Should You Put a Photo on Your CV? What UK, French and Spanish Employers Expect

If the job is in the UK, leave the photo off. A British recruiter doesn't expect one, and plenty would rather not see it. Apply in France or Spain and the answer changes, so what decides it is where the job is.

Where the job is	Photo on the CV?	What a recruiter makes of it
UK	No	Not expected. A photo makes the CV look like it was written for another market.
France	Optional	Still fairly common. A good photo is fine, a poor one does more harm than having none.
Spain	Usually yes	Most Spanish CVs have one, and its absence can look odd to a local recruiter.

Why UK CVs Leave the Photo Off

The Equality Act 2010 lists the characteristics an employer can't hold against you, among them age, sex, race (including colour and ethnic origin), disability and religion. A photo shows several of those before anyone has read a line of your experience. Employers can't lawfully use any of it, and most prefer not to have it in front of them at all, which is why the UK convention settled on no photo, no date of birth and no marital status.

Adding a photo doesn't break a rule. It just tells the reader you're probably working from a template made for somewhere else, and on a CV that gets a few seconds of attention, that's not the first impression you want.

When a Photo Does Make Sense

There are two cases. The first is when the advert asks for one, which in the UK mostly happens in acting, modelling and presenting, where how you look is part of the job. The second is when the job is in a country where photos are normal, which brings us to France and Spain.

Photos on French and Spanish CVs

In France a photo is a choice, not a requirement. French employment law lists physical appearance among the grounds an employer can't discriminate on (article L1132-1 of the Code du travail), and the French rights ombudsman, the Défenseur des droits, says in its recruitment guide that demanding a photo should only ever be exceptional. Even so, lots of French candidates still put one on, so leaving it off won't look strange and adding a good one won't hurt.

Spain is the market where a photo is closest to standard. Most CVs have one, usually top left or top right. Spain's equal treatment law (Ley 15/2022) bans discrimination in access to work, selection criteria included, so a recruiter isn't meant to judge you on it, but a CV without one can still look unfinished to a Spanish reader. For the full picture on each market, see how to write a CV for France and how to write a CV for Spain.

What a Good CV Photo Looks Like

If you're using one, it needs to look like a professional photo, even if a friend took it on a phone. Head and shoulders, facing the camera, on a plain light background, in daylight from a window rather than a flash. Wear what you'd wear to the interview. It should be recent enough that the person who turns up is clearly you.

What to avoid: holiday shots, cropped group photos, sunglasses, filters, and selfies where the arm gives it away. Keep it small, about passport size, in a top corner, so it doesn't push your experience down the page.

Photos and ATS Software

An applicant tracking system reads text, not images. A photo in the header won't stop it reading the rest, but anything inside the image is invisible to it, so your name, email and phone number must be typed text next to the photo, never part of a picture or a designed banner. Save the CV as a PDF that still has selectable text. If you can't highlight your name in the PDF with your cursor, the ATS can't read it either.

Applying in More Than One Country

Keep two versions of your CV: one with a photo for France and Spain, one without for the UK, Ireland and the US. Trying to make a single CV work everywhere usually means it fits nowhere. The rest of the CV will need adapting too (length, dates, how you present your education), so the photo is often the easiest part of the switch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to put a photo on a CV in the UK?

No. It's a convention, not a law. The law is on the employer's side of the table: they can't base a decision on protected characteristics, which is one reason most of them don't want the photo.

Can I use my LinkedIn profile picture?

Yes, if it meets the same standard: recent, head and shoulders, plain background. Using the same photo on both also makes it easy for a recruiter to match your CV to your profile.

Colour or black and white?

Colour. Black and white reads as a style choice, and the point of a CV photo is to look natural, not artistic.

For more on what to include and what to cut, see how to write a CV in the UK and hobbies and interests on a CV.

Sources: GOV.UK, Discrimination: your rights; the Défenseur des droits guide to recruiting without discrimination; Cuatrecasas on Spain's Ley 15/2022. Checked 5 November 2026.