Firearm and shotgun certificate photo maker

A paper application on Home Office Form 201 for a firearm or shotgun certificate needs one photograph, and the form's notes say an ordinary passport-style photo, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, is suitable. It must be of a professional standard on a plain cream or grey background; online applications use a digital photo instead.

Free, no watermark
Photo stays on your device
No retouching
Rules checked 12 November 2026

Firearm and shotgun certificate photo requirements

Paper application	One photograph
Size	Passport-style photographs, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, are suitable
Background	Plain cream or grey, with no other objects or people
Quality	Professional standard; if printed, on good quality gloss or matt paper
Face	True likeness, full face, no head covering unless worn for religious or medical reasons
Expression	Looking straight at the camera, neutral, eyes open, mouth closed
Online application	A digital photo must be used; file rules are set by each police force's online form
Where it applies	Form 201 is used in England, Scotland and Wales, for grant and renewal

Checked against the official source on 12 November 2026. Source: Home Office: Form 201, application for the grant or renewal of a firearm and/or shotgun certificate (notes, paragraph 20) · GOV.UK (Home Office): Firearms application forms · Thames Valley Police: Before you apply for a firearm or shotgun certificate. Rules change without notice, so read the official page before you submit.

What the photo must show

A true, current likeness of you, full face.
You looking straight at the camera with a neutral expression, eyes open and mouth closed.
No head covering, unless it is worn for religious or medical reasons.
No sunglasses or tinted glasses.
No "red eye".
A plain cream or grey background with nobody and nothing else in it.

Recommended framing: the official rules give no exact head size for this photo, so the examples use our recommendation of about 64 to 76% of the photo height, from chin to the top of the hair. The tool marks it as a recommendation, not a rule.

Why there is no background remover. Official photo rules refuse photos whose background has been changed by software, so this tool never alters your photo. If the check says the background is not plain, retake the photo against a plain, light wall: how to get a plain background at home.

One national form, applied for through your local force

Firearm and shotgun certificates in England, Scotland and Wales are granted by the police force where you live, but the application form and its notes are published by the Home Office. Form 201 covers both certificate types, both new applications and renewals, and its photo note is the same everywhere: one photograph for a paper application, passport-style 45 × 35 mm, plain cream or grey background, gloss or matt paper.

Applying online

Where your force takes applications online, note that Form 201 says only that a digital photograph must be used for online applications, so file limits come from your force's own form. As an example, Thames Valley Police asks for a JPG or JPEG of no more than 1 MB, with the same content rules as the paper form. The digital download from this tool is a JPG kept under 1 MB, but check your force's application page before uploading.

Northern Ireland

Form 201 applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Firearms licensing in Northern Ireland is a separate system and is not covered here.

Common problems with firearm certificate photos

A white or patterned background instead of plain cream or grey.
A casual photo cropped from a larger picture rather than a professional-standard portrait.
Tinted glasses or sunglasses.
Red eye from a direct flash.
A cap or hat that is not worn for religious or medical reasons.
A digital file too large for your force's online form.

A fictional woman photographed correctly for an ID photo: facing the camera, neutral expression, plain off-white wall, even light. — Example photos show a fictional person and were generated for this site as illustrations.

The same woman lit from one side, with a dark shadow on the wall behind her and one side of her face darker. — Example photos show a fictional person and were generated for this site as illustrations.

More on this in why ID photos get rejected. The examples use an off-white wall. The background row in the table above gives the exact colour this document asks for.

How to use this tool

Ask someone to take the photo from about 1.5 m, at eye level, in even daylight in front of a plain wall.
Add the photo above. The tool finds your face and frames it to the size on this page.
Check the green lines: one on the top of your head, one on your chin. Drag or zoom to adjust.
Read the automatic checks, then download. Nothing in the photo is retouched, only cropped and resized.

Questions about the Firearm / shotgun certificate photo

What size photo do I need for a firearm or shotgun certificate?

The Home Office Form 201 notes say ordinary passport-style photographs, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, are suitable for a paper application.

How many photos do I need for a shotgun certificate?

One. Form 201 says paper applications must be accompanied by one photograph, and the declaration asks you to confirm that you have enclosed one photograph.

What background does a firearms licence photo need?

A plain cream or grey background with no other objects or people in it, according to the Form 201 notes.

Can I apply online with a digital photo?

Yes, where your police force offers online applications. Form 201 says a digital photograph must be used for online applications. File limits are set by the force: Thames Valley Police, for example, asks for a JPG or JPEG no larger than 1 MB.

Does my referee need to sign my photo?

The current Form 201 notes do not ask for the photograph to be signed. Follow any extra instruction from your own police force.