The rules for babies
Source, checked September 28, 2026: Passport Photos, U.S. Department of State.
- When a U.S. passport photo shows a baby, no other person or hands may appear, and the baby’s eyes do not have to be fully open.
- The U.S. Department of State sets the printed U.S. passport photo at 2 × 2 in, or 50.8 × 50.8 mm.
- The U.S. Department of State’s passport photo page sets head height at 25.4–34.9 mm (1–1 3/8 in), from chin to top of head.
- A U.S. passport photo needs a white or off-white background.
“No other person can be in the photo.”
Setting up
A plain white sheet, daylight from a window, and a phone held level above the baby. A second adult makes it much easier.
| Setup | How | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Lying on a sheet | Spread a smooth white or off-white sheet on a bed or the floor near a window and lay the baby face up on it. Take the photo from directly above. | Your own shadow and the phone’s shadow falling on the baby. Stand with the window to your side. |
| In a covered car seat | Drape the sheet over the car seat so it covers everything behind and around the baby, then place the baby in the seat and take the photo from the front. | Straps, buckles and the edges of the seat showing past the sheet, and the baby slumping to one side. |
We suggest having one adult hold the phone while the other waits just outside the frame to settle the baby between shots. Take many photos in a row. A baby’s head turns and tilts quickly, and one sharp frame with the face square to the camera is all you need.
What changes for a baby
“It is okay if a baby’s eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.”
That is the one rule the State Department’s passport photo page relaxes for babies, and it gives no age for it. The page also gives two ways to get a plain background without anyone holding the baby. You can “place your child on a plain white or off-white sheet”, or cover a car seat with the sheet and put the baby in the seat.
Everything else about the pose still applies. The page asks that the child face the camera with the full face visible, a neutral expression and no shadows on the face. With a baby, a closed mouth is the safest photo to send.
What stays the same
The photo is 2 × 2 in (50.8 × 50.8 mm), in color, taken in the last 6 months, on a plain white or off-white background with no shadows. The head, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, measures 25.4–34.9 mm, 1–1 3/8 in, as for an adult. A baby’s head is small, so the photo is usually cropped closer than an adult’s to reach that size.
A baby’s photo can’t be filtered, smoothed or edited either. The page says not to change a photo with software, apps, filters or artificial intelligence (see Can you use AI for a passport photo?).
Common problems
- A shadow across the baby from the person holding the phone. Move so the window light falls from the side.
- A hand, an arm or a sleeve at the edge of the frame. Crop can’t fix it if it overlaps the baby; take the photo again.
- The head turned or tilted. Wait for a moment when the face points straight up at the lens.
- Creases, patterns or a toy on the sheet. Smooth the sheet flat and clear everything off it.
- A pacifier or a bottle in the baby’s mouth. Take it out for the photo.
- A blurry photo. Use daylight, hold the phone steady and take a burst.
More on the wall, the light and the phone’s settings is in How to take a passport photo at home.
How Baby mode checks it
Our U.S. passport photo has a Baby mode in the camera. It lets half-closed eyes pass, as the State Department allows. It marks an open mouth as a warning to retake if you can, rather than a fail, since a baby can’t hold a pose; a closed mouth is still the safer photo. Everything else is checked as for an adult, the size and position of the head, the background, the light, the tilt and the sharpness, and the photo is only leveled, scaled and cropped.
A photo for the rest of the family
One photo costs $9.95. Photos for family members are $6.95 each: add them to the same order before you pay, or within 7 days after it. Passport photos for the whole family. If a passport, visa or ID office rejects a photo we made, we refund 100% of the order or make a new photo free. Send us the rejection notice within 60 days of receiving it, and within 6 months of your order. See the full refund terms.