Why do I need to take a photo when I bring my own photo for the driver's license medical examination?
2 Answers
There are no mandatory regulations for the driver's license medical examination photos, and you can bring your own, but the photos must meet certain requirements. The following are the relevant introductions about driver's license photos: 1. Background: The background color should be white, without wearing uniforms, and the portrait should be clear, rich in layers, natural in expression, and without obvious distortion. 2. Size: The photo size should be 32mm x 22mm, with a head width of 14mm to 16mm and a head length of 19mm to 22mm. 3. Validity: Applicants applying for a motor vehicle driver's license and temporary motor vehicle driving permit need to provide a front-facing, bareheaded, color, single-person half-length ID photo taken within the last 6 months.
It's really not intentional to make things difficult when the driver's license physical exam asks you to bring a photo but then takes a new one on the spot. I experienced this myself last year when renewing my license—I had even carefully selected a nicely retouched ID photo. The staff explained that it's mainly to prevent impersonation, as the DMV cameras are directly connected to the public security system backend to verify on the spot whether it's really you. Additionally, the photo you bring might have poor lighting or incorrect dimensions, making it unreadable by the system. Thinking about it, it makes sense—a friend of mine once witnessed someone trying to use a photoshopped old photo to cheat during an out-of-town driver's license test. But the most practical reason is that the DMV has its own strict photo specifications, with exact requirements for background color, pixel ratio, etc., which random phone photos simply can't meet. Although taking another photo costs an extra twenty yuan, it saves the hassle of submitting additional materials later.
