What Are the U.S. Passport Photo Requirements?

The photo rule in one table

| Printed photo | 1 color photo, taken in the last 6 months, 2 by 2 inches (51 by 51 millimeters) | | Head size, printed | 1 to 1 and 3/8 inches (25 to 35 millimeters) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head | | Pose | Face the camera directly, head centered and fully visible, neutral expression, both eyes open and visible, mouth closed. A smile is allowed if the mouth is closed | | Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows, texture, objects, or lines | | Print quality | High resolution, not blurry, grainy, or pixelated. Matte or glossy photo-quality paper. No photocopies, no digitally scanned photos, no red eye, no damage | | Digital upload | JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF, between 54 kilobytes and 10 megabytes, taken in the last 6 months | | Why it matters | Unacceptable photos are the number-one reason the State puts passport applications on hold |

What makes the photo rule different

The printed and digital channels do not share one expression rule, and merging them misstates both. The printed page allows a smile with the mouth closed. The digital upload page says neutral or natural smile, and to avoid showing teeth. Each channel's wording belongs in its own section.

The second difference is what the State checks for. The submitted photo must be the original, unchanged photo. No computer software, phone apps, filters, or AI changes. The State checks for digital enhancement. A photo that was edited, even to fix lighting, is not the photo to submit.

Printed photos, step by step

1. Take the photo within the last 6 months, facing the camera directly, with uniform lighting that is neither too bright nor too dim. Stand several feet from a plain white or off-white wall, or hang a white blanket or sheet over a non-white wall.
2. Frame head and shoulders centered, with the head at the size in the table and the whole head shown at the right size. Hair may extend past the photo edges if the whole head is shown.
3. Remove eyeglasses, sunglasses, and tinted glasses, and do not rest them on the head. Remove hats and head coverings, and take off headphones and wireless hands-free devices. No uniform, uniform-like, or camouflage clothing. Jewelry and facial piercings are allowed if they do not hide the face.
4. Print on matte or glossy photo-quality paper at the highest quality setting. Submit the original unchanged photo. Do not staple it for a DS-11 application. The agent staples it.

Face coverings stay off except for documented religious or medical reasons. A hat or head covering worn for religious or medical reasons needs a signed statement, must leave the full face visible with no shadows, and must be one color with no patterns or small holes. A medical exception for glasses needs a signed note from a doctor.

Digital uploads for online renewal

The digital file must be a JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF file between 54 kilobytes and 10 megabytes, in color, taken in the last 6 months. The bottom frame sits at the edge of the shoulders near where they connect to the arms. The photo can be repositioned or cropped inside the application, and the tool checks basic requirements and says what to change. An employee reviews the photo after receipt, and the State sends a letter or email if a new photo is needed. Do not photograph a printed photo or scan a physical photo to make the digital file, and do not send the image by text message, which lowers quality.

For children, place the child on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with the sheet. No shadows on the child's face, no other person in the photo, the child facing the camera, a neutral expression, and the full face visible. A baby's eyes need not be entirely open. All other children must have eyes open.

An appearance change answers a different question from photo specs. A small change means no new passport: growing a beard, coloring hair, normal aging. A big change means applying for a new passport: significant facial surgery or trauma, adding or removing many large facial piercings or tattoos, or significant weight loss or gain.

Related passport guides

Photo rules apply inside every application track. Start with the renewal track, the first-time track, or the child track. For every passport track side by side, see the U.S. Passport Guides by Situation directory.

Source

The printed specs, the digital upload specs, the child rules, and the appearance-change split on this page come from the U.S. Department of State: the Passport Photos page and the Uploading a Digital Photo page. The State pages state no eye-height figure and no pixel dimensions for digital uploads, so neither appears here. Facts verified 2026-10-27.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer or your government agency.