The passport photo maker crops your picture to the exact size for your country, with guide lines for head height. It runs on your device, so the photo isn’t uploaded.
Make a passport photoThe official size rules
Rules differ by country and change from time to time. These come from the US Department of State’s form instructions and GOV.UK, checked in October 2026.
| US passport | UK passport (printed) | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo size | 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) | 45 mm high × 35 mm wide |
| Head height, chin to top of head | 1 to 1⅜ inches (25 to 35 mm) | 29 to 34 mm |
| Background | Plain white or off-white | Plain cream or light grey |
| How recent | Taken in the last 6 months | Taken in the last month |
| Glasses | Not allowed without a doctor’s statement | Avoid unless needed. No sunglasses or tinted lenses |
| Printing | Colour, matte or glossy photo-quality paper | Colour, professional standard, plain white photo paper, no border |
Many other countries also use 35 × 45 mm, but their head size and background rules differ. Always check your own government’s page before you print.
Set up the shot
- Find a plain background. A white or light wall works for the US. For the UK, cream or light grey. Stand about half a metre in front of it so your shadow doesn’t fall on it.
- Use soft, even light. Face a window in daylight, or put two similar lamps either side of the camera. Avoid a single ceiling light, which leaves shadows under the eyes and chin.
- Ask someone to take it. A helper holding the phone at your eye level, about 1 to 1.5 metres away, gives a natural face shape. Close-up selfies make noses look bigger. For UK online applications, someone else must take the photo if you use your own device.
- Use the main camera, with no effects. Turn off portrait mode, filters and beauty effects. GOV.UK says photos must not be altered by software, and an edited photo risks rejection anywhere.
- Take several. Pick the one with open eyes, an even background and no glare.
Pose and appearance
- Face the camera straight on, with your whole face in view and your head level.
- Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed and your eyes open.
- Keep hair off your eyes. Remove hats, headphones and hair accessories that cover the face.
- For a US passport, take glasses off, and don’t wear a uniform or anything that looks like one. Religious and medical head coverings need a signed statement.
- Wear something that contrasts with the background, so a white shirt against a white wall is a bad idea.
Crop to the exact size
The head-height rule is the one home photos most often fail. In a US 2 × 2 inch photo the head has to fill half to just over two thirds of the height (1 to 1⅜ of 2 inches). In a UK photo it’s 29 to 34 mm of 45 mm, roughly two thirds to three quarters.
- Choose your country’s size. The passport photo maker sets the frame to the right shape and size.
- Line up the guides. Move and zoom the photo until the top of your head (not your hair) and your chin sit between the guide lines.
- Download and check. Look at it at full size. Make sure there is a little space above your head and that your shoulders are level.
If your photo is crooked, straighten it with Crop image first, then make the passport crop.
Printing at home or at a shop
At 300 dpi, a common print resolution, the photos are these pixel sizes:
| Photo | Pixels at 300 dpi |
|---|---|
| US 2 × 2 in | 600 × 600 |
| 35 × 45 mm | about 413 × 531 |
- Print at 100% or “actual size”, never “fit to page”, and measure the result with a ruler.
- A standard 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) print fits six photos of either size, which makes a shop print cheap.
- GOV.UK asks for prints of professional standard on plain white photographic paper, so for a UK paper application a photo shop print is the safer choice than a home inkjet.
Applying online
For an online UK application you upload a digital photo instead of printing it. GOV.UK asks for at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 10 MB, in colour and not edited. It also says not to crop a photo taken on your own device, because the service does that. If the file is over 10 MB, reduce it with Compress image and keep the pixel size above the minimum.
The US online renewal service has its own digital photo rules, so read them on travel.state.gov when you apply.
Why home photos get rejected
- Shadows on the face or behind the head.
- Head too small because the camera was too far away, or too large in a close selfie.
- A background that isn’t plain, or the wrong colour for the country.
- Glare on glasses, or glasses at all for a US passport.
- Filters, smoothing or background replacement that change how you look.
- A photo that is older than the rules allow.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Form DS-82 instructions (04-2025). Photo size, head height, background, glasses, paper
- U.S. Department of State: U.S. Passport Photos. The full list the form refers to
- GOV.UK: Printed passport photos
- GOV.UK: Digital passport photos