Three ways to renew
Which way you take decides where you go, what you bring and whether you need a photo of your own.
- At the consulate. Book a visit at the office for your state and apply in person. Most take the photo for you: free at Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Dallas (Dallas doesn’t photograph children under 7), from age 8 at Atlanta, and on site at San Francisco, whose notice states no fee.
- On a mobile consular day. Consulates visit other cities for a day or two (순회영사). Bring printed photos: Los Angeles asks for 2, Chicago for 1, and San Francisco says to bring them.
- Online, through 재외동포365. If you have held an electronic passport before, apply at g4k.go.kr with a photo file and collect the passport at the consulate. The file and the certificate it needs are below, under Online reissue.
Every office’s notice is listed under Sources with its date. Rules differ between consulates, so read your own office’s before you book. The full photo rule, drawn to scale, is on our Korean passport photo page.
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Fees
| Applicant | 58 pages | 26 pages |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 18 and older (10 years) | $52 | $49 |
| Age 8 to 17 (5 years) | $44 | $41 |
| Under 8 (5 years) | $35 | $32 |
The San Francisco notice dates these fees from March 1, 2026, and the Chicago and Dallas notices list the same. A new passport that keeps the old one’s remaining validity, after a loss or a name change for example, is $27 at Los Angeles and Dallas. San Francisco takes cash, check or card at the office and only cash or check on a mobile consular day.
How long it takes
- Los Angeles: usually 3 weeks in person; 2 to 3 weeks on average for online applications, or about 1 week with paid DHL delivery.
- Chicago and San Francisco: about 3 to 4 weeks. Both offer DHL express delivery for a fee.
- Dallas: about 4 to 6 weeks, so its notice asks you to apply early.
Need it sooner? The Chicago and San Francisco notices point to an emergency single-use passport for urgent travel. Ask the consulate whether your trip qualifies.
Picking it up
An online application is collected in person: the Los Angeles online notice rules out mail and proxy pickup, and the Chicago notice requires a visit too. Bring your old passport and proof of your U.S. status. A child’s passport applied for online can be collected by the parent who applied, and Los Angeles asks that every passport be collected within 6 months of issue.
After an in-person application, the Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas notices offer mail delivery instead: Chicago asks for a USPS Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope, San Francisco charges $38.25, and Dallas asks for a USPS envelope with stamps. Los Angeles mails at your risk.
Mobile consular days
The next ones with dates in the offices’ own notices, read October 8, 2026. Book through 재외동포365 and bring printed photos.
- Peninsula: November 14, by the Embassy in Washington (notice)
- Tucson, AZ: November 17, by the Los Angeles consulate (notice)
- Richmond: November 21, by the Embassy in Washington (notice)
- Las Vegas, NV: December 8–9, by the Los Angeles consulate (notice)
The photo, in brief
Whichever way you apply, the photo follows Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rule, checked September 28, 2026. Every number is drawn to scale on the Korean passport photo page.
Sources, checked September 28, 2026: 외교부 여권안내, 여권사진 규격 안내; 외교부 여권안내, 온라인용 사진파일 안내.
- Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets the printed Korean passport photo at 35 × 45 mm.
- Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets Korean passport photo head height at 32–36 mm, from chin to the top of the skull, excluding hair.
- A Korean passport photo needs a white background.
- Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepts online passport-reissue JPG photos, 395–431 × 507–550 px and 500 KB or less, recommending 413 × 531 px.
- Glasses are allowed in a Korean passport photo only with no glare on the lenses.
- Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not accept Korean passport photos edited with apps, filters or AI.
Measuring the head without the hair
Korea measures the head from the top of the skull, which the ministry defines as the highest point of the head not counting hair, to the chin. It must be 32–36 mm. The U.S. passport page says chin to top of head without defining hair inclusion; that wording should not be read as a requirement to include hair.
On a 45 mm tall Korean photo the head, without hair, fills 71 to 80 percent of the height. The U.S. print is a different size and uses a different head range. Check the Korean measurement directly; the U.S. print is not a substitute for the Korean format.
The other photo rules
From the ministry’s passport photo rules, revised in October 2022.
- Taken within the last 6 months, in color, upper body facing the front, without a hat.
- Mouth closed with no teeth showing. Keep a neutral face without smiling, squinting or raising your eyebrows.
- Hair must not cover the eyes, the eyebrows or the outline of the face.
- Your ears don’t have to show. That rule was removed on January 25, 2018 (policy briefing).
- Face and shoulders square to the camera, head not tilted, and no close-up that makes the nose and forehead look bigger.
- A uniform white background with no marks or border, and no shadows or reflections.
- Clear glasses are allowed with no glare and frames clear of the eyes. Tinted glasses, sunglasses, colored and circle lenses are not.
- No earphones. Earrings that reflect light or hide the face outline are not accepted.
- Religious head coverings worn in daily life are allowed if the whole face, forehead to chin, shows.
