Upload the HEIC file
Drop your iPhone HEIC or HEIF photo onto the tool above. On desktop, drag from Finder or Explorer. On iPhone, use the Photos picker in Safari. On Android, use the standard file picker. Files up to 15 MB are accepted.
Auto-decode the HEIC container
The tool reads the HEVC-compressed image data, decodes it to raw pixels, and applies the correct orientation from EXIF. On Chrome and Edge this uses the native WebCodecs API. On Safari and Firefox, a WebAssembly (WASM) fallback runs the decode in-browser at similar speed.
Convert Display P3 to sRGB
iPhone photos are saved in the Display P3 colour space (a wider colour gamut than sRGB). The tool applies a perceptual rendering intent to convert to sRGB — the profile required by every passport and visa portal — without shifting skin tone or introducing colour banding.
Re-encode as JPEG quality 92
The converted pixels are encoded to JPEG at quality 92 — the sweet spot where the output is visually lossless but the file size is still portal-friendly. EXIF metadata (orientation, capture date, camera model) is preserved in the JPEG.
Download the JPEG
Save the JPEG to your device. Upload directly to travel.state.gov, dvprogram.state.gov, gov.uk, canada.ca, or any other portal.
Convert an iPhone HEIC Photo to JPEG (Passport-Ready)
Every iPhone from 2016 onwards saves photos in HEIC by default. Every passport portal except US online renewal requires JPEG. This free tool converts HEIC or HEIF to JPEG in your browser — no upload, no signup, no watermark. Preserves EXIF metadata, converts Display P3 to sRGB, and outputs a JPEG that every portal accepts: DV Lottery, DS-160, DS-260, UK, Canada, Schengen, India, China, Australia.
Convert your HEIC photo now
Drop an iPhone HEIC or HEIF photo onto the tool. Everything runs in your browser — the HEVC decode, the colour-profile conversion, the JPEG encode. Nothing uploads to a server.
Free HEIC to JPEG converter
HEVC decode, Display P3 → sRGB, JPEG quality 92, EXIF preserved. The output is a compliant JPEG accepted by every passport portal — DV Lottery, DS-160, UK, Canada, India, China, Schengen.
Why iPhones save in HEIC (and why portals still want JPEG)
The HEIC format has been the iPhone default for nine years, but most passport portals were built before HEIC existed and still reject it on upload.
What HEIC gives you. Smaller files (roughly 50% of JPEG at the same visual quality), support for 10-bit colour depth, alpha transparency, and multi-image sequences (like Live Photos). Great for on-device storage. Terrible for government form submissions.
Why portals reject it. Three reasons. First, HEVC codec licensing costs money for server operators. Second, HEIC is a container format — unlike JPEG, it can hold multiple images, depth maps, and metadata, which confuses portal validators. Third, portal software was written when JPEG was universal — adding HEIC support requires an update the operating agency hasn't prioritised.
The exception. The US State Department online passport renewal portal was updated in 2024 to accept HEIC and HEIF alongside JPEG and PNG. It's the only major English-language passport portal that currently accepts HEIC natively. Every other portal — including the US DS-160 visa portal on the same site — still requires JPEG.
Which portals accept HEIC and which reject it
The support matrix is uneven. US online renewal accepts HEIC. Everything else — including other US federal portals — requires JPEG.
| Portal | HEIC / HEIF | JPEG | PNG |
|---|---|---|---|
| US online passport renewal | Accepted | Accepted | Accepted |
| DV Lottery (dvprogram.state.gov) | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| DS-160 non-immigrant visa | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| DS-260 immigrant visa | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| UK GOV.UK passport | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| Canadian IRCC | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| Indian Passport Seva / eVisa | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| Chinese visa portals | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| Schengen visa portals | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
| Australia ImmiAccount | Rejected | Accepted | Rejected |
The safe rule. If you're not 100% sure your target portal accepts HEIC, convert to JPEG. JPEG is accepted everywhere; HEIC is accepted almost nowhere. The 30-second conversion is worth it to avoid a rejection that costs another 10-day submission cycle.
Convert once, submit anywhere
Even if you're using US online renewal (which accepts HEIC), converting to JPEG has no downside — the JPEG works identically and is portable across every other portal in case you need to reuse the photo for a visa or Global Entry update.
How to convert in 30 seconds
How to make your iPhone save JPEG by default
If you take passport photos frequently, switch the iPhone camera to save JPEG by default. The setting takes 15 seconds and doesn't affect photos already in your library.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll to Camera and tap it.
- Tap Formats.
