The State Department’s words
“Do not wear a hat or head covering that obscures the hair or hairline, unless worn daily for a religious purpose. Your full face must be visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face.”
That is the visa photo page, and the passport rule rests on the same idea. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, the instructions its passport staff work from, adds what the covering itself should look like: “uniform color with no pattern and no visible perforations” (8 FAM 402.1-4(c), read September 28, 2026). A plain scarf in one solid color meets that. A print, a pattern or a lace or crochet weave does not.
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U.S. passport: the signed statement
The Passport Photos page asks you to take off hats and head coverings, with two exceptions. A religious head covering is allowed when it is attire you wear every day in public, and you include a signed statement saying so. A medical one is allowed with a signed statement from your doctor. In both cases your full face must be visible, and the covering can’t cast shadows on it.
The statement goes in with your application; the photo itself shows nothing of it. For an online renewal, the upload page says to remove anything covering your face unless it is for documented religious or medical reasons, and its photo tip gives the same one-color, no-pattern rule.
Korean, UK and visa rules
Every document here allows a religious head covering on the same condition: your face stays fully visible. Each row is that document’s own rule.
| Document | Head coverings |
|---|---|
| U.S. passport | No hats or head coverings, except religious attire worn daily (signed statement) or for medical reasons (doctor’s statement). Your full face must be visible. |
| U.S. visa (DS-160) | No hats or head coverings except for religious reasons; your full face must be visible. |
| Korean passport | No hats. Religious head coverings only if your face from forehead to chin is fully visible. |
| UK passport | No head coverings unless for religious or medical reasons; nothing may cover the face. |
Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs allows religious attire only if you wear it every day, and asks for the whole face to show, from the forehead to the chin, including the outline of the face. GOV.UK allows a covering for religious or medical reasons, with nothing covering the face, on a UK passport photo.
Wearing it for the photo
None of these are extra rules; they are how a covering meets the ones above.
- Choose a plain covering in one solid color, with no pattern, sequins or open weave.
- Fold it back from your face so your forehead, both cheeks and your chin show, and the edges of your face are visible.
- Pin it flat. A covering that juts forward can throw a shadow across your forehead or cheeks.
- Face a window, so the light falls evenly on both sides of your face under the covering.
- Leave glasses off, as for every U.S. passport photo.
- Stand in front of a plain white or off-white wall, about a meter (3 ft) from it so your shadow falls behind you. How to take a passport photo at home covers the rest.
Medical head coverings
A covering worn for a medical reason, such as after surgery or during treatment, is allowed in a U.S. passport photo with a signed statement from your doctor. The same face rules apply: the whole face visible, no shadows on it. A face mask is not a head covering; take it off for the photo.
What our check does
Our check runs before you pay and measures your head size, eye line and background, as it does for any photo. It doesn’t decide whether a covering is allowed; that is the statement you sign. We only level, scale and crop the photo you took, so the covering appears exactly as you wore it. Only the office that issues your document decides whether a photo is accepted. If yours comes back, Passport photo rejected explains what to do next.