This printing guide is for paper applications. For U.S. online renewal, the State Department asks for an original digital photo uploaded in the application, not a scan or photograph of a print. Follow our online passport renewal photo guide for that route.
The rules for the print
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.
The State Department’s passport photo page also asks for a print in high resolution that isn’t blurry, grainy or pixelated, on matte or glossy photo-quality paper, with no visible printer dots and no holes, creases or smudges. Photocopies and scanned photos are not accepted.
What you need
The 4 × 6 in sheet file, a store with a photo counter or a photo printer at home, and a ruler.
A sheet is a single photo file the size of an ordinary snapshot, 4 × 6 in, with several passport photos laid out on it at their exact size and thin guides to cut along. Printed at true size, each photo on it comes out at 2 × 2 in. Our order includes a 4 × 6 in sheet with 2 U.S. passport photos and a 5 × 7 in sheet with 6, for photo labs that print only 5 × 7.
No sheet yet? Our passport photo app runs in your browser with nothing to download, and checks your photo free; the sheets come with its files.
Printing at a photo counter
Drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens, and stores such as Walmart, have photo counters, self-service kiosks and apps that print ordinary 4 × 6 photos. You are ordering a normal photo print, so any of them will do. Their screens differ, so the steps below say what to look for rather than where to tap. To have the photo taken for you instead, see where to get a passport photo, place by place. The Spanish printing guide is Cómo imprimir fotos de pasaporte en una hoja de 4 × 6.
- Step 1
Save the sheet where the store’s app can find it
On a phone, save the sheet to your photo library. On a computer, keep the file as it downloaded and upload it to the store’s photo site.
- Step 2
Choose a 4 × 6 print
Pick the 4 × 6 in size, one copy. Don’t choose a wallet, passport or square size: the sheet already holds the photos at their size.
- Step 3
Turn off crop, fit and borders
If the app or kiosk offers to crop, zoom, fit or fill the frame, or to add a white border, turn it off, and don’t pinch or drag the picture on the preview. The sheet has to print edge to edge at the size it was made.
- Step 4
Choose photo paper, matte or glossy
Either finish works for a U.S. passport. Leave off any auto-correct, red-eye or color-correction option.
- Step 5
Order, pick up, and measure before you leave
Measure one photo before you leave. If it is not 2 × 2 in, ask the counter about reprinting at the correct size.
Measure before you leave
Hold a ruler to one photo on the sheet, inside its cut line. A U.S. passport photo must be 2 × 2 in (50.8 × 50.8 mm) on each side, and the head, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, 25.4–34.9 mm, 1–1 3/8 in. If the square measures anything else, the print was scaled; print it again with the crop and fit options off.
Compare the outside edge and head height with our passport photo measurement examples before cutting. A correctly sized sheet still needs correctly sized photos inside it.
Then cut along the guides with scissors or a craft knife and a ruler, so every edge is straight and the corners are square.
Printing at home
- Use photo paper. Plain paper is not accepted, and the State Department turns away prints with visible printer dots.
- Print at 100% scale, or actual size. Turn off fit to page, shrink to fit and any border-free option that enlarges the picture to reach the paper’s edge.
- Choose the paper size that matches the sheet, 4 × 6 in, or print the sheet on a larger page at 100% and trim it.
- Measure one photo before you cut, as above.
How many photos you need
A U.S. paper passport application takes 1 printed photo. A UK paper application takes 2 identical photos (GOV.UK). For a U.S. visa, the DS-160 takes a digital file, and some embassies also ask for a print at the interview (see the DS-160 photo guide). One sheet covers each of these with photos to spare. This is how many fit on each size of sheet we make.
For a Mexican passport application in the U.S., read our consulate guide in Spanish before ordering prints: Foto para el pasaporte mexicano en Estados Unidos.
| Document | Print size | On a 4 × 6 in sheet | On a 5 × 7 in sheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. passport | 2 × 2 in | 2 photos | 6 photos |
| U.S. visa | 2 × 2 in | 2 photos | 6 photos |
| UK passport | 35 × 45 mm | 6 photos | 9 photos |
| Korean passport | 35 × 45 mm | 6 photos | 9 photos |
| Chinese visa | 33 × 48 mm | 4 photos | 9 photos |
| Japanese passport | 35 × 45 mm | 6 photos | 9 photos |
For a UK paper application, GOV.UK also asks for photos “printed to a professional standard” that “not be a cut down version of a larger picture” (Printed photos). It doesn’t say whether a photo cut from a print sheet meets that, so check with HM Passport Office before you send one. Online UK applications take a digital photo instead (see the UK passport photo guide).
Common print mistakes
- The sheet was fitted or cropped to the paper, so every photo came out a little smaller or larger than 2 × 2 in.
- A border was added, which shrinks the whole sheet.
- The photo was printed on plain paper, or on a printer that leaves visible dots.
- An automatic correction setting brightened or smoothed the photo. The rules ask for the photo as it was taken.
- The cut wandered off the guide, leaving an edge that isn’t straight or a photo that isn’t square.
What it costs
Check the store’s current price for one 4 × 6 print. Walgreens publishes its prices in its print pricing table; tier pricing is not available in the mobile app. This pays for printing your prepared file, not taking your picture or checking passport-photo requirements. For photo-taking services, see How much does a passport photo cost?
Our U.S. passport photo costs $9.95 and includes the digital file and both sheets. 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.