Photo, Date of Birth & Personal Details on a CV
The short answer
The trap is that both groups feel obvious from inside. If you grew up writing CVs with a photo and a date of birth, a bare US resume looks evasive. If you grew up without them, a German Lebenslauf looks intrusive. Neither instinct travels. Use the country's rule, not your own.
This guide covers each field one at a time. For the wider format rules — length, document name, language and section order — see the international CV format guide.
Should you put a photo on your CV?
❌ No photo — anti-discrimination markets
🇺🇸 United States · 🇨🇦 Canada · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · 🇮🇪 Ireland · 🇮🇱 Israel · 🇦🇺 Australia · 🇳🇿 New Zealand
In these markets, employment law makes employers cautious about seeing protected characteristics before shortlisting. Many large recruiters will not forward a CV that carries a photo, because doing so creates a paper trail they would rather avoid. This is not about how professional your headshot looks — a perfect photo is still a liability here. Use the space for a stronger professional summary instead.
✅ Photo expected — formal-headshot markets
🇲🇽 Mexico · 🇩🇪 Germany · 🇦🇹 Austria · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · 🇫🇷 France · 🇪🇸 Spain · 🇮🇹 Italy · 🇵🇱 Poland · 🇵🇹 Portugal · 🇷🇺 Russia · 🇹🇷 Türkiye · 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates · 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · 🇶🇦 Qatar · 🇰🇼 Kuwait · 🇴🇲 Oman · 🇯🇵 Japan · 🇨🇳 China · 🇰🇷 South Korea · 🇵🇭 Philippines · 🇮🇩 Indonesia · 🇻🇳 Vietnam · 🇪🇬 Egypt · 🇧🇷 Brazil · 🇦🇷 Argentina · 🇨🇴 Colombia
Here the photo is part of the document's structure, not decoration. In Germany especially, a Bewerbungsfoto is such an established convention that its absence prompts a question rather than avoiding one. Gulf employers generally expect a passport-style photo alongside nationality and visa status.
🟡 Optional — either way is fine
🇳🇱 Netherlands · 🇧🇪 Belgium · 🇸🇪 Sweden · 🇳🇴 Norway · 🇩🇰 Denmark · 🇮🇳 India · 🇸🇬 Singapore · 🇲🇾 Malaysia · 🇿🇦 South Africa · 🇳🇬 Nigeria · 🇰🇪 Kenya · 🇨🇱 Chile
When a market is genuinely split, omit the photo. No recruiter in an optional market has ever rejected a candidate for leaving it out, but a poor photo can still count against you.
What a CV photo should actually look like
When the country does expect one, the standard is closer to a passport photo than a LinkedIn portrait:
- Framing: head and upper chest, face taking roughly 60% of the frame, eyes to camera.
- Background: plain and light — white, light grey or a soft neutral. No rooms, no outdoors.
- Dress: match the industry. Suit or blouse for finance, law and consulting; a clean collar is enough for tech and healthcare.
- Expression: neutral or a light smile. Professional, not stiff.
- Size and placement: around 3.5 × 4.5 cm, top-right corner or in the template's sidebar.
- Recency: within the last two years, and recognisably you.
A cropped group photo, a holiday or wedding picture, a selfie, a filtered or beautified image, sunglasses, a car interior, or a photo where someone else's arm is still visible. In markets that expect a photo, a bad photo is worse than none.
QuickCVLab's headshot-ready templates — Berlin, Europa, Terra and Slate — place and crop the photo correctly for you, and the photo never leaves your device.
Should you put your date of birth on your CV?
The reasoning differs by market. In common-law countries, age is a protected characteristic and its presence creates legal exposure for the employer — so recruiters filter it out on sight. In structured-Europe and Gulf markets, the date of birth sits in a persönliche Daten or personal-details block alongside nationality, and omitting it reads as an incomplete document rather than a principled stand.