- Children 36 months and younger may have their mouth slightly open. No toys or parents in the photo.
- Printed on photo paper, glossy or matte. Plain paper is not accepted.
AI and background editing
“사진 편집 프로그램, 사진 필터 기능 등을 사용하여 임의로 보정된 사진(AI를 활용한 편집·가공·합성·창조 제작물 포함)은 허용 불가함”Photos corrected at will with photo editing programs or filter functions (including works edited, processed, composited or created with AI) are not accepted.(our translation)
“사진 편집 프로그램(예: 포토샵 등)을 사용하여 배경을 지우거나 흰색 배경에 인물을 임의로 합성한 사진은 제출 불가함”Photos where the background was erased with an editing program such as Photoshop, or where the person was composited onto a white background, cannot be submitted.(our translation)
The Korean Embassy in Washington adds that an AI photo is a created work rather than a photograph and breaks the passport law (notice of July 8, 2025). If your wall isn’t white, the fix is a new photo against a white one. The U.S. rules are in Can you use AI for a passport photo?
Online reissue: the file and the certificate
Koreans abroad can reissue a passport online through 재외동포365 (g4k.go.kr) and collect it at the consulate. The file has its own rules.
The ministry’s online file page asks for a JPG or JPEG of 500 KB or less, 413 × 531 pixels recommended, and accepts only files 395 to 431 pixels wide and 507 to 550 pixels tall. Printed at 35 × 45 mm, the head must still measure 32–36 mm. The page adds that a photo whose head is too short or too long can be refused at the passport review even after it passes the system’s own check, and it cautions against phone photos.
“휴대폰 등 모바일 기기로 촬영된 사진, 사진 편집 프로그램 등으로 과도한 보정을 한 사진은 … 권장하지 않음”Photos taken with a mobile device such as a phone, and photos heavily corrected with a photo editing program, … are not recommended. (The omitted words give the reason: the photo may look different from the person when the passport is issued.)(our translation)
Online reissue also needs a certificate to sign in. The Los Angeles consulate’s notice of September 21, 2026 (revised September 22) says you must have a joint certificate (공동인증서), and that getting one requires being registered as a Korean national abroad (재외국민등록) and a visit to a consulate (online passport reissue notice, read September 30, 2026). The Chicago consulate’s notice, revised August 22, 2026, accepts a joint certificate or simple authentication (간편인증) (passport notice). Ask your consulate which it accepts.
Not everyone can reissue online. The ministry’s eligibility page requires that you have held an electronic passport before, and excludes cases such as a first e-passport, an emergency passport or a change of romanized name. Since June 12, 2026, a legal representative can authenticate and apply online for a child under 18 through 재외동포365 abroad or 정부24 in Korea, and collect the passport on the child’s behalf (the ministry’s June 11 announcement). Cases requiring confirmation of parental authority or guardianship still require a visit. Check the current eligibility page and ask your consulate about your case before choosing a route. The ministry’s online photo checker lets you try a file before you apply.
U.S. and Korean photos compared
| Rule | U.S. passport | Korean passport |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 2 × 2 in (50.8 × 50.8 mm) | 35 × 45 mm |
| Head | 25.4–34.9 mm, chin to top of head (public page wording) | 32–36 mm, without hair |
| Background | White or off-white | White only |
| Glasses | Not allowed | Allowed with no glare |
| Expression | Neutral or a closed-mouth smile | Neutral, no smile |
| Online file | 54 KB to 10 MB | 413 × 531 px, up to 500 KB |
The U.S. rules allow an off-white wall and a closed-mouth smile, while Korea asks for white and a neutral expression. Ask the photo counter for a 35 × 45 mm photo with the head measured without hair, and check it against the Korean rules.
New York’s January 1, 2021 photo notice says U.S. 2 × 2 inch photos may also be submitted. That older notice does not confirm what is accepted for your application today. Check with the receiving consulate for in-person, outreach or representative applications; online reissue has its own file requirements.
Printing in the U.S.
You don’t need a Korean photo studio to print. Lay several 35 × 45 mm photos out at true size on a 4 × 6 inch sheet with cut guides, order it as an ordinary 4 × 6 print at a drugstore or photo kiosk, and cut along the guides. Don’t let the kiosk resize or crop the sheet. How to print passport photos on a 4 × 6 sheet has the settings.
Both from one photo
If you need a Korean and a U.S. document photo, take one photo that satisfies both, against a white wall, with a neutral face, your mouth closed and no glasses. Our Korean passport photo measures the head without the hair, gives you the online file and a true-size 4 × 6 sheet for $9.95. USCIS form photos from the same photo add $3.95; a U.S. passport or visa photo is its own order. The check is free, and you pay once your photo passes our check. 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.
In Korean
The same rules, written in Korean for applicants in the U.S., with the consulate and online reissue routes, are on our Korean page: 한국 여권사진 규격 (미국에서 신청할 때). Our camera and order screens are in English.