Yes, you can take a compliant baby, newborn or infant passport photo at home in about ten minutes.
Lay the baby on a plain white sheet or in a car seat draped in white, shoot from directly in front with your smartphone's rear camera in soft indirect daylight, and run the best frame through the free compliance checker below. This guide covers the three methods that work, age-by-age tactics from newborn to 15, the 2026 US photo rules, and how to print a 2×2 inch photo you can submit.
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By Elena Martins, Family Travel & ID Photography Editor ·Reviewed by Priya Ramesh, CIP·7 min read
Newborn on a white sheet · window light · shot from directly above with a smartphone
Section 1 · The rules
What the passport photo rules actually say
Passport authorities publish the specification in millimetres, pixels and kilobytes. Get any of those numbers wrong and the application is returned. Here is the exact US Department of State specification for a baby, newborn or infant photo, followed by the one 2026 rule most parents miss.
Print size2 × 2 in51 × 51 mm exactly
Digital size600–1200 pxsquare, JPEG, 50 KB–10 MB
Head height1 – 1⅜ in25–35 mm chin to crown
BackgroundPlain whiteor off-white, no shadows
ExpressionNeutralrelaxed for under six months
Recency≤ 6 months oldnewer is better for babies
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2026 rule: no AI editing, no filters
Since 1 January 2026 the US Department of State rejects any photo altered by AI, beauty filters, skin smoothing, colour filters or background replacement that changes appearance. This applies to baby photos too — a phone app that "prettifies" the shot will fail the automated pre-check. Cropping, resizing and rotating to specification are still allowed and are the only edits our tool performs. See the full 2026 rejection reasons.
Every country has its own version of these numbers. If you are applying to the UK, Canada, Schengen area, Australia or India, jump to country-by-country baby rules below. For US applicants the specification above is the one enforced by the Department of State and by travel.state.gov.
Section 2 · Age exemptions
What's different about a baby passport photo
The US, UK, Canadian and other passport authorities all publish a small set of relaxations for young children. Knowing exactly what is relaxed — and what is not — is what separates an accepted photo from a rejected one. Adult rules are otherwise applied strictly.
Direct from travel.state.gov: "It is okay if a baby's eyes are not entirely open." Do not stress about capturing a perfect open-eyed shot of a newborn — the State Department already knows babies do not cooperate.
Adult vs baby passport-photo rules (US Department of State, 2026)
Rule
Adult
Baby ≤ 6 months
Baby > 6 months & children
Eyes open
Required
Not required
Required (visible when open)
Mouth closed
Required
Slightly open OK
Required
Facing camera
Required
Preferred
Required
Neutral expression
Required
Not required
Required (natural smile OK)
Alone in frame
Required
Required
Required
No supports visible
Required
Required — no hands, arms, chairs, straps
Required
Pacifier / bottle / toys
Not allowed
Not allowed
Not allowed
Background
Plain white / off-white
Plain white / off-white
Plain white / off-white
In practice this means two things. First, if your baby is under six months, focus your attention on lighting, framing and background — not on catching a perfect open-eyed moment. Second, if your baby is six months or older, plan the shoot for after a nap, keep siblings and pets out of the room, and be ready to burst-shoot until the mouth closes and both eyes open at the same instant. For the eye rule specifically see the passport-photo eyes requirements page, and for the expression rule see expression rules.
Section 3 · Setup
What you'll need — everything is already in the house
No ring lights, no white foam board, no professional camera. Every item on this list either comes with the baby or is on the bed you slept in last night. Tick items off as you gather them — the checklist saves your progress on this device.
0 of 7 ready
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The total at-home cost is zero dollars
Retail baby passport photos cost $12–20 per attempt at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart, and the retry rate for infants is high. The at-home method requires only items you already own, and our tool exports both a print-ready JPEG and a free 4×6 sheet with four copies.
