US Passport Photo Requirements — Official Size, Background & Rules

A US passport photo must be exactly 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) square — a different shape from the 35 × 45 mm rectangle used by the UK and most of Europe. Within that 2-inch square, your head must measure between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (25–35 mm) from the bottom of your chin to the top of your crown, which works out to roughly 50–69% of the image height. This ratio is what the State Department uses for its facial-recognition template, and a head that falls outside the range — usually because the camera was too close or too far away — is one of the most frequent reasons an application is delayed. The same 2 × 2 inch dimensions apply to both printed passport photos and US visa photos.

For online renewal or applications through the State Department website, the photo must be a JPEG between 600 × 600 and 1200 × 1200 pixels — large enough to preserve facial detail but small enough to upload quickly. The file must be between 54 KB and 10 MB, saved in the sRGB colour space, and captured at a recommended 300 DPI so a sharp physical copy can be printed later if ever needed. PNG, HEIC, and WebP files are rejected and must be converted to JPEG first. Compression matters too: over-compressing introduces artefacts around the eyes and mouth that can trip the automated quality check, so the sweet spot is a high-quality JPEG that stays comfortably under the 10 MB ceiling.

The background must be plain white or off-white — a solid, evenly lit wall with no patterns, textures, gradients, or objects. There must be no shadows on the background and no shadow cast by your head or shoulders onto the wall behind you, because the State Department checker looks for clean separation between your silhouette and the backdrop. The white background also needs to contrast with your clothing and hair, which is why white or very pale tops are discouraged: they blend in and erase the outline of your shoulders. A blank white wall lit from the front with diffused daylight is the easiest way to meet this requirement, and our AI removes and replaces any non-compliant background with clean white automatically.

You must look directly at the camera with a neutral expression — mouth closed or only very slightly relaxed, both eyes open, and your face fully visible and centred in the frame. Your head must be straight, not tilted, rotated, or turned, because any rotation throws off the facial measurements the State Department extracts for its biometric template. Although some countries accept a natural smile, the safest choice for a US passport is a neutral expression, since a broad smile shifts the position of the cheeks and mouth enough to cause a mismatch at the border. Ears do not need to be visible, but nothing — hair, a fringe, glasses, or headwear — may obscure your eyes or the outline of your face.

Beyond the size and background rules, the State Department maintains a short list of items and edits that trigger automatic rejection. Most are common-sense, but a few catch people out — glasses in particular have been banned since 2016, even for applicants who wore them in every previous passport photo. Run through this checklist before you take the shot:

• No glasses (as of 2016 — medical exceptions require a signed doctor statement)
• No uniforms, camouflage, or clothing that looks like a uniform
• No hats or head coverings (religious/medical exceptions with documentation)
• No headphones, earbuds, or hands-free devices
• No filters, retouching, or digital alterations

Our AI validates every uploaded photo against the full set of US Department of State requirements before you pay — checking the 2 × 2 inch dimensions, the 50–69% head-size ratio, the white background, lighting evenness, expression, and the no-glasses and no-filters rules. Where a photo is close but not quite right, the AI crops to the exact size and replaces the background automatically, all without altering your facial features. If a photo passes our validation it is guaranteed to be accepted by the State Department, and under our compliance guarantee an expert-reviewed photo that is still rejected earns a 200% refund — double what you paid.