U.S. Passport Photo Requirements
A summary, in this site's own words, of the photo requirements on the U.S. Department of State's Passport Photos page, for the printed photo that goes with a paper application. Read the State Department's page for the full wording and examples.
The requirements at a glance
Each row sums up one part of the Passport Photos page. The text of the page was retrieved on October 16, 2026.
| Requirement | What the page says | Source | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo size | 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) when printed. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Head size | 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm), measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.Hair may go past the edges of the photo, as long as the whole head is in the photo and is the right size. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Head position | Head and shoulders centered in the photo, with the whole head showing. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Background | White or off-white and plain, with no shadows, texture, objects, or lines. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Lighting | Even light across the face. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Expression and eyes | Face the camera straight on with the whole face in view and the head level. The colored parts of the eyes need to be clearly visible. A smile is fine, with the eyes open and the mouth closed. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Glasses | Take off eyeglasses, sunglasses, and tinted glasses. For exceptions, see the State Department's page. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Hats and head coverings | Take off any hat or head covering. For exceptions, see the State Department's page. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| How recent | A color photo taken within the last 6 months. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Image quality | High resolution and not blurry, grainy, or pixelated, with no visible printer dots. The page gives no minimum number of pixels. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Paper | Printed on matte or glossy photo-quality paper. Photocopies and scanned photos are not allowed. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Digital changes | Submit the original photo, not one changed with computer software, phone apps, or filters. The State Department checks photos for digital changes.One of its examples of a photo not to submit has a background cut out with a retouching tool, which changes the outline of the head, face, and neck. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
| Children and babies | A baby's eyes don't have to be fully open. No one else can be in the photo, and a child's expression needs to be neutral. | Passport Photos | October 16, 2026 |
Crop your own photo to the size
The YepPhoto tool lets you crop a photo you took yourself to 2 × 2 inches, with a guide for the smallest and largest head size on the crop. You place the crop, and you check the result yourself. It also makes a print sheet with cut marks and a ruler, and a digital photo for online renewal.
Who needs a printed photo
The printed photo goes with a paper application. The State Department's pages ask for a photo with each of these:
- Adults applying in person, including first-time applicants and adults who can't renew. The acceptance agent or passport employee reviews the photo and staples it for you. See Apply for Your Adult Passport.
- Children under 16. The photo goes with the child's application. See Apply for a Child's Passport Under 16.
- Renewals by mail. You staple the photo to the application yourself, as the page describes. See Renew Your Passport by Mail.
Renewing online uses a digital photo instead. See digital photos for online renewal.
The text of these State Department pages was retrieved on October 16, 2026.
Checklist
Check each item yourself. This site does not measure or check your photo, and checking these items does not mean the U.S. Department of State will accept it. The Department makes the final decision.
- Taken within the last 6 months.
- In color, not black and white.
- Chin on the chin line, and the top of the head inside the band.
- Head and shoulders centered, with the whole head in the photo.
- Looking straight at the camera, whole face showing, head level.
- Both eyes open, with the colored parts of the eyes easy to see.
- Mouth closed. Smiling is fine.
- No glasses of any kind, including sunglasses and tinted glasses.
- No hat or head covering. For exceptions, see the State Department's page.
- Plain white or off-white background, with no shadows, patterns, objects, or lines.
- Even light across the face.
- Sharp, not blurry, grainy, or pixelated.
- Not changed with editing software, apps, or filters.
- Printed on matte or glossy photo paper, with no visible printer dots.
- Not a photocopy or a scan of a photo.
- The printed photo measures 2 × 2 inches (check it with the scale on the sheet).
- For a child: no other person in the photo.
- For a child: a neutral expression.
- For a baby: the eyes do not have to be fully open.
This site only crops, scales down, and rotates in 90-degree steps, and saves the result as a JPEG. It does not edit the background, face, color, or lighting. Treating these steps as not changing the photo is this site's reading of the State Department's pages, not a statement from the Department. Whether a photo is accepted is decided by the U.S. Department of State.
The chin line and the band are the guide drawn on the crop in the YepPhoto tool. Items that start with “For a child” or “For a baby” apply only to those photos.
Sources
- U.S. passport photo requirements (printed photo), summary version 4
- Source: Passport Photos. Retrieved October 16, 2026.