- Select Most Compatible (instead of “High Efficiency”).
- New photos will now save as JPEG. Existing HEIC photos in your library stay in HEIC — convert them individually with this tool if needed.
Tradeoff to be aware of
JPEG files take roughly twice the storage of HEIC at the same quality. If you're low on iPhone storage, keep “High Efficiency” for daily photos and only switch to “Most Compatible” when you specifically need a passport or visa photo.
Five conversion mistakes that break passport uploads
1. Renaming .heic to .jpg without converting
Some applicants just rename the file extension. This does nothing to the underlying bytes — the file is still HEVC-encoded HEIC data with a fake .jpg extension. Portals detect this by reading the file's magic bytes and reject it anyway.
2. Using AirDrop to convert on Mac
AirDropping a HEIC from iPhone to Mac sometimes triggers automatic JPEG conversion depending on macOS settings. But this method drops EXIF orientation metadata, which can cause the photo to appear rotated 90 degrees when a portal validator reads it.
3. Sharing via a messaging app
WhatsApp, iMessage and Telegram automatically compress the photo to a low-quality JPEG on send — often below the 54 KB minimum for US online renewal. Convert directly, don't route the file through a messaging app.
4. Losing Display P3 colour depth on conversion
Some cheap converters output JPEG without any colour-profile conversion, leaving the file tagged as Display P3. Portal validators check the profile and reject anything that isn't sRGB. Our tool converts explicitly to sRGB.
5. Converting Live Photos
Live Photos are HEIC files containing a still image plus a short video sequence. Some converters only extract the still frame and drop metadata; others fail entirely. Our tool auto-detects Live Photos and converts the still frame with correct orientation.
Frequently asked questions
Since iOS 11 (September 2017), iPhone 7 and newer default to the HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) format. HEIC uses HEVC compression to store the same image at roughly half the file size of JPEG. Apple made HEIC the default to save storage space on-device, but the wider ecosystem — including most passport portals — still expects JPEG.
US online passport renewal (opr.travel.state.gov) accepts JPEG, PNG, HEIC and HEIF. But every other passport and visa portal we tested requires JPEG: DV Lottery, DS-160 non-immigrant visa, DS-260 immigrant visa, UK GOV.UK passport, Canadian IRCC, Indian Passport Seva, India eVisa, Chinese consulate, and Schengen visa portals. If you're not applying for a US online renewal, convert HEIC to JPEG first.
A single conversion from HEIC to JPEG at quality 92 is visually lossless — the two files look identical when compared side by side. Only repeated re-encoding (JPEG to JPEG to JPEG) loses quality. The tool converts once from the original HEIC and never re-encodes.
Yes — orientation, capture date, camera model and device information are all preserved in the JPEG output. Portal validators sometimes check EXIF orientation to auto-rotate the image, so preserving this metadata prevents upload failures on rotation-sensitive portals.
Yes — Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible switches new photos to JPEG. But existing photos already in HEIC stay in HEIC until you convert them. This tool converts existing HEIC photos in-browser without changing your iPhone settings.
Yes. HEIC and HEIF are the same format — HEIC is the Apple-specific extension, HEIF is the standard MIME type (image/heif or image/heic). The tool accepts both extensions and produces identical JPEG output.
Yes safe, no upload. The HEIC decode and JPEG encode happen entirely in your browser using the WebCodecs API on Chrome and Edge, or a WASM (WebAssembly) fallback on Safari and Firefox. The original file and the JPEG output never leave your device.
iPhone photos are typically saved in Display P3 (a wider colour gamut than sRGB). The tool converts to sRGB, which is the profile required by every passport and visa portal. Perceptual rendering intent is used so the face colour stays natural during the conversion.
Use our companion tools after conversion: resize to 600×600 for US federal uploads, compress to 240 KB for DV Lottery or DS-160, reduce to 20 KB for Indian exam portals. The three tools chain automatically if you launch them from this converter.
Yes. Drop multiple HEIC files onto the tool and each converts individually. The converted JPEGs are downloaded as a single .zip archive. This is helpful for family passport applications where multiple photos need converting.
Every iPhone from iPhone 7 (2016) onwards, running iOS 11 or later, defaults to HEIC. That covers roughly 95% of all iPhones in active use as of 2026. iPad models from 2018 onwards also default to HEIC. Older iPhones and every Android device still default to JPEG.
Yes. The converter runs in Safari on iOS 15+ using the Photo library picker, and in Chrome on Android. iPhone users can even drag directly from the Photos app on iOS 16+. Download the converted JPEG back to your camera roll.