Do you need a photo on a German CV?

The legal position: optional under the AGG

Germany's Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG), the General Equal Treatment Act that came into force in 2006, is the reason the photo question is not straightforward. The law prohibits discrimination based on age, gender, ethnic origin, religion, disability and other protected characteristics. Because a photo reveals several of these at a glance, employers are no longer allowed to require one, and they cannot lawfully reject you for omitting it.

This means the decision is entirely yours. A missing photo is never grounds for rejection, and a growing number of larger companies, public-sector bodies and international firms explicitly request anonymised applications with no picture at all. If a job advert says 'anonymisierte Bewerbung' or asks you to leave out personal photos, follow that instruction exactly.

For foreigners applying from abroad, this is reassuring: you are not breaking any convention by submitting a photo-free CV, and it can be the safer choice when you are unsure of a company's culture.

Why most German CVs still include one

Legal theory and hiring reality differ. Despite the AGG, the professional Bewerbungsfoto remains deeply rooted in German application culture, especially in traditional industries, the Mittelstand, and small to mid-sized regional employers. Many recruiters still unconsciously expect a photo and read its absence as an incomplete or slightly foreign-looking application.

A good photo can work in your favour. It signals professionalism, effort and confidence, and it helps a recruiter connect a name to a face when they are reviewing dozens of candidates. For customer-facing roles in particular, a warm, competent image can reinforce the impression your qualifications create.

The pragmatic rule for newcomers: when the advert is silent on the matter and the employer is a conventional German company, include a professional photo. When applying to large corporates, tech firms, universities or anything advertised as anonymised, leave it out. When in doubt, a clean, photo-free layout is never wrong.

What a professional Bewerbungsfoto looks like

If you do include a photo, it must look like a business headshot, not a holiday snapshot or a phone selfie. Germans take this seriously enough that dedicated photographers offer Bewerbungsfoto sessions. Expect to invest in one good image you can reuse across applications.

The photo belongs in the top area of the first page, usually in the header beside your name and contact block or in the top-right corner. Standard dimensions are roughly 3.5 by 4.5 centimetres in portrait orientation. Dress as you would for the interview, use a neutral background, keep a natural expression, and make sure the lighting is even and the resolution high.

Avoid cropping a group photo, using filters, or reusing a casual social-media picture. A poor photo damages your application more than no photo at all, so if you cannot get a professional one, omit it and let your experience speak.

Making the call for your application

Weigh three things: the employer type, the advert's wording, and your own comfort. International and tech-forward companies trend toward no photo; traditional German SMEs still lean toward including one. When you use a structured template, the layout should hold together whether or not a photo is present, so you can adapt per application without redesigning the page.

There is also a practical, machine-side reason to be careful. Applicant tracking systems parse the text of your CV, and a photo embedded in a header table or floated box can push your name and contact details into a region the parser mishandles. If you keep the photo, make sure the surrounding text still reads cleanly as plain, ordered content. Running the file through an ATS check before you send confirms the software can still find your name, roles and dates around the image.

Whatever you choose, keep the rest of your Lebenslauf consistent with German expectations covered across this guide, from length to personal details to the closing signature, so the photo decision is the only variable you are adjusting. Consistency across the whole application matters more than any single element, and a recruiter reading dozens of CVs rewards the one that is easy to scan from top to bottom.

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