A US passport photo must be 2×2 inches (51×51 mm), in color, against a plain white or off-white background, taken within the last 6 months. Your head must measure between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from chin to crown. For digital submission, the file must be JPEG, between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels, under 11MB.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Print size | 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) |
| Head height in print | 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25–35 mm) chin to crown |
| Digital pixel dimensions | 600×600 minimum — 1200×1200 maximum |
| Digital file size | Under 11MB |
| File format (digital) | JPEG only |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows |
| Recency | Within the last 6 months |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed |
| Glasses | Not permitted (since November 2016) |
| Head coverings | Not permitted except for religious reasons (signed statement required) |
Specifications current as of August 2026 — verify against the US State Department passport photo requirements page before submitting.
The head-size rule that catches most DIY photos
People focus on the 2×2 inch frame and assume if the photo is square, it passes. The harder constraint is what's inside the frame: your head must fill between 50% and 69% of the image height.
That translates to 1 inch to 1 3/8 inches of head height in the printed photo. Too close to the camera and your head exceeds that ceiling. Too far back and the face is too small to meet facial recognition standards. Most phone-camera selfies, even perfectly framed, fail because people naturally hold the phone at a flattering distance — which puts the head at roughly 40% of the image height, well below the 50% minimum.
The practical fix: have someone else take the photo from about 4 feet away with a plain wall behind you, then crop to square. A selfie at arm's length almost always needs significant cropping that re-introduces the head-size problem.
Why the background rejects more photos than the photo itself
Off-white walls look white to the eye but register as cream, beige, or grey in a photograph. Any hint of colour in the background — including the yellow cast from indoor lighting — is grounds for rejection. The same applies to shadows: if there's a visible shadow from your head on the wall behind you, the photo fails.
Stand at least 2 feet from the background wall. This prevents your head from casting a shadow onto it. Use daylight or daylight-temperature bulbs pointing at the background, not just at you. If you're editing a photo to whiten the background, the result must be uniformly white — any visible gradient from the editing process counts as a pattern.
One genuinely non-obvious problem: if your hair is very light or your clothing is white, there's no contrast between you and the background at the edges. The photo may be technically within spec but get flagged at the counter because the reviewer can't distinguish where your hair ends and the background begins. Wear something with visible contrast at the collar.
Digital submission vs printed photos: different constraints
For in-person applications (post office, passport acceptance facility), you hand over two printed 2×2 inch photos. The resolution requirement for print is 300 DPI minimum at that size, which means a 600×600 pixel source image is the floor — any lower and the print comes out visibly soft.
For the State Department's online passport renewal system, you upload a digital file directly. The rules shift slightly: JPEG only, 600–1200 pixels on each side, under 11MB. There's no print involved, so the DPI number is irrelevant — what matters is the pixel dimensions and the square crop.
If your photo is a PNG (common when using a background-removal app), convert it to JPEG before uploading. The online system rejects any format other than JPEG. A 2×2 inch PNG at 300 DPI is 600×600 pixels — converting it to JPEG at that size produces a file well under 1MB and well within spec. Use our tool to resize your photo to under 500KB if the file is larger than needed.
Glasses: the rule that surprises people
As of November 1, 2016, glasses are not permitted in US passport photos. This catches people who haven't applied for a passport in a decade — glasses were previously allowed under conditions (no glare, no tinted lenses). The rule was changed to align with ICAO facial recognition standards used at automated border gates internationally.
The only exception is a documented medical need, which requires a signed statement from a licensed medical professional explaining why glasses cannot be removed. This exception is uncommon and must be submitted with the application.
How to resize or prepare a digital passport photo
If you've taken a photo and need to prepare the digital file for online submission:
- Crop to square — ensure your head fills 50–69% of the image height. Most photo apps have a 1:1 crop preset.
- Resize to 600×600 — this is the minimum accepted pixel dimension and produces a file that passes without being unnecessarily large. Our compressor handles this.
- Export as JPEG — convert from PNG or HEIC before uploading. JPEG is the only accepted format for digital submission.
- Check file size — the 11MB ceiling is generous; a 600×600 JPEG will be well under 1MB. File size is rarely the problem for digital passport photos.
If you're preparing photos for print at a pharmacy or photo center, export at 600×600 minimum (300 DPI at 2 inches). Most locations will print from a file you bring in on your phone or on a USB drive.