Do Your Ears Have to Be Visible in a Passport Photo?

No. Your ears do not have to be visible in a U.S. passport photo. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual describes an acceptable passport photograph as “a clear, close-up of the head and neck” and states plainly that “the ears do not have to be visible.”¹ If your hair naturally covers your ears, leave it alone.

Why People Think Ears Have to Show

The confusion is understandable. Some other countries do require visible ears in their passport and visa photos, and many drugstore photo counters default to asking customers to tuck hair behind both ears just to be safe. Neither of those facts changes the U.S. rule. For a United States passport, ears can be fully covered by hair, partially hidden, or completely exposed. The State Department does not care.

What Actually Has to Be Visible

The real requirement is about your face, not your ears. Your entire face must be clearly shown from the top of your forehead to the bottom of your chin, both eyes must be open and unobstructed, and nothing can cast shadows across your features.²

That distinction matters when it comes to hair. Long hair that falls across an eye or hides your eyebrows will get the photo rejected. Long hair that only covers your ears will not. The line the reviewer is looking at runs from hairline to chin across the front of your face; anything outside that zone, ears included, is not part of the check.

You also need a neutral expression with your mouth closed, though a natural unexaggerated smile is fine. Look straight at the camera. No head tilt, no squinting, no open mouth.¹

Hair Over the Ears Is Fine

To put it as directly as the rule allows: if you have long hair, shoulder-length hair, hair worn down, or any style that naturally falls over one or both ears, you do not need to change it for your passport photo. You do not need to pin it back. You do not need to tuck it. You do not need to ask the person taking the photo to adjust it.

The only reason to move hair away from your face is if it is crossing into face territory. If a lock of hair falls across your eye, sweep it aside. If your bangs sit low enough to shadow your eyebrows, lift them. Otherwise, wear your hair the way you normally wear it.

Head Coverings Are a Separate Question

Hair is not the same as a head covering, and the rules diverge here. Hats and head coverings must come off for the photo. There are two exceptions: religious head coverings worn daily in public, and head coverings worn for medical reasons. A religious covering like a hijab or turban requires a signed statement confirming you wear it daily as religious attire, and a medical covering requires a signed statement from a doctor.²

Even with an approved head covering, your full face still has to be visible from chin to forehead, and the covering itself must be a single solid color with no patterns or small holes.² Notice what these rules focus on: the face, again. Not the ears.

What Does Get Photos Rejected

Since ears are off the list, it helps to know what actually causes rejections. The most common problems are:

Wearing eyeglasses without a medical exemption statement
Uneven lighting that casts shadows across the face or background
Photos taken too close to or too far from the subject
Blurry, grainy, or pixelated images
Any use of filters, retouching software, or AI enhancement
Prints with holes, creases, or smudges
Printing on regular printer paper instead of photo-quality stock
Tilting the head rather than facing the camera straight on
Masks, face coverings, or unauthorized head coverings²

Eyeglasses catch a lot of people by surprise, so it is worth calling out separately. Glasses are not allowed in passport photos unless you cannot remove them for medical reasons, such as after ocular surgery, and even then you need a signed statement from a medical professional.¹ Jewelry and facial piercings, on the other hand, are fine as long as they do not hide any part of your face, and hearing aids and cochlear implants can stay in without a doctor’s note.³

A rejected photo means your entire application gets sent back, adding weeks to processing. Most delays come from applicants assuming a “close enough” photo will pass. Since ears are one of the few things the State Department has explicitly ruled out as a concern, focus your attention on the parts of the photo that actually get scrutinized: your face, your eyes, the lighting, and the background.

1
Foreign Affairs Manual. 8 FAM 402.1 Passport Photographs
2
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
3
U.S. Department of State. Applying as a Person with a Disability