US Passport Photo Online

How to take your own US passport photo

There is no requirement to use a professional. What the State Department cares about is whether the finished photo meets the specification — not who pressed the shutter. The practical difficulty is that a phone photo taken the way people normally take them fails on three counts at once: distance, background and lighting.

Distance first. Hand the phone to someone and have them stand about six feet away, then zoom slightly if the framing looks loose. That distance matters more than anything else you will do: a phone at arm's length sits 40–50 cm from your face and visibly enlarges the nose while narrowing the ears, which is the distortion behind the official instruction not to submit a selfie. No amount of cropping undoes it. If you are alone, prop the phone against something at the same distance and use the timer.

Then the background. Stand at least two feet in front of a plain, light-colored wall — the gap is what stops your own shadow landing on it. If you have no suitable wall, it matters less than you think, because our processing replaces the background entirely. What it cannot fix is a shadow that has already fallen across your face.

Finally the light. Face a window on an overcast day and you are done. Avoid direct sun, avoid overhead ceiling lights that pool shadows under the eyes and nose, and never use flash — it causes red-eye and throws a hard edge onto the wall behind you.

What to wear — and the white shirt trap

Everyday clothing is expected and no dress code applies. The prohibitions are narrow: no uniforms, nothing resembling a uniform, and no camouflage even worn casually.

The color question is the one people actually get wrong. Because the background must be white or off-white, a white top merges into it and leaves your outline undefined — technically compliant, visually poor, and a common reason a reviewer looks twice. Mid-tone colors separate cleanly. Black is permitted but can read heavy against white.

Jewellery and everyday piercings are fine provided nothing obscures your face; the practical risk is large earrings casting shadows on the cheek. Makeup is unrestricted, though heavily reflective foundation can read as glare under direct light.

Is a US passport photo 2×2 inches?

Yes — 2 × 2 inches exactly, which is 51 × 51 mm. The US is one of the few countries using a square format; most of Europe uses 35 × 45 mm, which is why photos taken abroad are frequently the wrong shape.

Within that square, your head must measure between 1 and 1⅜ inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair — not the top of the skull, which is why voluminous hair pushes you toward the upper limit. Your eyes should sit between 1⅛ and 1⅜ inches from the bottom edge.

For the digital file, the State Department accepts between 600 × 600 and 1200 × 1200 pixels. We produce 1200 × 1200 — the maximum allowed — because the same file also has to survive being printed at 2 inches wide, and 600 × 600 is only 300 dpi at that size.

What happens after you submit it

Your photo is not checked at the moment you submit. It is checked when a person processes the application, usually several weeks later, and that gap is what makes a bad photo costly rather than merely annoying.

A failed photo suspends the application rather than refusing it. You get a letter asking for a replacement, you send one, and the clock restarts from there — commonly adding a month or more. Paying for expedited processing does not protect you, because the delay happens before the expedited clock becomes relevant.

Online renewal gives faster but shallower feedback: the portal validates dimensions and file format at upload, so it rejects a photo of the wrong shape immediately. A correctly-shaped photo with the head slightly out of band passes upload and fails later at the same human step.

The mistakes that cause most rejections

In rough order: the background, which picks up furniture, doorframes or a color cast from indoor lighting. Then shadows — under the nose from ceiling lights, or on the wall from standing too close to it.

Then framing, which is the one people are least aware of, because a head that looks correctly sized on a phone screen is frequently under the 1-inch minimum. Then the rules about you rather than the photo: glasses, teeth showing, eyes narrowed against bright light.

Almost all of these are decided before you press the shutter, which is why the useful advice is about where you stand and what the light is doing, rather than about editing afterwards.

Photos for children, babies and visas

Every applicant needs their own photo regardless of age — children cannot travel on a parent's passport, and a newborn needs one too. The size and head-height rules are identical to an adult's, which surprises parents because babies have proportionally larger heads and the framing ends up looser than expected.

Two rules relax for infants: the expression requirement does not apply, so an open mouth is fine, and newborns are not expected to open their eyes on cue. Two never relax — nobody else may appear in the frame, which rules out a hand steadying the head, and nothing may be in shot, which rules out pacifiers and toys. The practical technique is to lay the baby on a plain white sheet and photograph from directly above.

US visa photos use the same 2 × 2 inch format and the same rules, so a compliant passport photo works for a visa application as well. Photos for other countries usually do not: most of Europe uses 35 × 45 mm, and France and the Netherlands require a light gray background rather than white.

Head coverings, religious dress and medical exemptions

Head coverings worn daily for religious or medical reasons are permitted, and you do not need to remove them. You do need to include a signed statement with your application explaining why it is worn — this is not something you assert on the form itself.

The covering must not obscure any part of your face, and it must not cast a shadow. Your full face has to be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, which in practice means adjusting the fabric back from the hairline before the photo rather than after.

Hats and fashion headwear are refused with no exception. Wigs, hair extensions and cosmetic changes you wear every day are entirely fine — the standard is that the photo should look like you normally look.

Renewing online or applying on paper?

These need different things, and knowing which you are doing before you start saves a second attempt.

Online renewal, available if your most recent passport meets certain conditions, requires a digital photo uploaded into the application. The portal runs automated checks on it and refuses files that are the wrong shape, too small, or visibly edited.

A paper application needs a printed 2 × 2 inch photo on photo-quality paper — matte or glossy, never ordinary office paper. Do not staple it, paperclip it or write on the back; a ballpoint indentation through to the front is enough to get it refused.

You receive both from us: the digital file for the portal, and a 6 × 4 inch sheet at 600 dpi you can print at any kiosk for about 35¢.