A middle path exists and is worth knowing: France commonly uses an age ("34 ans") rather than a full date of birth, which gives the recruiter the information without exposing your full birth date to identity-theft risk on public job boards.
How to write a date of birth so nobody misreads it
This is the part almost every guide skips, and it causes real confusion. The same six digits mean different things in different countries:
| Written as | Read in the US as | Read in Europe / India as | Read in Japan / Sweden as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/13/1976 | 13 December 1976 | Invalid — no 13th month | Invalid |
| 13/12/1976 | Invalid | 13 December 1976 | Invalid |
| 05/06/1976 | 5 June 1976 | 6 May 1976 | Ambiguous |
| 1976-12-13 | 13 December 1976 | 13 December 1976 | 13 December 1976 |
| 13 December 1976 | Correct | Correct | Correct |
The same rule applies to employment dates. Write March 2022 – June 2025 rather than 03/2022 – 06/2025, and never abbreviate a year to two digits.
Where to put your date of birth on a CV (and what to call it)
A typical personal-details block on a European, Gulf or Asian CV looks like this:
Date of birth: 13 December 1976
Nationality: Indian
Marital status: Married (only where conventional)
Visa status: Employment visa, transferable (Gulf)
- Label: “Date of birth” is the clearest wording. “DOB”, “Birth date” and “Birthday” are understood, but the full label reads more formally and parses cleanly.
- Age instead of a date: France and some other markets often accept an age (“34 years”) instead of the full date.
- Place of birth: add it only where it is still customary — some Gulf, South Asian and older German-style CVs — as city and country on one line (“Place of birth: Pune, India”). Most employers in Europe and North America do not expect it.
- Height and weight: leave them out unless the job has a physical requirement and the ad asks — cabin crew, police, security, some hospitality roles and some Gulf or Asian recruitment agencies. Then one line is enough (“Height: 172 cm”); add weight only if it is explicitly requested.
- Passport: for overseas jobs, “Passport: valid until 2031” shows you can travel. Keep the passport number for the employer’s own form.
- Military service status: include one line (for example “Military service: completed, 2014–2016”) only where employers usually ask — such as some roles in South Korea, Türkiye, Israel or Singapore. Elsewhere, leave it out.
- Resume vs CV: a US-style resume never includes a date of birth. If a US job asks for your age, it will ask in the application form, not on the resume.
In the free CV builder, choose a country format and the date of birth appears in the right place automatically. You can also set it to Always show or Always hide, and that one setting applies to the preview, the PDF and the Word file.
Marital status
Marital status is the field most likely to be a genuine mistake, because it has largely disappeared from Western CVs while remaining standard elsewhere.
- Leave out: US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Israel, Singapore. In several of these it is explicitly legally sensitive.
- Still conventional: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Russia, Türkiye, Egypt, Nigeria, the Philippines — and, in India, for government, PSU and traditional employers.
- Optional: Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Latin America, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa.
When it is optional, leave it out. When it is expected, one word in the personal-data block is enough — "Marital status: Married". Some forms say civil status instead (common in the Philippines and Latin America) — it means the same thing and follows the same rule. Never add children's names or ages anywhere.
Nationality, visa and work-permit status
This field is different from the others: it is not about convention, it is about whether the employer can legally hire you. Where that question is live, answering it up front is a genuine advantage.
- Gulf states (UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman): nationality plus current visa status and notice period. In Saudi Arabia, say whether your Iqama is transferable. This is the single highest-value line you can add to a Gulf CV.
- Switzerland: permit category — B, C or L — decides your hireability. State it.
- Singapore: Citizen, PR, EP or S Pass eligibility.
- US, Canada, UK, Australia: do not give your nationality. If relevant, write one neutral line: "Authorised to work in the UK — no sponsorship required."
- EU applications: if you are an EU citizen applying within the EU, no statement is needed. If you are not, state your permit position plainly.
