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How we verifyPricing$11.86Where to get oneMoney-back guaranteeSmiling in a Passport Photo
Short answer
Yes — a natural, closed-mouth smile is acceptable in a US passport photo. What is not acceptable is showing teeth, an exaggerated expression, or eyes narrowed from smiling.
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✕Illustrative examples — the people shown are AI-generated.
Where exactly the line falls
The State Department asks for a neutral facial expression or a natural smile. Those two things sound contradictory until you realize what is actually being tested: whether your face is in a repeatable, measurable configuration.
A closed-mouth smile keeps the jaw and cheekbones near their resting position. A broad open-mouthed grin moves the jaw down, lifts the cheeks, changes the width of the face, and — the part people forget — narrows the eyes. Several of those alter the distances facial recognition relies on.
The practical test is simple. If you would describe your expression as pleasant, you are fine. If you would describe it as a grin, you are not.
Why eyes matter more than the mouth
Most photos refused for expression are not refused for the smile itself. They are refused because the smile closed the eyes.
Both eyes must be open and clearly visible, and a genuine smile pulls the lower eyelid up. Add bright light — a window, sunshine, a flash — and the squint deepens until the iris is partly hidden. That is a failure on the eyes rule regardless of what the mouth is doing.
If you want to smile, smile with the mouth and keep the eyes relaxed and open. It feels unnatural and looks perfectly normal in the result.
Why a neutral face is the safer choice
Nothing requires you to look severe, and a pleasant photo is genuinely nicer to carry for ten years. But a neutral expression is never ambiguous, whereas a smile can be judged as too much by a reviewer having a strict day.
There is also a practical asymmetry. If a neutral photo is refused, it will be for some other reason you can identify. If a smiling photo is refused for expression, you will be guessing about how much was too much.
Our checker treats a closed-mouth smile as a pass and teeth showing as a failure — the same line the rule draws.
Check your photo against this rule — free
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Check my photoFrequently asked
Can you smile in a US passport photo?+
Yes, if it is a natural closed-mouth smile. Teeth showing or an exaggerated expression is refused.
Why do some countries ban smiling entirely?+
Several do, because facial recognition performs more reliably on neutral faces. The US permits a natural smile; when in doubt, neutral is accepted everywhere.
My eyes close a bit when I smile. Is that a problem?+
Yes, and it is the most common expression failure. Both eyes must be clearly open — smile with the mouth and keep the eyes relaxed.
Can I smile in a baby's passport photo?+
Expression rules are relaxed for infants entirely. A baby may have an open mouth, and newborns are not required to have their eyes open.