The US passport photo rules in plain words
The U.S. Department of State asks for a square photo. The printed size is 51x51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 in) at 300 DPI, and the digital version is 600x600 pixels in JPG format. The background must be plain white or off-white, with no shadows or patterns.
- Head size: 25-35 mm from chin to crown.
- Eye line: 28-35 mm from the bottom edge of the photo.
- Glasses: not allowed. A doctor's note is needed for medical exceptions.
- Head covering: only for religious reasons, and the face must be fully visible.
- Age of photo: taken within the last 6 months.
You need 1 copy. The eye-line range comes from the State Department composition template, so a photo that is cropped too tightly or too loosely can fail even if the file size is correct.
How to take the photo at home with a phone
Stand about an arm's length from a plain light wall, or ask someone to take the photo from roughly the same distance as a portrait. Use daylight from a window in front of you so that both sides of the face are lit evenly. Keep the phone at eye level, look straight into the lens and keep a neutral expression with both eyes open.
- Remove your glasses before taking the shot.
- Keep your hair off your eyes and your whole face in the frame.
- Do not use filters, beauty modes or flash.
Upload the picture to IDPhotoly. It is processed in your browser and never uploaded to a server. The tool crops it to the official size, replaces the background and checks the head and eye-line measurements.
Common reasons a US passport photo is rejected
- Glasses worn. Glasses are not accepted unless you have a doctor's note for a medical exception.
- Old photo. A photo taken more than 6 months ago is not accepted.
- Wrong head size. A head smaller than 25 mm or larger than 35 mm from chin to crown fails the composition template.
- Shadows or a coloured background. The background must be plain white or off-white.
- File out of range online. Digital files below 54 KB or above 10 MB are refused.
Printing or uploading the photo
The US passport accepts both printed and digital photos. For a printed application, print the 51x51 mm photo at 300 DPI on photo paper and submit 1 copy. For an online renewal, the upload accepts JPG, PNG or HEIC files between 54 KB and 10 MB; the 600x600 px JPG from IDPhotoly meets the pixel requirement.
The payment is one-time, and if an authority rejects the photo you receive a full refund.