The rules, quoted
The U.S., Korea and the UK all ask for a plain background in the photo itself, and all three ask for a photo that hasn’t been edited afterward.
“The background is cropped using a photo retouching tool, changing the outline of your head, face, and neck.”
That sentence is one of the State Department’s examples of unacceptable photos. The same page says “Do not change your photo using computer software, phone apps or filters, or artificial intelligence,” and, for a background that isn’t white, tells you to fix the lighting and the background and take a new photo. The manual passport staff use, 8 FAM 402.1, says digital manipulation of the photo is not acceptable.
“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)
Read the background and editing guidance in Korean: 여권사진 배경 바꾸기와 AI 보정.
For the UK, GOV.UK says a photo must be “unaltered by computer software” (Get a passport photo), and the online passport service says it must be “unedited – you can’t ‘correct’ your passport photo” (Rules for digital passport photos, read September 30, 2026). The guidance HM Passport Office’s examiners work from is looser on one point: they “can accept a photo if the background has been edited to remove shadows or marks” (Photo standards, read September 30, 2026). The public rules make no such exception, and a photo taken against a plain wall meets both.
Sources, checked September 28, 2026: Passport Photos, U.S. Department of State; 외교부 여권안내, 여권사진 규격 안내; Get a passport photo: Printed photos, GOV.UK.
- A U.S. passport photo needs a white or off-white background.
- A Korean passport photo needs a white background.
- A UK passport photo needs a light gray or cream background.
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What each document wants behind you
The background each document’s own rules ask for, from our checked specs. A background that isn’t plain, or has a shadow on it, fails all of them.
| Document | Background |
|---|---|
| U.S. passport | White or off-white |
| U.S. visa | White or off-white |
| Korean passport | White |
| Japanese passport | White |
| Chinese visa | White or near-white |
| UK passport | Light gray or cream |
The UK’s rule differs by format: GOV.UK asks for plain cream or light gray on printed photos and a plain light-colored background, without texture or pattern, on digital ones (printed photos, digital photos). A light gray wall that suits a UK photo fails the U.S. rule, so one photo taken for both needs a wall that is white and evenly lit.
Getting a plain wall at home
- Use a smooth wall or door with nothing on it: no frames, switches, corners or door edges in the frame.
- If your walls are colored or textured, pin a flat white sheet or stand a sheet of white poster board behind you, pulled tight so it has no creases.
- Stand away from the wall so your shadow falls behind you, out of the frame. We suggest about a meter (3 ft). The UK’s own instructions say 50 cm from the background (How to take a digital passport photo, read September 30, 2026).
- Face a window. Light from in front of you, rather than a lamp to one side, keeps the wall evenly lit and your face free of shadows.
- Leave the flash off. It throws a hard shadow onto the wall behind your head.
How to take a passport photo at home covers the camera and the pose.
How our check handles the background
Our check looks at the wall in the photo you take: its color against the document’s rule, whether it is plain, and whether a shadow falls on it. If one of them fails, it tells you what to change before the next photo, such as facing a window or stepping away from the wall. The photo that comes out is the one you took, leveled, scaled and cropped. The check is free, and you pay $9.95 once your photo passes our check.
What AI answers get wrong
Some photo apps and AI answers say you can clean up or replace the background. The State Department lists as unacceptable a photo where “The background is cropped using a photo retouching tool, changing the outline of your head, face, and neck.”
If your background is wrong, retake the photo against a plain white or off-white wall.
The rest of the AI question, from generated photos to touch-ups, is in Can you use AI for a passport photo? To compare document photos with profile portraits, see AI portraits vs. passport photos and the guide to AI portraits for LinkedIn.