Section 4 · Method A
The white-sheet method — best for newborns and pre-sitting infants
The most reliable method for babies who cannot yet sit up. You lay the baby on their back on a plain white sheet in soft daylight and shoot from directly above. It works from birth through about eight months. Total time: eight to ten minutes including retries.
A
White-sheet method
Shoot from directly above, baby on their back, natural window light.
10 min0 – 8 months1 adult
1
Choose the light
Pick a room with soft indirect daylight from a large window. Turn off overhead lights and lamps — mixing daylight with tungsten bulbs produces green-orange colour casts that biometric checks flag. North-facing windows on a cloudy day give the cleanest light. Direct hard sun creates raccoon-eye shadows and blows out newborn skin.
Best time: mid-morning or mid-afternoon, when your baby is fed but not overtired.
2
Prepare the surface
Iron a plain white bedsheet, fleece blanket or flat cotton sheet to remove all creases. Lay it flat on the floor one to two metres inside the window so the light falls on the baby, not on the edge of the sheet. Any wrinkle will look like a shadow to the State Department's automated pre-check.
Do not use a patterned duvet cover, a mattress with visible piping, or a bath towel with a label showing.
3
Position the baby
Lay the baby on their back in the centre of the sheet with their head level with the window. Arms relaxed at their sides. Do not swaddle above the chest — clothing must not touch the chin, and a bib or muslin cannot appear in the frame. If the baby is fussy, a quick feed and burp beforehand buys you a few calm minutes.
4
Shoot from directly above
Hold the phone parallel to the sheet, roughly 60 cm (24 inches) directly above the baby's face. Use the rear camera — the front camera is lower resolution and applies automatic beautification on many phones. Disable flash. Do not use Portrait mode — its automatic background blur counts as digital alteration under the 2026 US rule.
Tap and hold the shutter for a three-to-five second burst while a helper gently shakes a rattle above the phone. Take two or three bursts so you have 40–60 candidate frames. Under six months, do not chase perfect open eyes — the State Department accepts partially closed eyes for infants and the closest, sharpest, most centred shot is what you want.
6
Verify and crop
Scroll the burst on your phone and pick the sharpest frame where the baby faces forward and no hands, sheet edge or supporting body are visible. Upload it to the free compliance checker below — the tool auto-crops to 2×2 inches, verifies head-size, exposure and background, and outputs a print-ready JPEG plus a 4×6 sheet with four copies.
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Why this method works
Shooting from directly above eliminates background completely — the sheet fills every pixel of the frame. There is nothing behind the head to cast a shadow, no chair back to show, and no risk of adult clothing creeping in. It is also the position babies are in for most of the day, so it stresses them least.
Section 5 · Method B
The car-seat method — best for babies who prefer to be upright
For babies who cry when placed on their back, who reflux, or who are already sitting with support, the car-seat method gets a compliant photo in a familiar position. It works from about four months onward and is the go-to method for solo parents with a phone tripod.
B
Car-seat method
Drape a white sheet over the seat, shoot from the front at eye level.
10 min4 – 18 months1 adult
1
Drape the car seat completely
Cover the whole car seat — sides, top, and behind the baby's head — with a plain white sheet or fleece blanket. Nothing patterned, coloured or textured can peek through in the finished frame. The seat itself, straps, and headrest padding must not be visible. Tuck the sheet down around the baby's legs to keep it taut.
2
Recline slightly so the face is nearly vertical
Recline the car seat until the baby's face is close to vertical — roughly the position they'd be in a stroller. A face tilted more than about 15 degrees from vertical will be flagged by biometric checks. Test the angle by taking a single test shot before you commit to a burst.
3
Place the seat away from the wall
Position the seat 1.5 to 2 metres from a bright window with the light falling evenly across the baby's face. Keep the seat at least 50 cm away from any wall or furniture — closer than that and the baby's head casts a shadow on the sheet behind them, one of the top three rejection reasons for infant photos.
Sitting the seat on the floor is fine. Elevating it on a low sofa lets you shoot without kneeling.
