JPEG vs PNG for passport and ID photos

Of the digital photo rules in our dataset, almost every one names JPEG as the accepted format; a single country also takes PNG. That makes the format decision simple, but the reasons behind it are worth two minutes, because they explain why screenshots, scans and messaging-app downloads fail checks that the original camera file would pass. This guide covers what each format does, who accepts what, and the conversions that are safe.

What the rules say

JPEG is the stated requirement nearly everywhere a format is stated at all: the US visa systems want JPEG for the DS-160 photo, UK Visas and Immigration wants 'a jpg or jpeg file' for the visa upload, Ireland's Passport Online says the file must 'Be in JPEG format', and Japan's portals take jpg for the Japanese passport. The one PNG-friendly rule in our dataset is Korea's online re-issue, which accepts JPG or PNG up to 500 KB for the Korean passport.

Our exported files are JPEG for every document, with the print DPI written into the file header, so they match the format rule as published; where a portal takes PNG as well, a JPEG still satisfies it.

Why JPEG won

JPEG compresses photographs ten times smaller than PNG at quality levels no examiner can distinguish, which is what makes limits like 240 KB or 80 KB achievable at all; the file size guide shows how tight those budgets are. PNG is lossless, so a portrait saved as PNG routinely weighs several megabytes and sails over KB ceilings. PNG also supports transparency, which has no meaning on paper or in a portal: a transparent background is not a white background, and viewers render it unpredictably. For photographs, PNG's strengths buy nothing the rules reward.

The conversions that cause trouble

Format problems are usually conversion problems in disguise. A screenshot of a photo is a new PNG at your screen's resolution with none of the camera's detail or metadata. A photo sent through a messaging app arrives re-compressed, which is why the US online renewal tells applicants not to send the image by text message before uploading it to MyTravelGov. HEIC, the default on many iPhones, is not named as accepted by any rule in our dataset, so convert to JPEG before uploading anywhere; a camera-roll export or the phone's own share-as-JPEG option does this without visible loss.

Safe conversions go from more information to less, once: camera original to a JPEG at the required pixels and quality. Unsafe ones stack losses: JPEG to PNG back to JPEG, repeated saves of the same JPEG, or any route through a chat app or a screenshot.

Frequently asked questions

Is PNG higher quality than JPEG?

PNG is lossless, but a JPEG saved at high quality from the same source is visually identical for a portrait and a fraction of the size. Since portals cap kilobytes and name JPEG, lossless buys you nothing here.

My camera saves HEIC. Will a portal take it?

No rule in our dataset names HEIC as accepted. Convert the photo to JPEG first; exporting from the phone's photo app or running it through our tool both produce a JPEG.

Does converting PNG to JPEG lose the white background?

A solid white background converts cleanly. The thing to avoid is transparency: if a PNG has a transparent background, flatten it to white before converting, or the JPEG will fill it with whatever the converter chooses.