Passport photo for online renewal
Online renewal takes a digital photo instead of a print. Check your photo here first, for free, then upload your own photo to the renewal site.
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 the official sources say
- The Federal Register notice that started online renewal: “Applicants using OPR will enter their application information and upload their photos directly into the OPR system and submit their payment through pay.gov.” (86 FR 72520)
- The State Department's photo tool, which crops photos for paper applications: “US Citizens: Do not use this tool if you are renewing your passport online. Photo Tool is intended for cropping your photo only when you are applying in person or by mail.”
- Most online renewers take their own photo. In a Department survey quoted in a 2026 proposed rule, “only 34% (2,060,234 applicants) of respondents reported that their passport photo was obtained from a post office or other professional photo service that would require payment.” (91 FR 55505)
The renewal site's own photo page is on travel.state.gov, which did not open for our tools on October 24, 2026. So we do not repeat its file rules here: read them on the renewal site before you upload.
What to do
- Take the photo as you would for a printed one: plain white or off-white wall, daylight on your face, phone at eye level, no glasses or hat (step by step).
- Check it above. The same checks apply: face, background, light and enough space and detail to frame it.
- Upload the photo you took to the renewal site, following its instructions. Do not send a screenshot or a photo of a print.
Do you need the paid files?
Not for online renewal: the check is free. The paid files are for paper applications, where forms DS-11 and DS-82 ask for one printed 2 x 2 inch photo, and for forms that ask for a 600 x 600 pixel photo.
Sources
- Passports: Option to apply online for renewal, 86 FR 72520 (December 22, 2021): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/22/2021-27404 (read October 24, 2026)
- Passports: Expanding Online Passport Renewal Overseas, proposed rule, 91 FR 55505 (August 28, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/28/2026-17655 (read October 24, 2026)
- U.S. Department of State photo tool: https://tsg.phototool.state.gov/photo?hl=en-US (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)
- 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)