US Passport Photo Requirements: Size, Background, and Rejections

US passport photo requirements are strict and specific: the photo must be 2 by 2 inches, taken in color within the last six months, shot against a plain white or off-white background, and show your full face looking directly at the camera with no glasses and no head coverings (with narrow exceptions for religious or medical reasons).¹ A photo that misses any of these details is the single most common reason the State Department puts an application on hold.²

Size and Head Placement

A printed passport photo has to measure exactly 2 inches by 2 inches. Inside that square, your head, measured from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head, must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches tall.¹ Center your head in the frame. Don’t push it to the top edge or off to one side. Automated scanning at the passport agency relies on these proportions to find your facial features, so a head that’s too big, too small, or off-center is one of the fastest ways to get held up.

How Recent the Photo Has to Be

The photo must have been taken within the last six months.¹ Extras from a professional session a year ago won’t work, even if they look great and meet every other spec. The State Department wants a photo that reflects what you look like now, not before a haircut, weight change, or new piercing. Submitting an older photo can put your application on hold on its own.

Background and Lighting

The background has to be plain white or off-white with no shadows, textures, patterns, or lines.¹ A colored wall or a busy surface behind you will fail review.

Lighting has to be even across your whole face. An overhead lamp or a light off to one side throws shadows that change how your features read to a reviewer, and that’s enough for a rejection. The image must be in color, sharp, and naturally exposed. Washed-out or too-dark photos don’t give border agents an accurate reference for your skin tone or features.

Pose and Expression

Face the camera squarely. Both eyes open, looking straight at the lens. A tilt of the head up, down, or to the side, or an angle that shows one ear more than the other, will get the application held.

Keep your expression neutral. A relaxed, natural smile is allowed, but a wide grin or exaggerated expression distorts your features and is likely to be rejected. The photo should look like you on an ordinary day.

What to Wear and What to Take Off

Wear normal everyday clothing. Uniforms and camouflage are not permitted.³

Take off your eyeglasses before the photo, even prescription lenses. Frames can hide your eyes and lenses cause glare. If a medical condition means you can’t remove them, include a signed statement from your doctor with the application.¹

Hats and head coverings come off too, unless you wear one for religious or medical reasons. In that case, include a signed statement: for religious wear, confirming you wear the covering daily in public; for medical wear, a signed doctor’s statement. The covering itself has to be a single solid color, with no patterns or small holes, and your full face has to stay visible with no shadows and no hidden hairline.¹

Hearing aids are allowed as long as they don’t cover part of your face. Headphones, Bluetooth earbuds, and similar devices have to come off entirely.⁴ Jewelry and facial piercings are fine, but skip anything reflective or anything bulky enough to cover your chin, neck, or ears.

Digital Files for Online Renewal and Visas

If you’re renewing online, the digital photo you upload can be a JPG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF file, sized between 54 kilobytes and 10 megabytes.⁵ Most phones save photos in one of those formats by default.

Visa applications use tighter specs. The file must be JPEG, between 600 by 600 and 1,200 by 1,200 pixels, and no more than 240 kilobytes.⁶ For either use, the image has to be sharp enough that features stay clear when printed. Grainy or pixelated shots get flagged.

No Filters, No Editing, and Be Careful with Selfies

Any digital manipulation of the face is prohibited. That covers beauty filters, smoothing tools, and social media filters of any kind. Even red-eye correction isn’t allowed. If a photo has red-eye, retake it.⁴

Selfies aren’t banned outright, but they’re risky. Research on facial distortion found that smartphone cameras at typical selfie distance, 8 to 12 inches, stretch midface features by 12 to 18 percent compared to photos taken from several feet away.⁷ That’s exactly the kind of subtle distortion the biometric standards are meant to catch. If you’re taking your own photo, use a timer and put the camera at least five feet away.

Photos for Infants and Children

Children follow the same core rules as adults: 2 by 2 inches, white background, face centered. For an infant, lay the baby on a plain white sheet or drape a white cloth over a car seat to get the background. Watch for shadows.¹

Babies get one exception: it’s acceptable if an infant’s eyes aren’t fully open. Every other child has to have eyes open, like an adult applicant.¹ Nothing else in the frame: no toys, pacifiers, bottles, or a parent’s hand holding the child.

When to Get a New Photo Before Your Passport Expires

Normal aging, growing a beard, or coloring your hair are all minor changes. Your current passport stays valid.¹

Apply for a new passport if your appearance has changed enough that you can no longer be identified from the photo. The State Department lists these as examples of changes that qualify:

Significant facial surgery or trauma
Adding or removing large facial piercings or tattoos
Significant weight gain or loss

The practical test: if a border agent would have trouble matching your face to the photo in your passport, it’s time for a new one.¹

If Your Photo Gets Rejected

When a photo doesn’t meet the requirements, the application goes on hold and the State Department mails a letter explaining what needs to be fixed. You have 90 days from the date on that letter to send back a new photo along with a copy of the letter so they can match it to the pending file.²

Respond inside that 90-day window and you don’t pay anything more. Miss it and the application is closed. Starting over means paying the full application fee again, plus the execution fee if you apply in person at an acceptance facility.⁸ With a trip on the calendar, that’s a costly and preventable delay.

1
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
2
U.S. Department of State. Respond to a Passport Letter or Email
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U.S. Department of State. Photo Frequently Asked Questions
4
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 8 FAM 402.1 Passport Photographs
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U.S. Department of State. Uploading a Digital Photo
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U.S. Department of State. Digital Image Requirements
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Wiley Online Library. Quantifying Facial Distortion in Modern Digital Photography
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U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities