How we verify photo requirements

1. Identify the exact application route

We begin with the country or territory, issuing authority, document, applicant group and submission channel. A printed passport photo and an online passport upload can be different rules even when the document name is the same. We do not merge routes just because a competitor uses one generic page.

2. Prefer first-party evidence

Authority pages, current forms, official PDFs, application help pages and government support answers are primary evidence. Search results and commercial photo sites can help locate a source, but their numbers remain clues until the responsible authority supports them.

3. Attribute every field

A source that proves a 35 × 45 mm print size does not automatically prove pixels, DPI, JPEG, file size or background colour. The internal record names which fields each source supports. Unpublished fields stay absent rather than appearing as “no requirement.”

4. Resolve conflicts conservatively

We separate channels, applicant groups and local hosts before deciding that two values conflict. When a current authority source and a vendor catalog disagree, the authority wins. When the authority is silent, PhotoToSpec does not publish the vendor value as an official requirement.

5. Test the rule in the product

Structured validation checks impossible combinations and missing provenance. Browser tests verify that the fact table, output dimensions, file conversion and related-rule comparisons match the rule record. Boundaries that cannot be measured reliably remain manual checks.

6. Date reviews and accept corrections

Verified pages show their last review date and link to the source. A review date means the cited rule was checked on that date; it is not a guarantee that the authority will never change it. Corrections can be sent through the contact page with a current official source.

The public machine-readable catalog is also available as JSON and CSV. Internal conflict notes and competitor research are intentionally excluded from those exports.