How we verify

Anyone can claim a photo is compliant. This page sets out what we actually measure, where the rules come from, and where our checks stop — so you can judge the claim rather than take it.

Acceptable passport photo example — acceptable — Passes

Rejected passport photo example — not accepted — background — Fails: background

See all 10 examples

Where the rules come from

Every specification we check against is taken from the issuing authority itself — for US passports, the Department of State — and never from a competitor, a summary or an aggregator. Each requirements page lists its sources with the year they were last checked, and quotes the authority's own wording rather than paraphrasing it.

The same numbers drive both the published pages and the software. The head-height band shown on our requirements page is the literal value the checker compares your photo against — they cannot drift apart, because they are one definition used twice.

What each check actually does

Not all checks are equal, and it would be misleading to present them as though they were. Three kinds:

Head height

Measured, not estimated

The finished photo is measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair and compared against the official band of 1 – 1⅜ in. We re-measure the cropped result rather than trusting the crop we just applied, so the number you see is an independent reading.

Eye position

Measured

The eye line is located in the finished photo and checked against the required distance from the bottom of the frame.

Background

True by construction

We do not attempt to detect whether your background is plain — we replace it. The person is separated from the original photo and composited onto the required color, so a compliant background is guaranteed rather than assessed.

Your actual face

True by construction

Your pixels are never regenerated. Earlier versions used generative AI to redraw the photo, which subtly altered faces. The current pipeline cuts you out and moves you — it cannot change what you look like, which matters when a border officer compares the photo to you.

One face, eyes open, expression

Model-assessed

A vision model examines the finished photo. These are judgements rather than measurements, which is why they are the checks most likely to be conservative.

Glasses, lighting, sharpness

Model-assessed

Also judged by a model on the finished photo. Where a country permits glasses, a detected pair is reported as a warning rather than a failure, because the rule allows them even though photographers advise against them.

What we do not check

Whether the photo looks like you today. We verify it matches the photo you uploaded, not that the upload is recent — the six-month rule is yours to honour.
Whether you are wearing a uniform, or a head covering without the required statement. A model may notice, but we do not treat it as a measured check.
Whether the issuing authority will accept it. Nobody can promise that, which is why the guarantee exists.

You see the result before you pay

The full report and a watermarked preview are free. Payment comes after you have seen every check pass, not before — which is the practical difference between a verification and a promise. If a photo we approved is refused by the authority, you get your money back.

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Upload one and read the report. No account, no payment until it passes.

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