Passport photo rules: how our checker actually applies them
Passport photo rules differ per country, and PassportNinja carries 13 official size templates that apply them for free: the right print size in millimetres, the right head height, a plain white background and a 600 dpi file.
Last updated: September 2026
Below is every one of the 13 in a single table, how the checker measures your photo against them, and the parts it can't judge for you.
You don't pay to find out if your photo is valid. The compliance check and the printable sheet are both free. No card, no account.
Make a compliant photo free →How it works
- Pick the document. Choose your country in the tool. That loads one of the 13 templates below: the print size in millimetres and the head-height band that belongs to it.
- Upload a straight-on photo. A phone picture is fine. The checker finds your face, scales the photo until your chin-to-crown height lands inside the band, crops to the exact millimetre size and replaces the background with plain white: we make the background white for every country.
- Read the banner, then download. The head height is measured a second time on the finished photo and the result gets a red, amber or green banner. You get a 600 dpi digital file and a printable 10×15 cm sheet with cut lines: both free, no watermark, no account.
What we actually see happen
In the 40-day sample we measured from 13 July to 21 August 2026, the checker rejected 57 uploads before a result was ever shown. That number is worth more than another restated rulebook, because it's what actually happens when a real photo meets the geometry below: not a hypothetical.
It's almost never a size problem: of the 354 uploads measured in the same period, every single one landed comfortably inside the file-size limit, and none came within 10% of it. So when the checker does say no, it's the measurements on this page doing their job, head height, crop margins, a second face in frame, not a technical cap on the file you sent. We're not extrapolating from a handful of screenshots or a single bad review here: this is every upload our own server logged in that window, the same pipeline described below. The 40-day window is short by design: we'd rather publish a small, real number today than wait for a bigger one that says the same thing.
The rules themselves live with the authority, not with us
Each issuing authority publishes its own exact requirements. Read them at the source, for example the U.S. Department of State for American passports or GOV.UK for British ones. Below is what our checker itself does, not a summary of theirs. Whatever people call them, passport photo rules, or the more casual passport picture rules, the source is always the government, never a website like this one.
What the free version actually gives you
The compliance check and the printable sheet are both free, with no watermark added at any tier. Free processes up to six photos at once and keeps the results on our server for 45 minutes, long enough to download, retry a shot, and download again. Leave an e-mail address and the free monthly pass raises that to 10 photos per batch and a 6-hour window. A paid pass lifts it to 25 photos per batch kept for 24 hours: €3 buys a single 24-hour stretch, €5 buys 30 days of it. No pass changes what the checker measures or how it crops: you get more room to work, not a different result.
Every upload runs through the same pipeline whether you're on the free tier or a paid pass: face detection, crop, background swap, a second measurement of the output, then the files sit in temporary storage until their retention window closes or you come back for them, whichever is first. There's no separate "premium" measurement logic and no separate crop math: paying buys batch size and time, not accuracy.
Where your photo actually goes
Processing runs on our own hardware in the Netherlands, not on a third-party image API. Your file isn't sent out for face detection or background removal elsewhere; it's handled on the same machine that served you the page. Once a job finishes processing, the source upload itself is discarded: what's kept for the retention window is the output you're meant to download, not a copy of what you sent us.
What "white space added" actually means
Scaling a photo up to hit the required head-height band sometimes pushes part of the frame past the edge of what you uploaded, most often when the original was already tightly cropped around the face. Rather than stretch or guess at pixels that were never captured, we fill that missing edge with white. It's a visible patch, not an invisible one: past a certain amount of fill, the checker adds a warning so you know the result leans on padding rather than on your original framing, and can decide whether to retake the shot with more room around your head instead.
The status banner, and what each colour means
After the crop and the second measurement, the result gets one of three banner colours. Red means the measured head height landed outside the document's band even after cropping: something to fix, usually by retaking the photo from further back or closer in. Amber means the crop itself is within band but something else needs a look: more than one face detected, or white space added at the edge. Green means neither condition fired. The banner is a summary of what the measurement step found, not a judgement on the whole photo: it doesn't know about expression, glasses glare, or lighting, only what it can measure in pixels.
