What is different for babies and young children
Babies and newborns may have their eyes closed and their mouth open, and they do not have to look at the camera. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet and photograph from above, or drape a white sheet over a car seat. No hands, dummies, toys or other people may be visible. Every child needs their own passport and photo.
Infants and newborns do not have to have their eyes open or look at the camera. Nobody else may be in the photo.
For children under one, the United States rules relax: eyes may be closed; mouth may be open; they need not look straight at the camera; the eye-line position is applied leniently. Everything else still applies: a plain light background, no shadows, nobody else in the photo, no hands, toys or dummies, and the head inside the 25.4–34.9 mm band.
How to take a newborn's passport photo at home
- Lay them on a plain sheet. A white or light grey sheet on a bed or the floor, smoothed flat, makes the background. No patterns, no pillows in view.
- Use daylight. Near a window, with the light falling evenly across the face. Avoid flash, which causes red-eye and hard shadows, and overhead lights, which shade the eyes.
- Shoot from directly above. Stand over the baby with the phone parallel to the sheet, so the face is square to the camera. Keep your shadow out of the frame.
- Keep hands out. If you need to steady the head, do it from behind the sheet or tuck a rolled towel under the sheet; no fingers in the photo.
- Take lots of shots. Burst mode helps. Pick the one with the head straight and, for older babies, the eyes open.
- Load it here. Infant mode is already on. The tool crops to 50.8×50.8 mm, measures the head and checks the background; adjust with the head-size and position controls.
For toddlers who will not lie still, sit them in a car seat or high chair draped with a plain white sheet, and have a second adult attract their attention from just behind the camera.
The United States specification
| Photo size | 50.8 × 50.8 mm (2 × 2 in) |
|---|---|
| Pixels at 300 / 600 dpi | 600 × 600 px / 1200 × 1200 px |
| Head height (chin to crown) | 25.4–34.9 mm |
| Eye line from bottom | 28.6–34.9 mm |
| Head width | not specified |
| Space above the crown | not specified |
| Background | pure white |
| Background editing | not allowed (retake instead) |
| Glasses | not allowed |
| Expression | neutral or a natural closed-mouth smile |
| Recency | taken in the last 6 months |
| Print requirements | matte or glossy photo-quality paper, matte or glossy — Printed photos must be 2×2 in on photo paper; home printing is accepted if the quality is good. |
| Digital upload | 1200×1200 px JPEG (MyTravelGov online passport renewal); 1200×1200 px JPEG (Printing a 2×2 in photo) |
| Self-taken photos | accepted |
| Prints needed | 1 |
| Infant rules | eyes may be closed, mouth may be open (under 1) |
| Official source | US Department of State – Passport photos |
Check the official source. Some values on this page could not be confirmed from the official page when it was last checked (2026-10-28).
- travel.state.gov blocks automated fetches. Printed size (2×2 in), head 1–1 3/8 in and eye line 1 1/8–1 3/8 in are long-standing published values; re-check on the page.
- Online renewal (MyTravelGov) digital photo pixel and file-size limits were not confirmed; 1200×1200 is used as a safe square JPEG. Confirm the current limit before relying on it.
Full US passport requirements · The adult US passport page
Common reasons baby photos are rejected
- A parent's hand, arm or shoulder visible in the frame.
- A shadow from the person taking the photo, or uneven light across the face.
- A patterned blanket or pillow in the background.
- The head tilted to one side, or turned away from the camera.
- A dummy, toy or bib in view.
- The head too small: babies' heads are easy to under-fill. Use the head-size control until the readout is inside the band.