Germany’s new, ICAO-compliant biometric passport meets the most stringent security requirements, without unduly impinging on the holder’s privacy. In a series of two articles, Edgar Friedrich and Uwe Seidel of the Bundeskriminalamt’s Forensic Science Institute introduce the new document. The first article describes the overall framework within which the e-passport was developed. It also reviews the most important security features and the strict quality requirements that facial images are required to meet