US Passport & Visa Photo Maker

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How to make a US passport or visa photo

  1. Take the photo straight on, against a plain white or off-white wall, with even light, a neutral expression and both eyes open.
  2. Upload it and click three points: the top of the head (including hair), the bottom of the chin, and between the eyes.
  3. Check the four results (head size, eye height, whole head in frame, plain background) and adjust the size or position if you want.
  4. Download the digital JPEG for an online application or the 4 × 6 sheet to print.

The rules the tool follows

From the State Department’s photo composition template: a printed photo is 2 × 2 inches, with the head 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of the hair to the chin and the eyes 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom. For a digital image, the head must be 50% to 69% of the image height and the eyes 56% to 69% of the height from the bottom, in a square image of 600 to 1200 pixels. The digital image requirements page adds: JPEG, color in the sRGB color space, at most 240 kB, and a compression ratio of no more than 20:1.

The tool places your head at 62% of the height and your eyes at 62.5% from the bottom by default, near the middle of both allowed ranges, so small marking errors still land inside them. On a 2-inch print, a 62% head is 1.24 inches, inside the 1 to 1 3/8 inch range.

What we tested

On October 14, 2026 we ran the page’s own placement and check functions on 9504 combinations of marks and head sizes, and drove the tool in Chromium with a test portrait whose head, chin and eye positions were known, then measured the downloaded files with Pillow.

CheckResult
Head height in the 600 px JPEG (allowed 50-69%)62.0% (target 62%)
Eye height from the bottom (allowed 56-69%)62.5% (target 62.5%)
Digital file600x600 px JPEG, RGB, 41,204 bytes (limit 240 kB), 300 pixels per inch
Print sheet1800x1200 px at 300 ppi = 6 x 4 in, six 2 x 2 in photos; one cell measured 62.0% head, 62.5% eyes
Compression ratio (rule: 20:1 or less)test portrait 26.2:1 (a plain synthetic image; the tool raised the quality and says so); real photo 12.5:1, 86,580 bytes
Busy backgroundflagged
Placement functions on 9,504 mark and size combinationshead and eye targets hit in every case

The page fitted a 390 px phone screen with no errors.

Sources

Checked on .

Frequently Asked Questions

What size is a US passport or visa photo?+
2 by 2 inches (51 by 51 mm) printed. The State Department's photo composition template asks for a head of 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, with the eyes 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom. A digital image must be square, from 600 by 600 to 1200 by 1200 pixels, with the head 50% to 69% of the image height and the eyes 56% to 69% of the height from the bottom.
How big can the digital file be?+
The visa digital image requirements page says a JPEG in color (sRGB), at most 240 kB, with a compression ratio of no more than 20:1. This tool starts at JPEG quality 92, steps down only if the file would be over 240 kB, and steps up (to 100) if the file is compressed more than 20:1. A real 600-pixel photo in our test was 86,580 bytes at 12.5:1; a very plain test image still came out at 26:1 even at the highest quality, and the tool says so when that happens.
Why do I have to click the head, chin and eyes?+
Those three points are what the size rules are measured from. Marking them yourself means the tool can scale and place the photo exactly, with no face-recognition model and nothing sent anywhere; you can then fine-tune the size and position and the checks update as you go.
How do I print the photos?+
Download the 4 by 6 inch sheet, which holds six 2 by 2 inch photos at 300 pixels per inch with thin cut lines, and print it at actual size (no scaling, no borders) on photo paper at a store kiosk or at home. The file is marked as 300 pixels per inch so printing software sizes it correctly.
Will this guarantee my photo is accepted?+
No. The tool sizes and crops the photo to the published rules and checks that the background looks plain and light. Expression, lighting, glasses, shadows and how recent the photo is are up to you, and a State Department employee decides whether the photo is acceptable. The photo must not be digitally altered to change your appearance.
Is my photo uploaded?+
No. Everything happens in your browser.

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