How we check the photo rules

Government pages first: the ministry, embassy or consulate that issues the document, and the instructions for its forms. Every document page lists its sources by title, with the date we read them.

Where a rule exists only in a news report, we say so and label the source as one. The UAE’s rule on edited photos is an example: ICP’s own pages don’t mention editing, and a Khaleej Times report of its photo criteria does.

Where an authority publishes no number, the page says it doesn’t and names the number we use as ours. Egypt’s embassy, Jordan’s ministry and the Philippine consulates publish no head size, so their pages say so. Where an authority gives the head or face as a share of the photo, we give the share.

The same goes for every other rule. Where an authority’s page says nothing about editing, expression or glasses, the document page doesn’t give a rule in its name. The Embassy of Egypt’s passport page, for example, asks for three 2 × 2 in photos on a white background and says nothing more about them.

Some government pages have blocked automated access. Earlier State Department checks used Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) copies; sources that still rely on those copies identify the archive date and any page update date we recorded. An archived page is evidence of what it said then.

On September 30, 2026, we read current State Department passport-photo and online-renewal pages. That read covers those pages, not every visa page or every source in a document’s record. We keep earlier archive notes where they still describe the evidence used.

A quotation is set in quotation marks only when we hold the authority’s exact words. A rule in another language is given in our translation, marked as ours.

“Checked” means we reviewed a document’s recorded rules against its listed sources, including any archived copies identified there. 21 of our 23 document records have this status. The newest full-record check date is October 9, 2026. Government pages can change after we read them, so each source carries the date we read it.

Korean visa and Schengen visa are still pending a full re-check. Newer, narrower source reads have corrected parts of these records without resolving every consulate or application category. Their pages explain the remaining limits; they are not counted as checked.

A full-record review moves the document’s checked date. A narrower source read or wording correction is dated separately in the source notes or changelog and does not refresh the whole record’s date. A page’s own update date describes a content change.

We aim to re-check the most-used documents every 90 days and the rest every 180 days, and sooner when we learn a government page changed. Each document page shows the date of its last check.

The free check runs on your device. If you allow automatic checks, MediaPipe estimates 478 facial landmarks, including chin and eye points; a separate image mask estimates the top of the hair. If that boundary is unclear, the check uses an estimate and can ask you to retake the photo. The skull top is estimated from facial proportions; the camera cannot see through hair. A passing measurement can still be an estimate.

The selected document determines whether head height includes hair. For rules that exclude hair, including Korean passport rules, we use an estimated skull top. Measurements describe the proposed crop at the selected output size. Millimeters refer to that print size, not the physical size of your head. Lighting, pose and hair can affect the estimate; inspect the framing and warnings, and measure a printed photo with a ruler.

We only level, scale and crop your original photo. We do not generate or paint over it, and a background that fails the check calls for a retake. Automatic results show measurements alongside the ranges we check. Each document page explains its sources and distinguishes authority rules from our own targets. In manual mode, head size is not measured automatically.

Only the office that issues the document decides whether a photo is accepted.