On a U.S. passport application, you write your height in feet and inches, using the two separate boxes the form provides — one for feet, one for the remaining inches. Round to the nearest inch and use your best honest estimate. That’s the whole task.
Where the Height Field Is on the Form
On the DS-11, the form for first-time applicants, height is item 15, grouped with hair color and eye color in the personal description section on the first page.1JECC. DS-11 Application for a U.S. Passport On the DS-82, the renewal form for eligible individuals, it’s item 12, in the same cluster of physical descriptors.2U.S. Department of Commerce. DS-82 U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals Both forms use the same layout: one box labeled feet, one labeled inches.
Filling In Feet and Inches
Someone who is five feet seven inches tall writes 5 in the feet box and 7 in the inches box. Nothing else. Skip the foot and inch symbols (′ and ″); the box labels already tell the reviewer which number is which. If you’re completing a paper PDF by hand, use black ink and print clearly.
The State Department’s online Form Filler at eforms.state.gov splits height into two fields labeled Feet and Inches, so you enter each number separately before printing.3U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. Some Tips to Keep in Mind When Filling Out a Passport Application On a Form Filler application, the only handwritten marks the State Department accepts are your signature and the date. Correcting a printed height in pen will interfere with the barcode and delay processing, so if you catch a mistake after printing, go back into the Form Filler, fix it, and print a fresh copy.4U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms – Section: Reminders for Printing Your Application
If You Don’t Know Your Height
You don’t need a doctor’s visit. Measure at home:
- Stand barefoot against a flat wall with your heels, back, and the back of your head touching the wall.
- Place a flat, rigid object like a hardcover book on top of your head so it sits level and flush against the wall.
- Mark the wall lightly at the bottom edge of the book, step away, and measure from the floor to the mark with a tape measure.
Round to the nearest inch. If you land right between two inches, either one is fine. Being off by an inch won’t cause problems.
Converting From Centimeters
If you know your height in centimeters, you’ll need to convert, because the U.S. application only accepts feet and inches. Divide your height in centimeters by 2.54 to get total inches, then divide that by 12. The whole number is your feet; the remainder is your inches. So 175 cm ÷ 2.54 ≈ 68.9 inches, and 68.9 ÷ 12 gives 5 with about 9 left over, or 5 feet 9 inches.
A few common conversions:
- 160 cm — 5 feet 3 inches
- 165 cm — 5 feet 5 inches
- 170 cm — 5 feet 7 inches
- 175 cm — 5 feet 9 inches
- 180 cm — 5 feet 11 inches
- 185 cm — 6 feet 1 inch
What if Your Height Changes Later?
Your printed passport shows the height you listed, and the State Department doesn’t expect you to update it every time you grow or shrink slightly. Teenagers who gain a few inches between applying and traveling won’t have trouble at the border, and adults whose height decreases with age don’t need to do anything either. Height on a passport is a general physical descriptor, not a security-critical biometric like your photo. When you renew, just enter your current height then.
Honest Estimates vs. False Statements
A small inaccuracy is not fraud. Nobody is going to face charges for writing 5′10″ when they’re actually 5′9″. That said, every passport application carries a printed warning that knowingly making a false statement is a federal crime, punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1542 by a fine and up to 10 years in prison, with steeper penalties tied to drug trafficking or terrorism.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport A separate false-statements statute covering federal agencies carries up to 5 years.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally Enter your real height and you have nothing to think about here.
Check Before You Submit
Before you hand the application to an acceptance agent or mail your renewal, glance at the height field one more time. Transposing the feet and inches numbers is the most common height mistake, and it’s easy to catch. It also helps if your listed height roughly matches what’s on your driver’s license or state ID, since acceptance agents sometimes look at both during your appointment. An inch or two of difference is fine; writing 6′2″ when your license says 5′6″ will raise questions that slow you down.