Why output sizes differ by document
The digital file and the print sheet both come out at fixed pixel dimensions per document, not just a fixed millimetre size, because the print sheet is built to fit standard 10×15 cm photo paper with cut lines already on it. US and India photos render at 1200×1200 px, two to a sheet; UK, Australian and EU photos at 827×1063 px, eight to a sheet; Canadian photos at 1181×1654 px, two to a sheet; Chinese photos at 780×1134 px, four to a sheet, with the digital JPG resized afterwards to the 420×560 px the Chinese visa portal accepts. Everything is rendered at 600 dpi for the digital file, so a photo booth or print shop doesn't need to guess at your intended physical size: it's already baked into the pixels.
How we find and measure your head
We locate your face in the photo, then estimate two points from that detection: the crown and the chin. The pixel distance between them is compared against the middle of your document's required millimetre range, for example 34 mm on a 35×45 mm Schengen photo, halfway between 32 and 36. The whole image is scaled until that measured distance lands on the target, then cropped around the same horizontal centre as your face.
The buffer above your head
We don't crop flush to the crown. Once your head is scaled to size, the space left over in the frame, above the crown and below the chin, is split unevenly: 42% of it stays above your head, the rest below. Cropping tight to the hairline looks off and tends to get noticed at the counter, so there's always a small margin left there instead.
We measure the result again, not just the input
After cropping, we run the same head measurement a second time, on the finished photo rather than on what you uploaded. Inside a 1.5 mm tolerance either side of the required range, nothing is shown; a photo doesn't need to be mathematically perfect, just close enough. Outside that tolerance, we say so on screen instead of quietly handing you a file that looks fine but might not pass. The message reads, for example:
"Head height ≈ 30 mm; requirement is 32-36 mm. Try a photo taken from further away."
A few other things surface the same way, as a warning rather than a silent fix: more than one face in frame (we use the most prominent one), an original photo cropped so tight we had to pad the edges with white, or a face detection that wasn't fully confident and is worth double-checking yourself.
The background is always plain white
Whatever colour a document's own rules actually call for, plain white is what you get: we replace the background the same way for every template, including the handful that officially ask for grey or cream. That's a limitation of the tool, not a shortcut. If your document needs a different background colour, check the requirement yourself before you submit.
Passport photo rules by country: all 13 templates
These are the numbers the checker itself works from, one row per template, taken straight out of the tool. Head height means the distance from your chin to the crown of your head. The background column says what you get, not what your own form asks for: every template comes out plain white, because plain white is the only background the tool makes.
| Document | Print size | Head height, chin to crown | Background you get | Digital file, 600 dpi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States: passport & visa | 50.8 × 50.8 mm (2 × 2 in) | 25-35 mm | Plain white | 1200 × 1200 px |
| United States visa / DV Lottery: digital only | 50.8 × 50.8 mm (2 × 2 in) | 25-35 mm | Plain white | exactly 600 × 600 px, JPG under 240 KB |
| United Kingdom: passport | 35 × 45 mm | 29-34 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| Netherlands: passport / ID card | 35 × 45 mm | 26-30 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| Schengen visa / general EU | 35 × 45 mm | 32-36 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| Australia: passport | 35 × 45 mm | 32-36 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| Japan: passport | 35 × 45 mm | 32-36 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| South Korea: passport | 35 × 45 mm | 32-36 mm | Plain white | 827 × 1063 px |
| Canada: passport | 50 × 70 mm | 31-36 mm | Plain white | 1181 × 1654 px |
| Brazil: passport | 50 × 70 mm | 31-36 mm | Plain white | 1181 × 1654 px |
| India: passport & visa | 50.8 × 50.8 mm (2 × 2 in) | 25-35 mm | Plain white | 1200 × 1200 px |
| China: passport & visa | 33 × 48 mm | 28-33 mm | Plain white | 420 × 560 px, JPG of 40-120 KB |
| Philippines: TESDA enrolment | 50.8 × 50.8 mm (2 × 2 in) | 25-35 mm (our generic 2 × 2 in crop, not a TESDA rule: check with the issuing authority) | Plain white | 1200 × 1200 px |
Two of the 13 carry a second limit on top of the print size, because the official upload form refuses anything bigger. The US visa and DV Lottery form wants exactly 600 × 600 pixels in a file under 240 KB, and the Chinese visa portal accepts 420 × 560 pixels in a JPG between 40 and 120 KB: too small is refused there as well as too big. For those two the digital file is resized to the portal's numbers; the print sheet stays at full resolution either way.