4
Frame from the front at eye level
Kneel or sit so the phone lens is level with the baby's eyes — not above, not below — and about 50 cm away. Shooting from below distorts the chin, shooting from above narrows the forehead. Both fail the head-size ratio check. Use the grid overlay to keep the phone truly vertical.
5
Burst-shoot, then repeat
Get the baby's attention with a soft sound — a rattle, a rustling paper, or a familiar voice — then hold the shutter for a three-to-five second burst. Take two or three bursts a minute apart. Babies at this age track faces and sounds well but drop their heads quickly when they lose interest, so short sessions beat one long one.
6
Crop and verify against the specification
Pick the frame with the head centred, mouth relaxed and both eyes visible. Crop it to 2×2 inches with our checker and confirm every compliance indicator turns green before printing or uploading. If any indicator fails, the checker tells you exactly which rule broke and how to reshoot.
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Solo parent? Add a phone tripod.
Prop your phone on any $12 phone tripod at the baby's eye level, enable burst-mode timer, and stand behind the phone to make eye contact. This turns the car-seat method into a one-adult operation.
Section 6 · Method C
The parent-supported method — for babies who need head support
Newborns cannot yet hold their heads up, and premature or medically fragile babies may need to remain in an adult's arms. The parent-supported method lets you hold the baby without any hand, arm, or clothing appearing in the frame — the single most-broken rule for infant photos.
C
Parent-supported method
Adult covered under a white sheet, holds the baby from behind. Only the baby's face is visible.
8 minNewborn – 4 months2 adults
1
Drape the seated parent head to lap
The parent sits on a low chair or the floor with their back straight. Drape a plain white sheet over them from head to lap so only a small opening around the arms and torso remains. Hair, forehead, glasses, jewellery and clothing must be fully hidden.
2
Hold the baby facing forward
Under the sheet, hold the baby against your chest with the baby's face turned to the camera. Support the head from behind through the sheet — your hands must never touch or curl around the baby's cheeks, jaw or forehead. If you can feel your fingers on the face, they will appear in the photo.
A newborn's head can rest on the parent's shoulder through the sheet — this is safe and produces the tightest crop.
3
Position the helper
The second adult stands 60–80 cm away with the phone at the baby's eye level. Natural side light from a window behind the helper works best. The helper's job is to focus on the phone screen while the parent's job is to keep the baby calm.
4
Frame tight to the baby's face and chest
Frame from the baby's chest to just above the top of the head. Nothing else may enter the frame. Before you commit to a burst, take a single test shot and verify the parent's body is fully hidden. If you can see a strand of hair, a chin, or a piece of clothing, adjust the sheet and retest.
5
Verify with the checker
Burst-shoot 20–30 frames, pick the sharpest with the baby facing forward, and upload it. The compliance checker will flag any parent-visibility issues you missed — a common late-catch is a shirt sleeve appearing at the very edge of the crop.
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Never sacrifice safety for the shot
Do not lay a newborn on an elevated surface without support. Do not tilt the baby's head to force the "right" angle. Do not remove medically prescribed devices for the photo — hearing aids, feeding tubes and nasal cannulas are all permitted to remain visible. See the special situations section for medical device guidance.
Section 7 · By age
Age-band tactics from newborn to fifteen
A one-week-old and a three-year-old need different tactics. Pick the age band closest to your child to jump to the specific developmental notes, best method, expected shot count, and the failure mode to watch for.
Best method: Parent-supported or white-sheetShots: 40–80Time: 10–15 min
Newborns cannot hold their heads up, cannot track objects reliably, and often cannot open both eyes at the same instant. The good news is that the US Department of State expects this. Eyes may be partly closed, mouth may be slightly open, and the neutral-expression rule is relaxed. Focus on lighting and background — not on getting a perfect open-eyed shot.
