In short
- No law requires a photo on a German CV. The AGG protects you from discrimination, and the choice is yours.
- A photo is still common in Germany, and expectations differ a lot between industries.
- If you use one, make it a recent, professional portrait and keep it separate from the text in your CV header.
You are about to send your first application in Germany. The template you found has a round photo in the corner, a friend says photos are outdated, and a forum thread says you will be rejected without one.
This article answers one question: do you need a photo on a German CV in 2026, and if you use one, what should it look like? You get the legal position with sources, a simple way to decide, and a do/don't table for the photo itself.
Is a photo on a German CV required?
No. There is no legal obligation to put a photo on your CV, and you can apply without one.
The law that matters here is the General Equal Treatment Act, the AGG (official English translation). Section 1 names six protected characteristics: ethnic origin (including race), gender, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation. It explicitly covers selection criteria and recruitment (§ 2), and applicants count as employees under the Act (§ 6). Job ads may not be written in a way that breaks this rule (§ 11).
A photo shows several of those characteristics at a glance. That is why the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency advises employers not to ask for photos, age or place of birth in job ads (guidance for employers, in German).
No law requires a photo on a German CV. Leaving it out is a choice, not a mistake.
One honest limit: the AGG does not contain a sentence that says "employers may never ask for a photo". What it forbids is treating you worse because of a protected characteristic. If you think that happened to you, the agency explains how claims work and which evidence counts (applications and the AGG, in German). This article is general information, not legal advice.
Why so many German CVs still have a photo
Optional does not mean unusual. Make it in Germany, the federal government's portal for skilled workers, notes that German employers frequently still expect one, but that this varies a great deal by sector (Applying for a job).
So the photo is a habit, not a rule. If you come from the US or the UK, where CVs usually have no photo, both choices are open to you here. What signals that you know the German market is the rest of the document: a clear structure, complete dates and language levels such as "German: B2".
When to include a photo and when to leave it out
Include one when
- the job ad or the company's careers page shows that a classic German application is expected, and you have a good photo
- the role is client-facing and the industry around it is traditional, so a missing photo would stand out more than a present one
- you are sending the CV directly to a person, for example after a referral or a career fair conversation
Leave it out when
- the employer uses an anonymised process or an application form without a photo field
- the job ad asks for applications without a photo
- you don't have a photo that meets the standard in the table below
No photo is better than a bad photo.
That last point decides more cases than any rule. A blurry selfie tells the reader more about your judgement than an empty corner does.
What a good CV photo looks like
If you include a photo, it should not draw attention. The reader should notice your experience first. This table covers what to do and what to avoid.
| Aspect | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | Head and shoulders, facing the camera | Full body, side profile or a group photo cropped down to you |
| Background | Plain and calm, light grey or a soft neutral tone | Holiday scenery, a busy office, a kitchen |
| Light and sharpness | Even light, sharp focus, natural colours | Harsh shadows, blur, strong filters |
| Clothing | What you would wear to the interview for this role | Clothes that would look out of place in that interview |
| Expression | Neutral or a light, natural smile | Sunglasses, hats, forced poses |
| Age of the photo | Recent, so you are recognisable at the interview | A photo from five or more years ago |
| Source | A professional portrait or a carefully taken photo with good light | A selfie at arm's length or a webcam screenshot |
| Size in the file | A small portrait, sharp at normal zoom | Stretched, pixelated or larger than your name |
A professional photographer helps, but is not required. What matters is the result: even light, a calm background and a steady frame.
Where to place the photo so software can read your CV
The usual place is the CV header, top right, next to or above your name and contact details. Keep it inside the layout. A photo that overlaps text or sits behind it looks careless.
Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that read the text of your CV before a person sees it. The photo itself is not the risk. The risk is text that is part of an image, so software cannot read it.
Here is an illustrative before and after for a CV header:
| Version | Header | What software reads |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Photo, name, phone and email designed as one image | Nothing from the header, so your contact details are missing |
| After | Photo as a separate image, name and contact details as real text, email and LinkedIn as clickable links | Name, phone, email and links |
Your photo is for people. Your text is for people and software, so keep it real text.
Before you send the CV, export it as a PDF and select the text in the header with your mouse. If you can't highlight your name and email, software probably can't read them either.
Check the final PDF before you send it
The TalentVP ATS Check scores your CV with deterministic rules you can check, not an AI guess, and shows what to fix. It works on English, German and Turkish CVs, and you can use it without signing up. More than 1,000 CVs have been checked with it so far.
Run the exact PDF you plan to send, photo and all, and fix what the report flags.
The photo is one small decision on a German CV. For the full structure, from personal details to language levels, read the German CV guide, which covers each section in order.
