A) | 120×80 mm | 4.72×3.15 in | Sized to fill a passport page inside the ID-3 booklet. |
Why the one standard exists
The uniform size is not aesthetic. Border-control readers swipe the machine-readable zone at a fixed position, visa stickers are printed to fill an ID-3 page exactly, and automated gates photograph the data page against known dimensions. A country that issued a differently-sized passport would break its citizens' ability to cross borders through any automated channel, which is why compliance is effectively total.
What ICAO does not fix is the inside: cover colour is a national choice, and page counts range from slim service booklets to the 50-page (UK) and 52-page (US) frequent-traveller options. So two passports of identical footprint can differ noticeably in thickness and weight.
"Passport size" almost always means the photo
Forms that ask for a "passport size photo" are asking for your country's photo standard, not anything measured off the booklet. The two common standards are 35×45 mm (most of the world, including the UK, EU and India) and 2×2 inches (the US and a few others), and they are not interchangeable: the head-height bands differ, so a crop that passes in one fails in the other.
Preparing a photo to go in one?
The free check measures a photo you take yourself against the exact rules of your document (head size, background, lighting) in your browser, before you pay anything.
Questions
What are the dimensions of a passport?
125×88 mm, which is 4.92×3.46 inches. That is the ID-3 format defined in ICAO Doc 9303, the standard every machine-readable passport follows, and the same footprint as B7 paper. This is the closed booklet; open, it is 125×176 mm.
Are all passports the same size?
Yes, within a fraction of a millimetre. Machine-readable passports must follow the ID-3 format so that border readers, scanners and visa stickers work everywhere. Covers, page counts and materials differ; the outer dimensions do not.
What is passport size in inches?
The booklet is 4.92×3.46 inches. If you were actually asking about the photo: 'passport size' photos are 35×45 mm (1.38×1.77 inches) in most of the world and 2×2 inches in the United States, which is a different measurement entirely.
Is 'passport size photo' the same as the passport's size?
No, and the shared name causes endless confusion. The photo is a small print of your face (35×45 mm in most countries); the passport is the 125×88 mm booklet it ends up in. A 'passport size photo' request almost always means the photo standard of your country.
How many pages does a passport have?
That varies by country and by option, because ICAO fixes the outer dimensions, not the thickness. Many countries issue booklets in the 26–34 page range and sell a larger version for frequent travellers: the US offers a 52-page book, the UK a 50-page one.
How we handle compliance
- We check your photo against the official rules. We never retouch your face, and we only normalize the background where the destination country permits it.
- Every requirement is cited from official government sources, with the verification date shown on the page.
- What you get is a report of measurements, not a guarantee. Final acceptance always rests with the issuing authority.