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Newborn passport photo
A baby’s U.S. passport photo is the same 2 × 2 inches as an adult’s. The pose rules are looser. Lay the baby on a white sheet, keep every other person out of the frame, and skip the pacifier.
Start with a photo
Drop a photo here, or use the buttons.
JPEG or PNG. The file is read in this browser and is not uploaded.
Live view is mirrored on a front camera. The photo you keep is not.
Drag to move the crop. Arrow keys nudge. Plus and minus zoom.
Compliance check
PassOkay crops and checks. It does not replace the background, apply filters, or retouch the face.
These checks are estimates. They are not an acceptance decision, and PassOkay is not a government site. Head height is guessed from the chin and forehead, so nudge the crop if the guides miss the hair.
State says you can put the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with one. No one else can be in the photo. Hands cannot cover the face. The baby faces the camera. A baby’s eyes do not have to be entirely open. The expression should still be calm, not a crying face filling the frame.
Watch your own shadow. Shooting from above with a window behind you puts a dark shape across the sheet. Light the baby from the side of the room you are standing on, and move until the background is even.
Size and file
| Size | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) |
|---|---|
| Pixels | 1200 × 1200 px JPEG (600 DPI). 600 × 600 also falls in the usual digital range. |
| Head | 1–1⅜ in (25–35 mm) from chin to top of head, about 49–69% of the frame |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows or texture |
| File | Color JPEG. Paper applications use a print; online renewal has its own file rules. |
| How recent | Taken in the last 6 months |
| Glasses | No, unless you have a signed medical note |
How to do it
- Make a white surface. Spread a sheet on the floor or over a car seat. Smooth the wrinkles you can. Wrinkles read as texture.
- Lay the baby down. No toys, no pacifier, no hands in the frame. Take the photo from above with the camera square to the face.
- Check head size. Choose this page so the eye check allows partly closed eyes. Zoom until the head is 1 to 1⅜ inches of the 2 × 2 frame.
Questions
Do a newborn’s eyes have to be open?
For a U.S. passport, it is okay if a baby’s eyes are not entirely open. Children who are not babies need their eyes open.
Can I hold the baby in the photo?
Not if you appear in it. You can support the head only when your hands stay out of the frame. A sheet on a car seat is the method State describes.
What size is an infant passport photo?
Still 2 × 2 inches for a U.S. passport, with the head 1 to 1⅜ inches. The photo is from the last 6 months, which for a newborn means very recent.
Specs last checked . Baby rules checked against the State Department passport photo page.