Common failure: parent's hand appearing at the edge of the crop. Always use the sheet-through method, never touch the face directly. Also watch for muslin, bibs or pacifier clips creeping into the frame.
Best method: Car-seat or white-sheetShots: 20–40Time: 8–12 min
This is the easiest age band to photograph. Babies at six to twelve months track movement well, make consistent eye contact, and can sit with support in a car seat. Under 12 months the US State Department still allows eyes to be partly closed, but you should easily get open-eyed frames. Take the photo when the baby has just been fed but is not overtired.
Common failure: the mouth open on a wide-cheeked smile. Older infants smile enthusiastically and their mouths open. Choose a burst frame where the mouth is neutral or slightly open (still accepted at this age).
Best method: Car-seat with tripodShots: 30–60Time: 12–18 min
The infant-eyes exemption ends at 12 months. From here on both eyes must be open, mouth closed, face forward — the same rule as adults. The car-seat method still works but babies at this age squirm out. A phone tripod frees a second adult to keep the baby still with a favourite toy held just above the camera lens.
Common failure: the child leaning to grab the camera or the toy. Reset between bursts and never chase the child with the camera — bring the child back to the seat.
Best method: Sitting against a wallShots: 20–40Time: 5–10 min
Toddlers can sit unassisted for short periods. Have the child sit on a low stool 50 cm in front of a plain wall or an ironed white sheet hung from a doorframe. Take the photo when they are calm — mid-morning after breakfast is ideal. Toddlers respond well to a game: ask them to look at the camera and count to three before pressing the shutter.
Common failure: looking down or to the side. Kneel so your face is exactly level with the camera; the child will follow your face, not the phone.
Best method: Standing against a wallShots: 10–20Time: 5 min
By this age the process is essentially adult. Stand the child 50 cm in front of a plain wall in soft indirect daylight. Adjust the phone height to match the child's eye level. Explain what you need before you shoot — a rehearsal helps most children hold a neutral face for two seconds. Natural smiles with the mouth closed are accepted.
Common failure: a wide grin showing teeth. Ask the child to smile with their mouth closed like a secret smile. Kids find this funny and hold it briefly.
Best method: Standing against a wallShots: 5–10Time: 3 min
Standard adult rules apply. The photo can be taken in seconds if the child cooperates. Watch for baseball caps, hair clips, orthodontic elastics, headphones and coloured contact lenses — all common at this age, all cause rejection. Hair must not cover the eyes, eyebrows or fall across the face.
Common failure: orthodontic devices or facial hair (in older teens) that alter appearance from what will be seen at the passport check. Take the photo within one month of applying.
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First US passport for a minor?
Under-16 passports require both parents present at the acceptance facility, both to sign the DS-11 form, and the child's original birth certificate. The photo is only one part of the application. Book the acceptance appointment before you take the photo so the photo is as recent as possible.
Section 8 · Lighting
Lighting and background: get these right and the rest is easy
Lighting and background problems are the top cause of baby-photo rejection — more common than pose, expression or size mistakes combined. Four scenarios cover 95% of homes.
1. Soft window daylight (ideal)
Large north-facing window on a bright but overcast day. Baby placed one to two metres inside so the light wraps evenly. Every overhead light off.
Best case. If you have this, stop reading and take the photo.
2. Overcast day
Grey-sky days act as a giant softbox. Point-blank window light works because there is no direct sun to sharpen shadows.
Fix: use the window nearest to a bright open area. Avoid rooms with a single small window facing another building.
3. Overhead ceiling light only
Standard ceiling bulbs cast a strong downward shadow under the eyes, nose and chin. Even a soft LED bulb creates the same problem.
Fix: turn off the ceiling light and open every curtain and blind. If there is no daylight, borrow a bright bedroom lamp and place it at head height beside the phone, bounced off a white wall.
4. Night, or hard direct sun
Flash produces red-eye, a hard shadow behind the head, and colour shifts that fail biometric checks. Direct midday sun through a window produces the same rejection problems.
