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US Passport Photo: requirements and cropper

A us passport photo is 51 × 51 mm — about 2 × 2 inches. The head must measure 25–35 mm from the crown of the head to the bottom of the chin. The background must be white or off-white, no shadows, texture or lines. The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months.

Crop a photo to the United States spec

Drop a photo here, or click to choose Straight-on, evenly lit, plain background · cropped in this browser, never uploaded

The official requirements

Printed photo size 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 in)
Head height 25–35 mm, crown to chin
Background White or off-white, no shadows, texture or lines
File format JPEG
How recent Taken within the last 6 months
Copies required 1
Glasses Eyeglasses must be removed. A medical exception requires a signed doctor's note.
Head coverings Must be removed unless worn daily for religious purposes (signed statement required) or medical purposes (signed doctor's statement required). The full face must be visible with no shadows.
Expression & pose Neutral expression with both eyes open and mouth closed. A slight smile is allowed provided the eyes stay open and the mouth stays closed.
Children & infants It is acceptable if a baby's eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.
Not published digital dimensions, file size, minimum resolution — the official source does not state these, so nothing is shown rather than a number we made up.

Source: U.S. Department of State — Passport Photo Requirements — read 2026-07-26.

Worth knowing

The standard mail-in application (DS-11 / DS-82) requires one printed 2×2 in photo. A separate online renewal channel accepts a digital upload, but the State Department's photo page does not publish pixel or file-size limits for it, so those fields are left empty rather than guessed.

How to make one

  1. Take or choose a photo shot straight on, from about arm's length or further, in even light with no shadow falling on the face or the wall behind it. Phone selfies taken close up distort the face and are a common rejection reason.
  2. Stand far enough from the wall that you cast no shadow on it. The background needs to be white or off-white, no shadows, texture or lines — the tool fills only the area outside your photo's edges, it does not replace the wall behind you.
  3. Drop the photo into the tool above. Nothing is uploaded; the file is read directly by your browser.
  4. Drag the blue marker to the very top of the head, including hair, and the red marker to the bottom of the chin. This is the measurement every official spec is written against.
  5. Check the head-height readout. It should sit between 25 mm and 35 mm; the panel turns green when it does.
  6. Download the photo, or generate a print sheet if you need physical copies.

Why United States photos get rejected

Drawn from the official guidance rather than guesswork. Most rejections are not about dimensions at all:

  • Blurry, grainy or pixelated image
  • A photocopy or a scan of an existing photo
  • Damaged photo with holes, creases or smudges
  • Computer-altered or filtered image
  • Shadow on the face or on the background
  • Eyeglasses worn without a signed medical exception

United States photo questions

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The cropping, resizing and compressing all happen inside this page, using your browser's own image APIs. There is no server to upload to — the site is static files. Open your browser's network tab, use the tool, and you can watch nothing leave.

It also keeps working with your Wi-Fi switched off once the page has loaded.

What size is a us passport photo?

51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 in), according to U.S. Department of State — Passport Photo Requirements. Within that, the head must measure 25 mm to 35 mm from crown to chin.

Can this tool change my background?

No, and that is deliberate. Background replacement means guessing where your hair ends, and the guess is visible — a halo or a chewed-up fringe is exactly the kind of artefact that gets a photo rejected as digitally altered. United States requires white or off-white, no shadows, texture or lines, so photograph yourself against a matching wall.

The fill colour setting only paints the area outside your photo's edges when the required crop is larger than the image you supplied.

How recent does the photo have to be?

Taken within the last 6 months. Reusing the photo from your previous passport is a standard rejection reason.

Can I wear glasses?

Eyeglasses must be removed. A medical exception requires a signed doctor's note.

Are head coverings allowed?

Must be removed unless worn daily for religious purposes (signed statement required) or medical purposes (signed doctor's statement required). The full face must be visible with no shadows.

Do the rules differ for babies and children?

It is acceptable if a baby's eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.

Will a photo from this tool definitely be accepted?

Nobody can promise that, and any site that does is selling you certainty it does not have. A photo is judged on framing, background, lighting, expression, sharpness and how recent it is. This tool handles the geometry and the file size precisely; the rest is down to how the photo was taken. The requirements here were read from U.S. Department of State — Passport Photo Requirements on 2026-07-26 — check the source before you submit, because rules change.

Other specs

This is not official advice. img-fix is not affiliated with any government or immigration authority. The figures on this page were read from U.S. Department of State — Passport Photo Requirements on 2026-07-26, and requirements change without notice. Check the official source before you submit.