What the table does not carry, our templates do not carry either: there is no background rule, no expression rule and no "taken within the last six months" rule stored per country. Those live with the issuing authority, so check with the issuing authority for anything this table leaves blank. The same goes for countries without a template: the passport rules Mexico publishes, and those of Ireland, Denmark, Bangladesh and the UAE, are not among our 13, and neither are the Philippine DFA rules for an actual passport (as opposed to the TESDA enrolment format above). Use one of our templates only if your own form asks for exactly that print size.
Where we do carry a template, each country's rules match its own row in the table: Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, the Netherlands and India, with the EU and Schengen sharing one row. The UK passport photo rules are the UK row in that table. The British passport photo band is that row too, and the Canada passport photo rules are the Canadian row. The background column has one answer regardless of document: plain white. The U.S. Department of State page linked above is the real source behind our US row, not a summary we invented.
Related: Australia passport photo.
Pick your country in the tool and its band is applied automatically.
What we can't check for you
Expression, whether your eyes are open, shadows on your face, glare on glasses: none of that is something the checker looks at. It measures geometry and swaps the background; it doesn't judge your face. Before you upload, check for yourself:
- Neutral expression, mouth closed
- Both eyes open, hair away from your eyes
- Even lighting, no hard shadow across your face
- No glare on glasses, or no glasses at all where the document requires it
The same limit covers a few specific things. Passport photo rules hair questions, such as bangs, aren't measured: the checker doesn't know if hair is covering an eyebrow or crossing the hairline. Beards aren't checked either; keep the expression neutral and leave facial hair as it is. Ears and earrings are the same story, so if your document requires visible ears, check that yourself. Makeup isn't measured, so heavy contouring gets a green banner just as a bare face would; what does apply, from the recency rule elsewhere on this page, is that the photo still has to look like you, so keep any passport photo makeup close to your everyday look. Clothing isn't measured either: plain, non-reflective clothing is the safe default, since the tool only ever touches the background behind you.
One thing the checker can't do: guarantee acceptance. It formats your photo to the published requirements for the document you pick and flags what it measures outside range; the issuing authority always makes the final decision.
Applying somewhere that also wants your supporting documents translated? ScanReviver's translate PDF keeps the translation inside the original layout: same pages and images, just in the language they asked for.
How the checker works: a few more questions
What is a passport size photograph?
A photo cut to the size a passport authority sets, with the head in a fixed band on a plain background. A passport size picture is 35×45 mm in most countries and 2×2 inch in the US; a passport style photo for an ID card or licence usually follows the same size. For a non-passport document, the ID photo maker applies the same logic.
Do I need a passport photographer or a passport photo booth?
No. A passport photographer or passport photo booth mainly adds a print and someone to check your framing. Paid passport photo services make sense if nobody can take the photo for you; this photo tool gives you the same size, crop and background for free.
Where to get passport photos without a shop or appointment?
Upload a straight-on photo here and download the sized, white-background result right away. If you'd rather have someone take it, where to get a passport photo taken is usually a pharmacy or post office; where to get passport photo taken quickly depends on your area. Where to take passport photos yourself: any plain, well-lit wall. Where to take passport picture shots matters less than the light.
Is there a passport photo example?
The do-and-don't figure above is one: a correct passport photo example next to three common mistakes. Official passport photo examples are on each authority's own site. If you're after a passport example or a sample passport of the book itself, that's a different thing: this page only covers the photo, and the figure is the passport sample for that.
How does the checker decide where to crop?
It finds your face, estimates the crown and the chin, and scales the whole photo so that distance matches the middle of your document's required millimetre range. The horizontal centre follows the same face position.
Why do I get a warning even when the photo looks right?
Because the head height is measured a second time, on the cropped result rather than on the photo you uploaded. Outside a 1.5 mm tolerance either side of the required range, the measured value and the requirement are shown on screen instead of only handing you a file.