Fix: wait until morning. If you truly cannot, diffuse a lamp through a thin white bedsheet placed a foot in front of the bulb. Never use the phone's built-in flash.
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Background rules matter as much as light
The background must be uniform white or off-white with no shadow. Not cream, not light grey, not "almost white". Even a wall painted magnolia is often rejected. For the full background rule see the background-colour requirements page and, for the shadow-specific rule, shadows on passport photos.
Section 9 · Camera settings
Phone camera settings — the exact combination that passes
Most rejected home-taken photos fail on phone settings the parent didn't know they had enabled. Portrait mode's automatic blur, HDR merging, and beauty filters all count as digital alteration under the 2026 US rule. These are the exact settings for iPhone and Android.
iPhone (iOS 17 and later)
Camera mode: Photo — not Portrait, not Cinematic.
Rear camera: use the main 1× lens. Never the front (selfie) camera.
Flash: off (tap the flash icon and select Off, not Auto).
Live Photo: off — it can save a slightly different frame than the one you saw.
HDR: auto is fine; do not enable "Smart HDR" beautification.
Grid: on (Settings → Camera → Grid). Helps you frame square.
Zoom: 1.0×. Do not pinch-zoom — it degrades resolution.
Burst: hold the shutter button to burst-shoot.
Photographic Styles: Standard. Not Vibrant, Rich Contrast, or Warm.
Android (Pixel, Samsung, OnePlus)
Camera mode: Photo — not Portrait, not Live Focus, not Fun.
Rear camera: main lens, no wide-angle, no telephoto.
Flash: off.
Beauty / face retouch: disable completely (Samsung: Camera settings → Face retouch → 0).
Scene optimiser / AI Camera: off (Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo apply automatic edits that the 2026 rule treats as alteration).
Grid: on. Use 3×3.
Aspect ratio: 4:3 (not 16:9). Gives more room to crop to square.
Zoom: 1.0×. Pinch-zoom is digital zoom on all Android phones.
Burst: hold shutter (Pixel) or slide shutter (Samsung).
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Portrait mode is the single most common reason a home photo fails
Portrait mode applies computational background blur — an algorithm decides which pixels are "background" and blurs them. The US State Department treats this as digital alteration. The photo may pass a human review, but the automated pre-check will flag it and delay the application. Always use standard Photo mode.
Upload your best burst frame. The checker verifies head size, background, exposure, dimensions and file format against the current US Department of State specification, then produces a print-ready 2×2 inch JPEG and a free 4×6 print sheet with four copies.
● 2026 rules · No AI face editing
Free baby-photo compliance checker
Your photo is processed locally in the tool. We only crop, resize and rotate — the operations the State Department explicitly permits. No filters, no skin smoothing, no background AI.
Head 1"–1⅜" chin to crownPlain white background2×2 inch square output600–1200 px, JPEGNo filters applied4×6 print sheet included
Applying for a photo other than a US baby passport? Use the tool directly and pick from
UK,
Canada,
Australia,
India, or
US visa presets. Every preset applies the same crop-only, no-filter policy.
Section 11 · What compliant looks like
Compliant vs rejected — eight side-by-side examples
Every rejection reason has a specific visual signature. These eight pairs show what a compliant baby photo looks like next to the rejection variant, with the exact rule that broke and how to fix it in one shot.
Plain white sheet — no pattern, no piping, no logo.
Rejected
Pale blue nursery wall. Fix: hang a white sheet or use our tool.
Section 12 · Ranked failures
Twelve rejection reasons ranked by frequency
Baby passport photos have among the highest rejection rates of any US application. These twelve failure modes account for the vast majority. Each fix is one action you can take before you print or upload.
Shadow behind the head on the background
Fix: move the baby at least 50 cm away from the wall or sheet.
Cropping to 2×2 inches with the correct head-size ratio
A baby photo can be perfect on every other rule and still fail because the crop is off by a millimetre. The compliance checker handles this automatically, but understanding the geometry helps you shoot with enough headroom to crop cleanly.
