Turkish Driving Licence Photo — 50×60 mm NVİ Biometric

Where Do You Apply for a Turkish Licence? EGM or NVİ? (2026)

The most common online myth: "the driving licence photo goes to the traffic bureau" — that was true before 2016. With the 2016 transfer, all driving-licence procedures moved from the General Directorate of Security (EGM) Traffic Services to the General Directorate of Civil Registration (NVİ). Today first licences, class upgrades, lost/renewal and foreign-licence conversion are all handled at district civil-registry offices; going to a traffic bureau is a waste of time. Official source: NVİ — Driving Licence.

Walk-in applications are not accepted. You can book a slot via three channels: (1) the randevu.nvi.gov.tr website, (2) an NVİ driving-licence appointment on e-Devlet, (3) the ALO 199 hotline or the NVİ mobile app. Some districts also offer Saturday slots. After the appointment the card is printed and delivered by PTT to your declared address; you do not need to collect it in person. The comparative list is in the full table of document photo sizes.

How Many Biometric Photos Are Needed for a Turkish Licence?

A common misconception: "take 2 photos, one for the traffic bureau and one for the civil registry". The NVİ's official Driving Licence page is explicit: only 1 biometric photo is required — the same for a first application, renewal, class upgrade or lost card. The photo is scanned into the system at the appointment and handed back to you (not kept on file), because the scan is already archived digitally. This is stated at the top of nvi.gov.tr.

Driving school registration must not be confused with the licence application: under the Ministry of National Education's 2024 rule, the school takes the trainee's photo at registration; ask the school whether it also wants printed photos. At the NVİ appointment, only 1 biometric photo is enough; why an old-style ID photo no longer passes is explained in biometric vs regular photo. How many photos other applications need, such as a residence permit or a marriage, is in the guide to how many ID photos each document needs.

Are Glasses Allowed in a Turkish Driving Licence Photo? Official NVİ Text

The NVİ Biometric Photo page states the rule clearly: "Eyes must be clearly visible, there must be no reflections on the lenses, no coloured lenses or sunglasses are allowed. The lens edge or frame must not cover the eyes or be thick enough to cover them." In short, glasses are conditionally allowed: (1) no glare, (2) clear lenses, (3) frame not covering the pupils, (4) not thick. The same condition applies to the passport and ID card photos; there is no extra "prefer glasses" rule in the official text.

Coloured contact lenses, tinted lenses and sunglasses are always rejected. For compulsory glasses wearers no accessory other than glasses is accepted (hats, hoods, pipes, etc.). For headscarf photos the NVİ text reads: "the face must be visible from chin to forehead and there must be no shadows on the face" — allowed for religious reasons as long as the forehead-jawline stays clear. The same detail runs through the Turkish ID card photo and passport photo guides.

What Should a Driving Licence Photo Look Like? Size, Background and ID Card Differences

A Turkish driving licence photo must be a 5×6 cm (50×60 mm) biometric photo: taken within the last 6 months, white background, head 32–36 mm, neutral expression; a classic ID photo is not accepted. As the table shows, the 50×60 mm size is shared across licence, ID card and passport; what changes is the quantity and glasses policy. Documents produced through NVİ share the exact photo standard of the Turkish ID card; a single shoot can serve licence + ID + passport in the same day. General background on the size: 50×60 mm photo guide.

Firearms-licence and private-security-card procedures still go through EGM, but the quantity differs by document. The official ÖGG private-security requirement is 2 photos. See the firearms licence and private security ID guides. Student-ID size and expression rules must be verified with the institution.

Changing a Turkish Driving Licence Photo: Renewal Application, Fee and Required Photo

The photo on a Turkish driving licence is not updated on its own; a new photo arrives with the new card printed after a renewal (replacement) application at a civil registry office. According to the FAQ of NVİ's appointment system, a licence can be replaced before it expires "for a justified reason such as loss/theft, a change in any of the identity details on it, tampering with or breakage of the card, or adding/removing certificate details", or a defect that prevents its use. Refreshing the photo alone is not listed separately, so the safest step is to check your reason with Alo 199 before booking. The natural moment for a new photo is expiry: M, A1, A2, A, B1, B, BE, F and G licences are valid for 10 years, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE licences for 5 years, and the renewal file asks for a new photo anyway.

2026 fee: renewing a licence issued after 2016 (new type) costs a 1,690 TL valuable-paper fee + a 425 TL foundation service fee, 2,115 TL in total; both are also charged for a renewal after loss or theft. The valuable-paper fee is paid at banks authorised to collect tax, PTT branches, tax-office counters or online via the Revenue Administration, the foundation fee into the bank accounts of the Turkish Police Organisation Strengthening Foundation. For swapping a pre-2016 (old type) licence for a new one, NVİ's table adds a class-based duty as well; the amounts are on the NVİ application fees page. The renewal file: ID document, your current licence unless lost, a driver health report, a blood-group statement and 1 biometric photo taken within the last 6 months; the photo is scanned and returned, and the new card is sent to your address by PTT free of charge. You can prepare that 50×60 mm photo from a phone shot: the AI checks size and background and the print ships within Turkey; the current cost of the digital file and print is on the biometric photo price page.

From Home Shoot to PTT Delivery: How the Process Runs?

A single selfie taken 30-50 cm in front of a plain white wall, phone held vertically at eye level, is enough. vesikalik.com.tr auto-frames the head to the 32-36 mm band with MediaPipe FaceLandmarker's 478-point mesh, moves the background to white with BiRefNet, and — to comply with NVİ's ban on photocopies and home printouts — provides a professional print. A 591×709 pixel (300 DPI) JPEG plus 50×60 mm professional print ships within Turkey.

At the NVİ appointment the steps run as: (1) ID check, (2) digital fingerprint + signature capture, (3) your photo is scanned and returned, (4) the printed application form is signed, (5) data is saved to the system. The licence card is printed and delivered by PTT to your declared address; if you cannot receive it, you may pick it up from the district office. The e-Nabız "fit-to-drive" health report, licence fee (PTT/bank) and blood-group statement must be ready beforehand — those can be completed in minutes via enabiz.gov.tr and partner banks. Every document size is listed on the Turkish biometric photo sizes by document page. In İstanbul the driving licence application is filed at the district population office; your district's switchboard and whether the print arrives by courier or cargo are on the İstanbul passport photo page, with Esenyurt as a courier-zone example. Driving schools can open a request for a whole intake on the İstanbul on-site group shoot page.