Does the tool match my document's exact background colour?
No. The background always comes out plain white, even for the handful of documents that officially ask for grey or cream. Check your document's background rule yourself before you submit.
If the checker says my photo passes, will it be accepted?
The checker formats your photo to the published requirements for the document you picked and flags anything it measures outside range. It doesn't judge expression or lighting, and the issuing authority always makes the final decision. Pick your country in the tool to see your document's exact bands.
Can I smile in a passport photo?
Most authorities want a neutral expression with your mouth closed, and the checker does not look at your face that way at all: it measures geometry and swaps the background. A broad smile will still get a green banner here and can still be refused at the counter. So can you smile for a passport picture? Keep it neutral, eyes open, and read your own authority's wording; the US is one of the few that accepts a natural smile. Can you smile in a passport picture and pass this checker? Yes, but that says nothing about the counter.
What are passport photo rules, in one sentence?
The rules for a passport photo come down to three things per document: the print size in millimetres, the head-height band from chin to crown, and a plain background colour. Everything else, from expression to hair to clothing, is left to the issuing authority. The 13-row table above lists the passport photo guidelines for every template, from 35×45 mm for most European documents to the 2×2 inch square the US uses. The standard passport photo size for most countries outside the US is that 35×45 mm rectangle, and the 13 templates make passport pictures for each of them.
Are the rules different for a baby, a child or an adult?
No. A newborn passport photo, an infant passport photo, a five-year-old's photo and an adult's all use the same millimetre bands in the table, including the UK's 29-34 mm and Canada's 31-36 mm. Getting a baby or young child to sit still for a neutral, open-eyed shot is the harder part, not the measurement. Our baby passport photo guide walks through it.
Are the rules different for digital copies or an online renewal?
No. The digital file uses the same size and head-height band as the print; the table's rightmost column lists the pixel size and dpi per document, such as the UK's 827×1063 px at 600 dpi. An online renewal uses the same template as a first application.
Does the US or UK check ears specifically?
Not through this tool: the checker doesn't measure ears or earrings for any country, and the US passport photo rules on ears and the UK's are something to check in your authority's own guidance. Clothing isn't measured either (plain clothing is the safe default), and that includes a collar or a name tag.
Can I wear glasses?
The tool cannot tell. It does not detect glasses, glare or reflections, so a photo with a bright spot on your lenses gets the same banner as one without. Several authorities now ask you to take your glasses off altogether; if yours does, take them off, and if it does not, make sure both eyes are clearly visible with nothing reflecting in the lenses.
Is a picture of a passport the same as a passport photo?
No. A scan of the booklet or its data page, which a booking form may ask for as a picture of a passport, is a different thing from the portrait inside it; the table above lists the portrait's size for each of the 13 templates.
What are the rules for a passport photo at a glance?
The checker measures print size, head height and background. The issuing authority judges expression, lighting, glasses and how recent the photo is. The table above shows the measurable part for all 13 templates.
Is the European passport photo the same in every country?
The print size is: 35×45 mm for the Schengen and EU row. The head-height band is not: the table shows 32-36 mm for the general EU row, 26-30 mm for the Netherlands and 29-34 mm for the UK.
Do my ears have to show in a passport photo?
In the passport photo rules ears are worded differently from country to country, so read the page of your own authority. The checker does not measure ears or earrings for any country, and a clear face with hair away from your eyes is the safe default.
What background colour do the rules ask for?
That depends on the document, and our 13 templates do not store it: every one of them comes out plain white, including the handful of documents that officially ask for grey or off-white. White is what most of the countries in the table above accept, but the rule itself belongs to the authority: check with the issuing authority if your form names a different colour.
Can I take a passport photo with my phone?
Yes, that is what the tool is built for. Stand about 60 cm from a plain, light-coloured wall and have someone shoot from roughly 1.5 metres away at eye height, with soft daylight coming from the front so there is no shadow behind your head. The checker handles the millimetres, the crop and the background; the camera part is yours.
How recent does the photo have to be?
