The rules in brief
The State Department’s rules for the photo and the page they come from. The rest of this guide is how to meet them at home.
Source, checked September 28, 2026: Passport Photos, U.S. Department of State.
- 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.
- Glasses are not allowed in a U.S. passport photo.
- A U.S. passport photo may show a neutral expression or a natural smile with the mouth closed.
- On its Passport Photos page, the U.S. Department of State says: “Do not change your photo using computer software, phone apps or filters, or artificial intelligence”.
What you need
A phone, a plain white or off-white wall, daylight, and ten minutes. A second person helps; a shelf and the camera’s timer will do.
The State Department’s passport photo page asks for one color photo taken in the last 6 months, showing you as you look today. The online renewal page adds that you shouldn’t photograph a printed photo, scan one, or send the image by text message.
A helper, or a tripod and timer
The State Department’s passport photo page lists “A friend or family member” among the places to get your photo taken, next to acceptance facilities and photo businesses, and its tips put the camera “several feet (1.2 m) away from you”. The online renewal page (version of May 4, 2026) talks about having someone take your photo. The October 2025 and March 2026 versions, at the page’s earlier address, told applicants to have someone take the photo before starting. The current page no longer says who must hold the camera.
A helper
They stand about 4 ft (1.2 m) away with the phone level with your eyes and take five or six shots while you look into the lens.
A tripod or a shelf and the timer
Prop the phone at eye level about 4 ft (1.2 m) away, frame your head and shoulders with room around them, set the 10-second timer and step into place.
We suggest either one over a photo at arm’s length. At that distance the lens makes the nose and forehead look bigger, which Korea’s rules name as a reason for rejection (여권사진 규격 안내), and it is hard to keep the phone level and your face square to it. For a Korean passport application from the U.S., see Korean passport renewal from the U.S..
The wall and the light
“Use a plain white or off-white background free of shadows, textures, or objects.”
Choose a smooth white wall or door with nothing on it. If your walls are colored, pin a white sheet flat or stand a sheet of white poster board behind you. The State Department’s advice for a background that isn’t white is to fix the lighting and the background and take the photo again. Removing it with an app is on its list of refused photos (see Can I change the background of my passport photo?).
The rules also ask for even lighting with true skin tones, no shadows on your face or the wall, and a photo that is neither too dark nor too bright. Daylight is the easiest way to get that at home.
- Face a window, so the light falls evenly on both sides of your face.
- Turn off a ceiling light that throws shadows under your eyes and nose.
- Stand about a meter (3 ft) from the wall, so your shadow falls low and behind you, out of the frame.
- Leave the flash off. It usually throws a hard shadow onto the wall behind your head.
Where to hold the camera
- Step 1
Turn off Portrait mode, filters and beauty settings
Portrait mode blurs the background in software and beauty modes smooth skin. Both change the photo, which the rules forbid. Use the normal photo mode.
- Step 2
Hold the phone at eye level, about 4 ft (1.2 m) away
The camera should be level with your eyes and square to your face, so your head is neither tilted up nor looking down at the lens.
- Step 3
Leave room around your head and shoulders
The photo is cropped later. The online renewal page says the bottom of the frame should be the edge of your shoulders and adds, “If you’re not sure, leave a little extra room around your face.”
- Step 4
Take several
Blinks and half-smiles are easy to miss on a small screen. Take five or six and choose the sharpest one where you look straight into the lens.
With an iPhone
These are our suggestions for the iPhone’s own Camera app. They keep the photo the way the camera recorded it.
- Use Photo mode. Portrait mode blurs the background in software, and Portrait Lighting changes how your face is lit.
- Leave filters off, and leave Photographic Styles on Standard on the iPhones that have them.
- Use the back camera with a helper. With the timer, the back camera works too if you frame the shot first and then step into place.
- The timer is in the camera controls; 10 seconds gives you time to settle.
- iPhones save photos as HEIC files by default. Online passport renewal accepts HEIC; the DS-160 visa form takes JPEG only (see the DS-160 photo guide).
With an Android phone
Camera apps differ from one maker to the next, so look for the settings by what they do.
- Use the standard photo mode. Turn off portrait, bokeh or live focus modes, which blur the background.
- Turn off any beauty, retouch or face-smoothing setting, and any setting that says it improves or optimizes the scene.
