US Passport Card Photo: size and requirements
The US Passport Card Photo size is 51 x 51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 inches). White or off-white background without shadows, texture, or lines; head 49 to 69 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last 6 months. Last verified 2026-10-07 against U.S. Department of State.
For the printed photo sent with a U.S. passport card application in person (DS-11) or by mail (DS-82), alone or together with a passport book. If you already hold a card and renew it online (card to card, or book and card to book and card) you upload a digital photo instead; see our US passport online renewal page. Not for a visa or the DV lottery.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 51 x 51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 inches)
- Head height
- Head 49 to 69 percent of the photo height (1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head)
- Eye line
- 56 to 69 percent from the bottom of the photo
- Background
- white or off-white background without shadows, texture, or lines
- Expression
- Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking at the camera
- Glasses
- Not allowed
- Head covering
- Only for religious or medical reasons; full face visible
- Photo age
- Taken within the last 6 months
- Prints needed
- 1
- We deliver
- 602 x 602 px (300 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckThe passport card uses exactly the same 2 x 2 inch photo and the same forms as the passport book. A combined book-and-card application is a single application, so in practice you attach one photo.
- CheckYou can renew a card online only if you already hold a card (card to card, or book and card to book and card). You cannot get a first card, or add a card to a book, online; those applications use this printed photo.
- CheckThe card is not valid for international air travel. If you are flying, you need the book, which uses the same photo.
Good to know before you pay
If you already printed a compliant 2 x 2 inch photo for a passport book application in the last six months, the same print works for the card.
Source and verification
Read from the official page. Last checked 2026-10-07 (archived copy dated 2025-09-13) at U.S. Department of State.
We use the same forms for both passport books and cards.
You can renew passport books and passport cards online.
If you want to renew a passport card but not a passport book, leave the book section blank.
The correct size of a passport photo is: 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm)
Head must be between 1 -1 3/8 inches (25 - 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head
It is okay if a baby's eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.
Make sure the eye height is between 1 1/8 inches to 1 3/8 inches (28 mm – 35 mm) from the bottom of the photo
travel.state.gov blocks automated readers; the card page and the photos page (passports/how-apply/photos.html, Last Updated January 20, 2025) were read from Internet Archive snapshots of 2025-09-13. The photo measurements, the eligibility wording and the baby rule are from the photos page; the card page states the same forms are used. The card page (Last Updated February 13, 2024) still says 'You cannot renew online', but the newer Renew my Passport Online page (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew-online.html, Last Updated June 28, 2025, snapshot 2025-09-14) says cards can be renewed online when you already hold a card (chart: Card to Card = Yes, Book and Card to Book and Card = Yes, Book to Card = No); its wording is quoted here and supersedes the card page. The eye-line figure is not on the passport photos page; it is from the State Department's Photo Composition Template (us-visas/.../photo-composition-template.html, same 2 x 2 in standard, snapshot nearest 2025-09-15). The State Department gives no age for 'baby', so child.underAge = 1 is our reading.
We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.
Frequently asked questions