Head height: 1 to 1⅜ inch (25–35 mm)
From the bottom of the chin to the crown (top of the head, not the top of the hair). Roughly 50–70% of the 2×2 frame.
Eye position: 1⅛ to 1⅜ inch (28–35 mm) from bottom
Draw a horizontal line through both pupils. That line must sit in this narrow band above the photo's bottom edge.
Final size: 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm)
Print exactly. Do not use "fit to page" — that scales the photo down. See our 2×2 photo size guide.
Do not rotate the photo in an editor after the fact — rotation with resampling counts as digital alteration under the 2026 rule. If the baby's head is tilted in the burst, reshoot rather than rotate. Our tool crops without resampling until the very final export.
Print at home, or take the 4×6 sheet to a retail kiosk
You do not need a professional print. You need a 2×2 inch print on photo paper at 300 DPI. Every option below produces that; the differences are cost, retries, and how many minutes it takes.
Cost, time and retry comparison across seven baby passport-photo printing options
Option
Cost (typical)
Time
Free retries?
Best for
DIY at home Recommended
$0 if you own photo paper
10–15 min including printing
Yes — unlimited
Any age, especially newborns
4×6 print at Walgreens / CVS / Walmart
$0.39 – $0.49 per 4×6 sheet
1 hour (pickup) or same day
Yes — reprint from our tool
Cheapest overall path
CVS Photo passport service
$17.99 for two photos
~15 min in-store
No — pay again
You don't want to shoot at home
Walgreens Photo passport service
$16.99 for two photos
~15 min in-store
No — pay again
Walk-in convenience
Costco (members only)
$5.99 – $6.99 for four photos
~1 hour
No
Costco members with time
USPS Post Office photo
$15.00 for two photos
Same visit as application
No
Filing DS-11 same trip
AAA member service
Free for members (up to two)
~15 min
No
AAA members near a branch
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The retail money-saving trick
Our tool exports a free 4×6 inch sheet with four 2×2 passport photos already laid out. Order that sheet as a standard 4×6 print at Walgreens, CVS or Walmart for about 40 cents. Cut the four photos out with a paper trimmer. Same photo quality as their $17 passport service, at 2% of the cost. See the printing-at-home rules.
Section 15 · Digital
Digital upload for online passport renewal
If you are renewing a US passport online, the photo is uploaded rather than printed. The pixel and file-size specifications are strict, and since January 2026 the State Department runs every upload through automated pre-checks that reject AI-altered photos before a human sees them.
Pixel size600 – 1200 pxsquare, width = height
File formatJPEG only.jpg or .jpeg extension
File size50 KB – 10 MBbelow 50 KB is rejected too
Colour modeRGB colourno greyscale, no CMYK
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The 2026 online-renewal rejection wave
Independent reports through 2026 show unusually high online-renewal rejection rates driven by the new automated AI-detection step. If your baby's photo was taken with any beautification, filter, or Portrait-mode blur, expect it to be rejected on upload. Reshoot in standard Photo mode with a clean burst and use our tool for the crop.
Our exporter always produces a 2×2 inch, 300-DPI, 600×600 pixel JPEG at approximately 200 KB — a compliant file for both the online upload path and printing. See the exact 2×2 in pixels reference for other document types.
Section 16 · By country
Baby passport-photo rules by country
Every country enforces its own version of the biometric photo standard. The infant-eye exemption exists almost everywhere, but the printed size, background colour, and pixel spec vary widely. This is the consolidated table other guides force you to visit six pages for.
Baby passport-photo rules across six major markets (2026)
The three at-home methods on this page work in every one of these markets — the shooting technique is identical. What changes is the output crop, which our tool handles automatically once you pick the country preset. If you are applying for a US visa, Canadian PR card, OCI card, or US green card for a baby, see also the US visa, Canada PR card, OCI card, and US green-card photo pages.
