US passport photo requirements at a glance
| Requirement | What the US asks for |
|---|---|
| Size | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) |
| Head height | 1 to 1⅜ in (25–35 mm), chin to top of head |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows, texture or objects |
| Age of photo | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Expression | Neutral or a natural smile, both eyes open |
| Glasses | Not allowed, except with a signed medical statement |
| Head coverings | Only for religious or medical reasons, with the full face visible |
| Editing | No filters, retouching or digital alteration |
These are the commonly published State Department rules, and the same 2 × 2 in format is used for US visa photos. Rules can change, so check the latest guidance at travel.state.gov before you apply.
Common reasons US passport photos are rejected
- Glasses: even clear prescription lenses. Take them off, and don’t rest them on your head either.
- Shadows on your face or on the wall behind you, usually from one lamp or from standing too close to the wall.
- Head too small or too large. The guide fixes this, as long as your original photo has space above your head.
- A background that looks grey or yellow under indoor bulbs. Daylight from a window gives a much cleaner white.
- Arm’s-length selfies, which distort the face and are rarely straight. Ask someone to hold the phone 4–5 feet away at your eye level.
- Filters, beauty mode or portrait blur: switch them off before you take the picture.
- Poor prints: blurry, pixelated, or printed on ordinary paper instead of photo paper.
Printing a 2×2 photo on 4×6 paper
A standard US passport application (form DS-11 or DS-82) needs one printed photo, but a spare is handy in case one gets damaged.
Download the 4×6 in sheet as JPG and order a regular 4×6 print at a drugstore or supermarket photo kiosk, or online for store pickup. Turn off any crop-to-fit or auto-enhance options. Keep in mind that a 4×6 sheet is exactly two 2-inch photos wide and three tall, so once room for cutting is added it holds fewer 2 × 2 copies than you might expect. If you want several spares, choose the 5×7 in or US Letter sheet instead.
Printing at home? Use the Letter PDF, glossy or matte photo paper and 100% / Actual size scaling. Before cutting, measure one photo: it must be exactly 2 × 2 inches. A photo trimmed to 1⅞ inches is no longer the right size.
Digital photos for online renewal and visa forms
The US online passport renewal and the DS-160 visa application ask for a digital photo instead of a print. The US preset downloads a square 600 × 600 px JPG, the square format commonly requested for US digital photos.
Each service lists its own file requirements, including a minimum as well as a maximum file size. Read the upload instructions carefully and only use the max KB option if your file is over the limit: setting it too low can leave the photo blurry or below the minimum.
Start from your original digital photo. Photographing or scanning a printed photo to upload it lowers the quality and isn’t allowed for online renewal.
Indian visa and OCI applications use the same 2 × 2 in square size. See Indian passport and visa photos for those rules.