FAQ - Passport Photos
The photos should be printed on matte or glossy photo-quality paper.
Yes, the photos must be in color.
The photos must have been taken within the last 6 months.
The photos must measure exactly 2 inches by 2 inches.
The photo should show a clear, front view, full face of the traveler. The traveler should be in normal street attire, without hat or glasses, against a plain white or off-white background. The traveler should have a natural expression, mouth closed, and eyes open looking directly ahead. Photos in which the face of the person being photographed is not in focus will not be accepted.
The traveler's head, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair, should be between 1 inch and 1-3/8 inches. The head should be centered in the photo. The head of the person being photographed should not be tilted up, down or to the side. It should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
Unless worn daily for religious reasons, all hats or headgear should be removed for the photo. A signed statement from the applicant must be submitted with the application verifying the item is worn daily for religious reasons. In all cases, no item or attire should cover or otherwise obscure any part of the face.
No. When you have your passport photo professionally taken, please remove your eyewear. The US Department of State restricts glasses from being worn in a passport photo. Failure to comply will cause your order to be suspended.
Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless you need them for medical reasons. A medical certificate may be required.
Uniforms, clothing that looks like a uniform, and camouflage attire should not be worn in photographs except in the case of religious attire that is worn daily. Otherwise, normal street attire should be worn.
No, the minor child must be the only subject in the photo. Nothing used to support the minor child, whether by mechanical or human means, should be in the camera's frame.
No, only original photographs are acceptable. Copied or digitally scanned photos of photos will not be accepted. In addition, photos must not be retouched to alter the traveler's appearance in any way.
No, snapshots, magazine photos, most vending machine prints, or full-length photographs are not acceptable.
If the digital camera has sufficient resolution capable of capturing and storing images with 1 million pixels (megapixels) or more it can be used to take the photos. However, printing of digital images is best done by professional photography processing labs because many off-the-shelf digital printers cannot achieve the image-quality required for passport and visa photographs. In any case, the image-quality criteria, described on this website, must be met in the submitted conventional film photo and/or the digital image printed photo.
