US passport photo checker
Choose a photo taken against a plain white wall. This page finds your face, measures your head against the 2 x 2 inch passport rule, checks the background and the light, and shows a framed preview. The check is free, and your photo stays in this browser tab.
Check your photo
Your photo is checked in this browser tab and never uploaded.
Results
Check these yourself
Full-size files, one time. The 600 x 600 photo (2 x 2 inches at 300 pixels per inch) and a 4x6 print sheet with two photos, for every photo you check in this browser for 30 days.
Get the full-size filesPayment by Stripe opens in a new tab. Come back to this tab afterwards; your photo is still here. Nothing renews.
What it checks
| Check | The rule | How the checker works |
|---|---|---|
| Size | “Attach one photo, 2x2 inches in size.” (forms DS-11 and DS-82) | Frames a square and makes it 600 x 600 pixels: 2 inches at 300 pixels per inch. |
| Head height | “Head must be 1-1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head” | Finds your chin and the top of your hair, and sizes the head at about 1 3/16 inches. |
| Eye line | Visa rule: eyes 56% to 69% of the height from the bottom (DV-2019 notice) | Places your eyes in that band. The passport forms set no eye line. |
| Facing the camera | “Head must face the camera directly with full face in view” | Measures how far the head is turned, nodded or tilted. |
| Background | “Use a plain white or off-white background” | Measures how light, how white and how even the background is. It never changes it. |
| Light | No number in the forms | Compares the two sides of the face and looks for dark or blown-out areas. |
| Eyes | Visa rule: “both eyes open” (DV-2026) | Checks that both eyes are open. |
| Detail | The Department's photo tool: “Minimum photo dimensions are 600x600” | Needs 600 pixels of your photo across the 2 x 2 frame. |
What you get
- Free: the list of checks and a marked, low-resolution preview.
- $6.99, one time: the 600 x 600 photo file (JPEG, 2 x 2 inches at 300 pixels per inch, under 240 KB) and a 4x6 print sheet with two 2 x 2 photos and cut marks. It unlocks every photo you check in this browser for 30 days, so a retake or another family member costs nothing more. Nothing renews.
- Print the sheet as an ordinary 4x6 photo at a store photo counter or at home: how to print it.
What it does not do
- It does not change your face, your skin or the background. It only crops and scales the photo you took.
- It cannot reliably see glasses, hats, uniforms or how old the photo is. Those are in the list to check yourself.
- It cannot promise that a photo will be accepted. The office that handles your application decides.
- Renewing online? The renewal site takes your own photo upload: see passport photo for online renewal.
Where the rules come from
The size, head height, background and clothing rules are quoted from the State Department's forms DS-11 and DS-82 (both dated 04-2025). The eye line and the 600 x 600 size come from the Department's visa photo rules in the Federal Register and from its own photo tool. We read them on October 24, 2026. The Department's travel.state.gov pages did not open for our tools, so check the current rules there before you apply.
Sources
- Form DS-11, Application for a U.S. Passport (04-2025), U.S. Department of State: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds11_pdf.PDF (read October 24, 2026)
- Form DS-82, U.S. Passport Renewal Application (04-2025), U.S. Department of State: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds82_pdf.PDF (read October 24, 2026)
- Diversity Visa Instructions for DV-2026, 89 FR 79997 (October 1, 2024): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/10/01/2024-22482/diversity-visa-instructions-for-dv-2026 (read October 24, 2026)
- Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2019) Visa Program, 82 FR 48563 (October 18, 2017): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/10/18/2017-22638 (read October 24, 2026)
- U.S. Department of State photo tool: https://tsg.phototool.state.gov/photo?hl=en-US (read October 24, 2026)
- 22 CFR 51.26, Photographs (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-51/subpart-B/section-51.26 (read October 24, 2026)