Most authorities ask for a photo taken within the last six months, and all of them expect it to still look like you. The checker has no date check anywhere in it: it cannot see how old a photo is, only how big your head is in it, so this one is entirely on you.
Are the rules different for a baby passport photo?
The print size and the head-height band are the same, which is exactly what makes a baby hard: the pose is not something you can ask for. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet and shoot from straight above, eyes open, with no hands, dummies or toys in frame. Our baby passport photo guide walks through it step by step.
Which countries does the tool have templates for?
Thirteen documents in total: the United States (twice, once for print and once for the digital DV Lottery format), the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Schengen and general EU standard (itself built on the ICAO 9303 travel-document specification), Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, India, China and a Philippine TESDA format. If your country is not in that list, pick the template whose print size your own form asks for and check the head-height rule with the issuing authority.
What are the American passport photo rules for size and background?
The US requires a 2×2 inch (50.8×50.8 mm) square photo with the head measuring 1 to 1⅜ inch (25-35 mm) from chin to crown, on a plain white or off-white background, taken within the last six months. Digital submissions need at least 600×600 pixels.
What do passport photo requirements actually cover?
Requirements cover four things: the physical print size, the head-height band from chin to crown, the background colour and, for digital submissions, the pixel dimensions and file-size limits. Expression, lighting and recency, typically six months, are also required by most authorities but are checked by the issuing authority, not by a tool.
Are there passport picture rules hair has to follow?
Yes, though the checker can't verify it: most authorities want your hairline and both eyebrows visible, nothing draped across your face, and if you wear a headscarf for religious reasons your face still has to be fully visible from chin to forehead. The tool measures head height and background only; hair and headwear rules are yours to check against your issuing authority's page. The passport photo hair rules most authorities publish are simple: hairline and both eyebrows visible, nothing draped across the eyes, so style it back before you upload.
Do I need a passport photographer, a booth or a paid service?
No. A passport photo do it yourself at home works: upload a straight-on photo and the checker crops, sizes and whitens it to the same result a passport photographer would produce, without an appointment. It is more than a resizer but less than a studio: a free passport photo service for the geometry (size, head height and background), not for expression, lighting or a guarantee of acceptance; a paid service mainly adds a physical print and a person to check your framing. The download includes a 10×15 cm sheet, so you can print passport photo copies at home or at a print shop.
Is there an example of a correct photo?
Yes. The do-and-don't figure above shows a correct passport photo example next to three common mistakes, and the 13-row table works as a reference for every document. Use the figure as a sample passport photo or passport sample to check your framing against; it is the clearest passport example and example of a passport crop on this page.
What are the United States passport photo requirements exactly?
A 2×2 inch (50.8×50.8 mm) square crop, head 25-35 mm chin to crown, plain white or off-white background, taken within six months, no glasses. That is the American passport photo standard and the picture format a United States passport image or United States of America passport images must follow. The passport photo rules USA applicants meet are in the table above; the US passport picture requirements for a digital submission add a minimum of 600×600 pixels. The passport photo requirements USA uses come straight from the State Department page linked above.
Does this page cover an i d photo, or only passports?
For a document that isn't a passport, the ID photo maker applies the same size logic: most ID cards and licences share the 35×45 mm format in the table above.
What counts as a passport style photo for a non-passport document?
Same basics: correct print size, head-height band and a plain background, many ID cards and licences use a passport style photo without being a passport themselves.
What makes a good passport photo, beyond the size?
Even lighting, a neutral expression and no shadows: the checker handles the size and background; the rest is on the original shot.
Does the photo for a passport photo application need anything beyond size?
The size, head height and background are covered by the checker; expression, lighting and recency are checked by the issuing authority, not by a tool.
Where can I check passport photos requirements for a document that isn't in the table?
Pick the template whose print size matches your own form, and confirm the head-height rule with the issuing authority directly.
Are selfies okay for passport photos?
Not an arm's-length selfie: the US State Department lists “no selfies” in its photo basics, and a phone that close distorts your face. Have someone take the photo from about 1.5 metres at eye height, or prop the phone up at that distance and use the self-timer, then run it through the checker here.
By Sam Ridder, I build and run PassportNinja on my own hardware, on my own. Who I am.