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The UK background is not white
The UK, unlike the US, requires a plain light grey or cream background — not pure white. If you shoot against a white sheet for a UK baby photo, our tool automatically applies a light-grey background at export. Do not shoot against a coloured wall to compensate; that fails the "plain" test.
Section 17 · Special situations
Special situations most guides skip
Ten edge cases the mainstream guides miss. Every one is a real question parents ask and the State Department has explicit or implicit guidance for.
For a baby under six months, a sleeping shot is often accepted by the US State Department — the eyes-open rule is relaxed for infants. Take the photo anyway. For babies six months and older, wait until they wake naturally; a startled or crying baby produces worse frames than a well-rested one. If a nap turned into a two-hour sleep and you have to submit today, take the photo after they wake and are calm.
Feeding paraphernalia — bottle, nipple, breast, pacifier — cannot appear in the frame. But a well-fed baby is a photogenic baby. Feed first, wait five minutes for the milk-drunk calm, then shoot. If the baby will only sit still while feeding, wait it out; the photo can be taken in the next feed-nap-play cycle.
Yes. Each baby is a separate applicant and needs their own individual passport photo. The two babies must never appear in the same photo — the "alone in frame" rule is strict. Use the white-sheet method twice, in two separate sessions if possible. Photograph the calmer twin first so parents are not exhausted for the second shoot.
The photo requirements are identical regardless of legal parentage. What differs is the paperwork you submit alongside the photo — adoption decrees, court orders, or guardianship documents. Take the photo the same way, and make sure the parent or legal guardian in the room during the shoot is the one who will sign the DS-11 form at the acceptance facility.
Hearing aids stay in the photo, worn as they normally are. The State Department accepts prescribed medical and adaptive devices without a doctor's note. The photo must show the child as they normally appear — removing the hearing aid actually causes rejection, because border officials will not recognise the child.
Medically necessary tubing, cannulas and adhesive medical tape remain in the photo. A brief cover letter from the treating physician is optional but avoids delays. Do not attempt to hide or crop out medical devices — the photo must accurately represent the child, and post-shoot removal is digital alteration under the 2026 rule.
All features remain visible. Do not use any editing tool to remove birthmarks, cleft-related scars, hemangiomas or other features — this is explicitly digital alteration and causes automated rejection. The photo must match the baby's actual appearance so border officers can verify identity. Our tool never applies any face-editing operation.
Since November 2016 the US State Department has not permitted eyeglasses in passport photos, including for children. Ask the child to remove glasses for the two seconds needed to shoot. If glasses are medically required and cannot be removed, submit a signed statement from the eye doctor with the application. See our glasses-in-passport-photo rules.
Religious head coverings worn daily are permitted for children provided the full face is visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. The covering cannot cast shadows on the face. This is the same rule as adults. For the full rule see passport-photo head-covering rules.
Use the car-seat method with a phone tripod. Prop the phone at the baby's eye level, enable burst-mode timer, and stand behind the phone to make eye contact and get the baby's attention. If you do not own a tripod, a stack of books on a table or a phone leaned against a mug will work. Rehearse the timer once before the baby is in the seat.
Section 18 · Recovery
If your baby's passport photo was rejected
A rejection notice arrives by mail two to four weeks after you submitted the paper application, or immediately on the online-renewal portal. The notice will list the specific reason. Match it to the branch below and reshoot before you resubmit.
What did the rejection notice say?
"Improper photo — background"
Shoot against a plain white sheet in daylight, 50 cm off the wall. Do not use the same background.
Paper (DS-11 / DS-82) rejections typically add two to four weeks to processing. Online renewals can be corrected the same day if you re-upload immediately. There is no cap on how many times you can resubmit a photo. There is no fee to resubmit.
Section 19 · Answers
Frequently asked questions
Eighteen questions, grouped by the four decisions parents actually face: the rules, the shooting method, the output, and what to do if it goes wrong.