What never belongs on a CV, anywhere
- National ID, passport, social security or Aadhaar numbers — hand these over after an offer, never on a document you upload to job boards. (Some Latin American and African application forms ask for an ID number; that is the form, not the CV.)
- Full home address. City and country is enough everywhere; a street address is an identity-theft risk.
- Religion, caste, political affiliation or trade-union membership.
- Health conditions or disability status, unless you are choosing to request an accommodation.
- Current or expected salary — unless the advertisement explicitly asks (common in Malaysia and parts of the Gulf).
- Bank details, or a photo of any identity document.
When you genuinely cannot tell
Two reliable tiebreakers:
- Follow the employer, not the country. A multinational's Bangalore office screens like its head office. A local government body screens like the local norm. When the two conflict, the employer wins.
- Look at the application form. If the portal has separate fields for date of birth and nationality, it does not need them on the CV as well.
And if you are still unsure: omit personal data and keep the CV strong on results. The downside of leaving a field out in a market that expects it is mild. The downside of including it in a market that treats it as a legal risk is your application being discarded unread.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put my date of birth on my CV?
Only where the country expects it. Leave it off for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia. Include it for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia, the Gulf, China, Japan, Korea and most of Latin America.
How should a date of birth be written on an international CV?
Neither. Spell the month: 13 December 1976. Numeric dates flip meaning between the US (month-first), most of the world (day-first) and Japan, China, Korea and Sweden (year-first). The ISO form 1976-12-13 is a safe second choice.
Where should I put my date of birth on a CV?
In the personal-details block under your name and contact details, labelled Date of birth — for example “Date of birth: 13 December 1976”. Not in the page header or footer.
Should I write DOB, birth date or date of birth on a CV?
Write the full label Date of birth. DOB and birth date are understood but less formal.
Should I mention military service status on a CV?
Only where employers in that country usually ask — for example in some roles in South Korea, Türkiye, Israel or Singapore. One short line in the personal-details block is enough.
Should I put a photo on my CV?
No for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Yes for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia, the Gulf, China, Japan, Korea and Latin America. Optional in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, India, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa.
Should I include marital status on a CV?
Leave it off in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia. It is still conventional in the Gulf, Russia, Türkiye, Egypt, Nigeria and the Philippines. Where it is optional, omit it.
Should I put my nationality and visa status on a CV?
Yes wherever it decides whether you can legally be hired — the Gulf states, Switzerland (permit B/C/L) and Singapore (Citizen/PR/EP/S Pass). In the US, UK, Canada and Australia, confirm only your right to work, without stating nationality.
Should I put my height and weight on a CV?
No, unless the job has a physical requirement and the ad asks for it — cabin crew, police, security, some hospitality roles or overseas recruitment through Gulf and Asian agencies. Then add one line such as “Height: 172 cm”. Add weight only if it is explicitly requested.
What does civil status mean on a CV?
It is another name for marital status, used mainly in the Philippines, Latin America and some application forms. Write one word (“Civil status: Single”) and include it only where the country or the form expects it.
Should I put passport details on a resume?
Not the number. For overseas and Gulf jobs, “Passport: valid until 2031” is enough to show you can travel. Give the passport number only on the employer’s or agency’s own form, or after an offer.
Is it safe to put personal details on a CV uploaded to job boards?
Include only what the country genuinely expects. Never put an ID or passport number, full street address or bank details on a CV you upload anywhere. QuickCVLab builds the document entirely in your browser, so your photo and personal data are never uploaded to us.
What kind of photo should go on a CV?
A recent, formal headshot on a plain light background, shot from the chest up, in business dress matching the industry, with a neutral or lightly smiling expression and eyes to camera. Roughly 3.5 by 4.5 centimetres, placed top-right or in a sidebar. Never use a cropped social photo, a holiday picture, a selfie or a filtered image.
General hiring conventions, not legal or immigration advice. When an employer, agency or government portal asks for something different, follow their instructions.