Selfie Not Matching Your ID Photo

Retake the selfie — sit or stand upright, face a light source, and look as close to your ID photo as possible.

How to fix

Posture matters. Sit or stand when taking your selfie. Lying down with the phone held above your face tilts the camera angle and distorts your features — the comparison fails even if it’s clearly you.

Hold your phone at eye level, arm extended straight in front of you. The camera should be looking at your face, not down at it from above or up at it from below.

Light your face, not your background. Face a window or a lamp. If a bright light source is behind you (a window, a lamp, or the sun), your face appears as a dark silhouette — rejected every time.

• Move so the light falls on your face, not behind you
• Step away from bright windows if you’re getting backlight
• Avoid strong overhead light that casts deep shadows under your eyes

Match your ID photo appearance. The system compares your selfie against the photo on your document.

• If your ID shows long hair → tie it back so it looks similar
• If your ID shows you without glasses → remove glasses
• If you’ve changed your hairstyle or grown a beard since the ID photo → replicate the earlier look as closely as you can

Watch out for

• Dim bedroom lighting is the most common cause — move to a brighter room or near a window
• One retry in the same spot won’t help; change position and lighting first
• Hats, hoods, and heavy hair covering the face cause the same failure as appearance changes