- Most camera apps have a timer in their settings or top bar. Set it to 10 seconds if you use a shelf or tripod.
- Many Android phones save JPG files, which both online renewal and the DS-160 accept.
Pose, expression and glasses
Face the camera directly without tilting your head, and center your head and shoulders so your whole head shows. Keep both eyes open and your hair away from them. For a U.S. passport the State Department says “You can smile in your photo. Just make sure your eyes are open and your mouth is closed.” A neutral face is the safest choice, and it is the one that also works for a visa or a Korean passport from the same photo.
Take your glasses off. Glasses have not been allowed in U.S. passport or visa photos since November 1, 2016 (State Department statement). If you can’t remove them for medical reasons, include a signed note from your doctor, and the frames still must not cover your eyes or cause glare (8 FAM 402.1). Clear contact lenses are fine.
Clothes, hair and head coverings
- Wear what you wear every day. Uniforms, clothing that looks like a uniform and camouflage are not allowed.
- Take out headphones and wireless earbuds. Jewelry and piercings are fine if they don’t hide your face.
- Remove an employee badge or lanyard, which the online renewal page mentions by name.
- Take off hats and head coverings. Religious attire worn daily is allowed with a signed statement, and medical coverings with a doctor’s statement. Your full face must show, with no shadows on it.
The size rules
A U.S. passport photo is 2 × 2 in (50.8 × 50.8 mm). Your head, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, must measure 25.4–34.9 mm, 1–1 3/8 in.
Our passport photo measurement examples show the print size, head measurements below and above the allowed range, and what to measure on the finished print.
Two details are worth knowing. The public page measures to the top of the head, while the manual passport staff use, 8 FAM 402.1, measures to the top of the head without the hair. Our automatic estimate includes hair and does not establish that the manual’s measurement passes. Check the finished photo against the source guidance, especially with tall or voluminous hair. The passport pages also give no position for the eyes. The visa composition template puts them 28.6–34.9 mm (1 1/8–1 3/8 in) up from the bottom, a sensible target for a passport photo too.
Measuring this by eye on a phone is hard. Our U.S. passport photo finds your chin, eyes and the top of your head, scales the photo so the head lands in the middle of the range, and shows you the numbers before you pay.
Photos of babies
No other person, and no hands, can be in the photo. Lay your baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with one, and take the photo from above. The State Department says a baby’s eyes don’t have to be entirely open and gives no age for it; older children’s eyes must be open. The baby passport photo guide covers the setup. Our camera’s Baby mode lets half-closed eyes pass, as the State Department allows, and marks an open mouth as a warning to retake rather than a fail.
What home photos miss
Before cropping, compare the original photo with the State Department’s current photo requirements and examples. We suggest viewing it at full size: check for even light, no shadows on the face or background, a centered and fully visible head facing the camera, and a clear, unedited image. If the lighting or background is wrong, retake the photo rather than changing it in an app. This visual check does not decide acceptance; the office does.
Each of these is a rule from the State Department’s pages that is easy to miss at home.
- A shadow on the wall behind the head, or on one side of the face.
- Glasses left on.
- A head that is too small because the photo was cropped loosely, or too big because it was cropped tight.
- A tilted head, or a face turned slightly away from the lens.
- A filter, a beauty mode or a background edited in an app.
- A photo more than 6 months old.
- A blurry or grainy print, a print on plain paper, or visible printer dots.
The State Department’s Photo Tool describes cropping for in-person or mail passport applications and says not to use it for online renewal. Downloading a crop is not proof of a complete photo compliance check or official approval. Our Photo Tool guide explains its scope and what you still need to check.
If a photo is sent back anyway, Passport photo rejected: what to do next covers the next steps.
Printing, or the online file
For a paper application, the photo must be printed on matte or glossy photo paper at high resolution, without holes, creases or smudges. The simple way is a 4 × 6 in sheet laid out at true size, printed as an ordinary 4 × 6 photo at a photo counter or kiosk and cut along the guides. How to print passport photos on a 4 × 6 sheet covers the settings that keep it at true size. To compare taking the photo at home with having it taken at a store, read passport photo costs.
For online renewal you upload a file instead; the online renewal photo guide covers the file rules. Our $9.95 order includes a cropped JPEG and true-size 4 × 6 and 5 × 7 in sheets for paper applications; for online renewal, upload your original photo. 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.