U.S. passport photos

All passport photos must adhere to strict regulations regarding their composition, what the subject is wearing and how they are posing. U.S. passport photos are no exception. To make sure that the digital photos used in U.S. passport photos show accurate biometric information, each one has to follow a strict set of official guidelines, issued by the U.S. State Department. We've compiled these rules into this handy guide - read on and you'll have your new passport photo ready in no time. 

Rules for passport photos

Our easy-to-use guide covers the 5 key areas of U.S. passport photo requirements:

• Composition and format
• U.S passport photos size requirements
• Preparing the setting
• Posing for your passport pictures
• Passport photos clothing and jewelry

Study them carefully, you'll need to follow them closely throughout the process in order to ensure that the photo for your U.S. passport, as well as your passport application itself, is accepted first time.

A photo for U.S. passport - composition and format

The U.S. Department of State maintains a stringent series of rules regarding how passport photos must look. Here is some general guidance issued by the passport services regarding the format of the passport photos and how they should be presented:

• The photo must be of a high resolution, and must not be blurry, pixelated or grainy.
• The photo must also not be damaged in any way, including rips, creases, smudges or holes.
• Your passport picture must be printed on photo quality paper, with either a glossy or matte finish.
• The photo must not be digitally altered, for example by using Photoshop.
• There must be no filters on your photo.
• The photo must not be a selfie. We recommend you ask a friend to take the photo on your behalf.
• If you are using a digital passport photo, you need to make sure it is saved in JPEG. format.
• The photo needs to be recent, with the rules stating that it must have been taken within the last 6 (six) months.

U.S. passport photos size requirements

All passport photos have to adhere to standard sizing conventions issued by the Department of State. When taking and printing your passport photo, bear in mind that it needs to measure 2 x 2 inches in size (or 51 x 51mm in metric). The length of your head from crown to chin needs to be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches, to make sure that your new passport photo holds all the right biometric information.

Preparing the setting

When taking your passport photo, you need to choose the correct setting. The passport photo services specify that, when preparing to take your photo, you must ensure:

• The lighting is even and, if possible, natural. The photo must not have any shadows in it, either on your face or in the background.
• The background is the right colour. The passport photo service requires a passport photo taken in front of a plain white or off-white background.
• That you are standing an appropriate distance from the camera. Around 3ft is ideal.

Posing for your passport pictures

Your pose for your new passport picture needs to fulfil the guidelines listed by the Department of State, as posing incorrectly could lead to your application being rejected. The official guidance notes state that:

• You need to take your passport photo with a neutral expression, or a natural smile. Your mouth needs to be closed and both your eyes need to remain open.
• You must face the camera straight on, with your arms by your sides.
• You need to make sure that your full face is in view of the camera and that both sides of your face are evenly lit.

Passport photos clothing and jewelry

The official guidelines set out by the U.S. State Department specify that you should wear clothing normally worn on a daily basis. The general rule of thumb with all forms of clothing and jewelry is that nothing should be obscuring your face, particularly your eyes. The rules, in detail, are as follows:

• You are not allowed to wear a uniform, any clothing that may resemble a uniform or any form of camouflage attire.
• You are not permitted to wear any form of hat or head covering unless it is for religious or medical purposes. In either case, you are obliged to submit a signed note from either yourself (in the case of religious attire) or a doctor (in the case of medical headgear), verifying that your head covering is either part of traditional day-to-day religious attire or part of a medically necessary procedure.
• You are not allowed to wear any form of glasses unless they are medically necessary. As with medical head coverings, you need to submit a medical statement that lays out why the glasses cannot be removed for medical reasons.
• You are not allowed to wear any form of headphones or wireless hands-free devices, as these have the potential to obscure your face.
• You are allowed to wear jewelry, like earrings, necklaces or facial piercings, in your passport pictures as long as they do not obscure your facial features. We recommend that you remove any larger piercings and stick to smaller studs for the purposes of your passport photo.
• Permanent tattoos are acceptable in passport photos.

Taking passport photos with an app

Did you know you can take your U.S. passport photo without even needing to leave home? If that option appeals to you, then look no further than our application! We have an easy three-step process for getting the ideal passport photo in less than 15 minutes:

1. Using your digital camera or smartphone, get a friend or family member to take a picture of you in front of a standard background, making sure that you are following all the requirements outlined above.
2. Upload your photo to our website or mobile app (if you have the app, you could also take the photo directly using the camera function). The AI software will, in a matter of seconds, rework and reformat the photo into the perfect biometric passport photo. All the hard work’s done for you, so you can just relax and watch the magic happen!
3. Repeat until you are happy with the photo you've come up with, and you will be ready to attach it to your U.S. passport application.

All of this could take you less than 15 minutes in total. In that short amount of time, your photo could be reworked so it's the correct size, checked for mistakes and had the background changed to make it compliant with the rules. All that, and using our passport photo tool could save up to 54% on your passport photo, too! 

Our system is dedicated to providing quality service for our clients, whether you’re at home, the park or the office, meaning you can easily fit taking pictures for your passport photo into your day-to-day life. As long as you have access to the internet, we can prepare a passport photo template reel for you, using the standard photo size of 2 x 2 inch (or 51 x 51mm).

After that, you can print the template yourself on photo paper at home or at a print shop, or we can print it out for you and mail it directly to your door, for a reasonable price. We take a lot of pride in our work, so in the unlikely event that a photo we edited is rejected by the State Department, we pledge to refund you 200% of what you paid, for extra peace of mind.