The rules for baby photos
Yes. The US Department of State, HM Passport Office, IRCC, and most other passport authorities accept home-taken photos as long as the final image meets the printed size, background, head-position and quality rules. A smartphone taken from 50–60 cm away, a plain white sheet and soft natural daylight are usually enough.
No. The US State Department states that for infants under six months eyes may not be entirely open and a neutral facial expression is not required. Eyes must still be visible if open, and the face must be visible and centred. Older babies and children generally need both eyes open.
For infants under six months a slightly open mouth is accepted by the US State Department. For older babies and children the mouth should be closed. A wide open mouth, extended tongue, or bottle in the mouth causes rejection at every age.
You can support the baby from behind a plain white sheet, but no part of your hands, arms, body or clothing may appear in the finished photo. Any visible support triggers rejection. See Method C — parent-supported for the exact technique.
For infants under six months, looking directly at the camera is preferred but not strictly required. From six months onward the baby should face the camera with eyes visible. A face turned away or in profile is not accepted.
Method & how-to
Yes. Draping a plain white sheet or blanket over a car seat is a widely used method. The seat itself must not be visible, the background must be uniform, and no adult, prop or hand may appear in the frame. See the full car-seat method walkthrough.
Direct flash is not recommended. It causes shadows behind the baby, red-eye and colour shifts that trigger rejection. Soft, diffuse natural daylight from a large window produces the most compliant photos.
No. Portrait mode applies computational background blur, which the US State Department treats as digital alteration under the 2026 rules. Use the standard Photo mode with the rear camera, flash off, HDR set to auto or off. The full setting list is in Section 9.
Use the car-seat method. Prop your phone on a tripod, bookshelf or stack of books at the baby's eye level, set a burst-mode self timer, and stand behind the phone to get the baby's attention. The parent-supported method requires two adults.
For the US, the photo must be taken within the last six months, and for babies that changes weekly. Take the photo as close as possible to submitting the application. UK, Canadian and Schengen rules require the photo to be taken within the last one to six months depending on the authority.
Output & printing
US paper applications need one printed 2×2 inch colour photo. Online US renewals require one digital JPEG. Other countries vary from one to two identical prints. Our tool outputs both a JPEG and a 4×6 inch print sheet with four copies so you always have a spare.
Yes, if you print on glossy or matte photo paper at 300 DPI using an inkjet photo printer. Regular office paper is never accepted. If you do not have a photo printer, download the 4×6 sheet and print at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Costco or any 4×6 photo kiosk. See the full retail comparison.
For the US online passport renewal, the photo must be a square JPEG between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels and 50 KB to 10 MB in file size. Our exporter always produces a compliant file. Full digital spec in Section 15.
Yes. The UK accepts 45×35 mm printed photos with the head 29–34 mm from chin to crown, and 600×750 pixel digital uploads. Babies under one year do not need to have their eyes open or mouth closed. Every method on this page works with the UK preset. See the UK passport photo rules.
Rejection & recovery
US State Department data indicates roughly one in five paper applications is held up for photo issues, and infant photos have among the highest rejection rates. The most common causes are visible hands, shadows behind the head, mouth open at over six months, and hair falling across the eyes. The full ranked list is in Section 12.
Medical devices such as hearing aids, feeding tubes or nasal cannulas may remain in the photo. They should be visible where they normally sit on the baby's face or head. You do not need a doctor's note for the US application, but including one avoids delay.
No. As of January 2026 the US Department of State rejects any photo altered by AI, beauty filters, skin smoothing, colour filters or background editing that changes the person's appearance. Cropping, resizing and rotating to spec are allowed. Our compliance checker only performs those permitted operations.
For paper applications you will receive a notice by mail asking for a new photo — expect two to four weeks added to processing time. For online US renewals you can upload a corrected photo in the application portal. Fix the specific reason listed on the notice before resubmitting. The decision tree in Section 18 maps each reason to the fix.
