US passport photo · 2×2 inches
Checked and laid out to the current U.S. Department of State specification. Rules quoted from travel.state.gov, page updated 2026-03-24, checked by us on 2026-08-16.
Check your photo
Free check, free watermarked preview — you pay only to download the finished file.
Head and shoulders in frame, with clear space above the hair — the head should fill about half the photo, not all of it.
This document needs a wider shot: include your chest, not just head and shoulders — the head can fill at most 57% of the photo height.
Drop your photo hereTap to choose a photoor click to browse your filestake one now or pick from your library
JPG · PNG · HEICshorter side at least 600pxup to 12 MBor paste with ⌘V
Official specification
| Finished size | 51 × 51 mm |
| Head height (chin to crown) | 25 – 35 mm |
| Eye height | not published by this authority |
| Background | plain white or off-white, free of shadows, texture, objects or lines |
| File formats | JPG / JPEG / PNG / HEIC / HEIF |
| File size | 54 KB – 10 MB |
| Taken within | the last 6 months |
Full rules
- Submit 1 colour photo taken in the last 6 months.
- Printed size 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm).
- Head height, bottom of chin to top of head, between 1 and 1 3/8 inches (25–35 mm).
- Plain white or off-white background, free of shadows, texture, objects or lines.
- Take off eyeglasses; do not rest them on your head. Medical exemptions need a signed note from your doctor.
- No hats or head coverings, except for documented religious or medical reasons — and then one colour, no patterns, no small holes.
- Face the camera without tilting your head, both eyes open and visible, mouth closed. You may smile, just keep your mouth closed.
- No uniforms, clothing that looks like a uniform, or camouflage. No headphones or wireless earpieces.
- Submit the original, unedited photo. No filters, no editing software, no AI tools — the State Department states it screens every photo for AI use.
- Online renewal upload: JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC or HEIF, between 54 KB and 10 MB.
- Online renewal upload: the bottom of the photo should sit at the edge of your shoulders, near where they meet your arms.
Sources
https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/apply/help/photos.html
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-03-24 · we checked it 2026-08-16
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-03-24 · we checked it 2026-08-16
The correct printed size of a passport photo is 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm). The size of your head in the printed photo must be between 1 -1 3/8 inches (25 - 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/renew-replace/online/upload-digital-photo.html
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-05-04 · we checked it 2026-08-16
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-05-04 · we checked it 2026-08-16
The photo is a JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF file. The file size should be between 54 KB and 10 MB.https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/renew-replace/online/upload-digital-photo.html
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-05-04 · we checked it 2026-08-16
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs · page updated 2026-05-04 · we checked it 2026-08-16
Do not use a photo you created or edited using artificial intelligence or other digital tools. ... You changed the photo in a graphic design software program. The outline of your head, face, and neck in the image have been edited. [UNACCEPTABLE] ... We check all photos to ensure you are not using artificial intelligence tools.Questions
What size is a US passport photo?
2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), with the head measuring between 25 mm and 35 mm from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
Can I use software or AI to change my background to white?
No. The State Department requires the original, unedited photo and states that it screens every photo for AI and editing. Cutting your head out and pasting it onto a white background is named as unacceptable. If your background is wrong, the photo has to be retaken.
What are the file limits for online renewal?
JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC or HEIF, between 54 KB and 10 MB.
How recent must the photo be?
It must be a colour photo taken within the last 6 months.
Our own assumptions
- The State Department does not publish a pixel size, so we output 600×600 px at 2×2 inches / 300 DPI.
- It does not publish an eye height either, so we place the crown 11% down from the top and size the head to 57.4% of the frame, which lands inside the official 25–35 mm range.
- The chin is measured by 68-point facial landmarks; the crown comes from the top of the cut-out outline, because landmark models cannot see the top of the head. If no face is detected we fall back to an outline-proportion estimate.
- Assumed accuracy: ±5% with landmarks, ±15% when falling back. Measured on synthetic fixtures as −0.64% and −14.44% (scripts/verify-geometry.mts) — neither figure has been calibrated against real passport photos.
Where the authority does not specify something, we say so rather than pretending it does. The points above are our engineering choices, not official requirements.