US Passport Photo Requirements 2026

No. As of January 1, 2026, the State Department's 8 FAM 402.1 update explicitly rejects passport photos that have been AI-edited — including AI background replacement, skin smoothing, and face reshaping. Standard cropping, resizing, and uniform background recolouring on a real plain wall are still allowed. For US passport submissions, capture against an actual plain white wall and use our tool for geometric crop + resize only.

The automated photo-validation check on the online passport renewal portal returns a result in under 60 seconds. For mailed paper applications, the photo review happens during the standard 6–8 week processing window. Photos that fail automated validation trigger a Request for Evidence notification, adding 60–90 days to the application.

Yes — Walgreens and CVS in-house passport photos meet State Department dimensions. The cheaper alternative: take the photo at home (free), produce the file with our tool ($3.99), and print the 4×6 sheet at any Walgreens or CVS photo kiosk for $0.33 – $0.49. Total ~$4.50 vs $14.99 – $16.99 at their passport-photo counter.

The official US Passport Photo Maker Online size is 51 mm × 51 mm (2.01 in × 2.01 in). For digital uploads it equals 1200 × 1200 px at 300 DPI.

US Passport Photo Maker Online photos must be taken on a plain white background, evenly lit and free of shadows or patterns.

The head should fill approximately 70–80% of the photo height, with eyes positioned in the upper-middle of the frame and a neutral expression looking straight at the camera.

Yes. Use a recent phone photo against a plain wall, with even daylight and no glasses. Our tool then crops, recolors the background, and resizes to the official 51 mm × 51 mm template.

Yes. We generate a 4x6 print sheet with 6 photos that any pharmacy or photo kiosk can print.