Passport Photo Checker
Check whether your photo meets a country’s passport or visa rules, then download a compliant version.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your photo is never uploaded.
1Choose a document
- Size
- 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 in)
- Head height
- 26 mm – 35 mm
- Eye line from bottom
- 29 mm – 35 mm
- Background
- whiteoff-white
- Glasses
- not allowed
- Taken within the last 6 months
- Glasses are not allowed (since 2016), except with a signed medical statement
- No hats or head coverings except for religious or medical reasons
- No filters, retouching or selfies at arm’s length
2Add your photo
Tips for a good photo
- Stand 50 cm in front of a plain white wall, with daylight from a window facing you.
- Have someone else take it from about 1.2 m away at eye level. Avoid arm’s-length selfies, which distort the face.
- Leave plenty of space above your head and include your shoulders.
- Neutral face, mouth closed, look straight at the lens.
How to use the checker
- Choose the document. Search by country or document: the 23 specs cover the US passport and visa (DS-160), the Chinese passport and China visa, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the UK, Canada, Schengen, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The size, head height, background and glasses rule are shown with a link to the official page.
- Add a photo: drop it in, choose a JPEG or PNG file, or take a selfie on your phone. The analysis runs on your device.
- Read the two groups of results. “Photo quality” (one face, head straight, facing the camera, eyes open, expression, lighting, exposure, sharpness, background) cannot be fixed by cropping, so retake the photo if anything fails. “Your photo as uploaded” (aspect ratio, head size, eye position, space above the head, pixels, file size, format) is fixed by the auto-crop.
- Check the auto-cropped result with the guides on. If the background fails, “Replace background” swaps it for an allowed colour using AI segmentation; look at the hair edges before you submit.
- Download what the document needs: a digital JPEG fitted to the file-size limit, a 300 dpi print, or a 4×6 inch sheet with several copies at actual size.
Common mistakes that get photos rejected
- Reusing a US 2 × 2 inch photo for China. China visa and passport photos are 33 × 48 mm, taller and narrower, and the China visa upload is a 3:4 file. Crop the same original to each spec instead, if you left space around your head.
- Shadows on one side of the face or on the wall behind you. Face a window and stand away from the wall.
- The head too big, too small or cut off at the top, usually from an arm’s-length selfie. Have someone else take it from about 1.2 m and include your shoulders.
- Glasses. They are not allowed for US passport and visa photos or the Chinese passport, and glare alone can fail a China visa photo. The checker does not detect glasses, so take them off yourself.
- Beauty filters, retouching, or a background cut-out that leaves a halo around the hair.
- The wrong file for an online form: a PNG instead of a JPEG, a file over the KB limit, or the wrong pixel size. The digital download is a JPEG sized to the spec.
FAQ
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. Face detection and every check run in your browser with on-device models, so the photo never leaves your device. The checker is free and needs no sign-up.
Can I use my US passport photo for a China visa?
No. A US passport photo is a 2 × 2 inch square, while a China visa photo is 33 × 48 mm. Choose the China visa spec and check the original picture: if there is enough space around your head, the checker crops it to the China size.
If the photo passes, will it be accepted?
Not guaranteed. This is an automated pre-check, not an official approval, and the issuing authority makes the final decision. Also confirm the items it cannot see: taken within the last 6 months, no hat or head covering, and no filters.
All the specs side by side, and why photos get rejected: Passport photo requirements: US passport, China visa and DS-160