What are the photo rules for a Singapore identity card (NRIC)?
TL;DR The same thirteen rules as the passport. ICA publishes one set of photo guidelines for IC and passport applications. The IC is registered at 15 and re-registered at 30 and 55; each uses a 400 × 514 pixel white-background photo taken within 3 months, with dark head gear and no software alterations.
One guideline, two documents
ICA's photo-guidelines page is titled for both — "Photo-taking Dos & Don'ts for your IC and passport applications" — and the guideline image is the same. Everything on the Singapore passport photo page applies here: white background, neutral face, shoulders and hair visible, dark attire and head gear, clear untinted spectacles, no red eye, no distortion, no alterations by app.
When you actually need one
Registration at 15, re-registration at 30 and at 55. Between those, an IC replacement for loss or damage also takes a photo. Most people meet this rule three times in a lifetime, and each time the photo they used ten or twenty years earlier is not reusable — 3 months, not 3 decades.
The two ICA documents side by side
| Document | Size | Head in frame (as we compose it) | Background | Max age | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore nric | 35 × 45 mm | 56–78% | pure featureless white | 3 months | www.ica.gov.sg |
| Singapore passport | 35 × 45 mm | 56–78% | pure featureless white | 3 months | www.ica.gov.sg |
A real case
A parent preparing a 15-year-old's first IC reused a school photo from the start of the year. It was seven months old and taken against a blue backdrop — two failures. A fresh one against a wall, cropped by the tool, went through.
Common questions
- Can I use my passport photo for the IC?
- If it was taken within the last 3 months, yes — same rules, same size.
- Is the IC photo taken at the counter instead?
- ICA's IC registration page is for a submitted photo. That is different from MOM's work passes, where the photo is taken at the Services Centre.
Related documents
- Singapore nric — 35 × 45 mm
- Singapore passport — 35 × 45 mm
Sources
Read on the issuing authority's own pages on the dates shown on each document page:
- Singapore nric: www.ica.gov.sg (read 2026-09-06)
- Singapore passport: www.ica.gov.sg (read 2026-09-06)
SGfoto is independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by any government or issuing authority — and does not guarantee acceptance. Requirements change; the authority's page is the one that counts. Rebuilt 2026-09-16.