A US passport photo is 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm). The head, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, is 1 to 1⅜ inches (25 to 35 mm). In a digital file at 300 pixels per inch, that is a 600 × 600 pixel square with a head of 300 to 413 pixels.
Printed passport photo
| Measure | Inches | Millimeters | Pixels at 300 ppi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo | 2 × 2 | 51 × 51 | 600 × 600 |
| Head, chin to top of head | 1 to 1⅜ | 25 to 35 | 300 to 413 |
| Eyes, from the bottom edge | 1⅛ to 1⅜ | 28 to 35 | 338 to 413 |
The State Department says: “The correct printed size of a passport photo is 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm).” The eye height is on the State Department photo composition template. The pixel column is our arithmetic at 300 pixels per inch, a common print resolution. The State Department gives no pixel size for a printed photo.
Your hair can go past the edge of the photo: “Your hair may extend past the edges of the photo, as long as your entire head is shown and is the appropriate size.”
How many photos fit on a 4 × 6 print
Two 2 × 2 inch photos fit side by side on one 4 × 6 inch print, with space to cut. At 300 pixels per inch, the sheet is 1800 × 1200 pixels. When you order the print, turn off any automatic crop, so the photos keep their size.
DS-160 visa photo (digital)
| Measure | Rule |
|---|---|
| Image size | Square, 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 pixels |
| File | JPEG, 240 KB or less |
| Head, top of hair to bottom of chin | 50% to 69% of the image height (300 to 414 pixels in a 600 pixel image) |
| Eyes, from the bottom edge | 56% to 69% of the image height (336 to 414 pixels in a 600 pixel image) |
Source: digital image requirements and the photo composition template. More on the DS-160 photo page.
Online passport renewal photo (digital)
The online renewal takes a JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF file from 54 KB to 10 MB. The State Department gives no pixel size for it. The head and background rules are the same as for a printed photo. Source: Uploading a digital photo. More on the renewal photo page.
Green card photo (Form I-485)
USCIS asks for two identical color photos, 2 × 2 inches, with the head 1 to 1⅜ inches from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, and the eyes 1⅛ to 1⅜ inches from the bottom. Source: Instructions for Form I-485. More on the green card photo page.
A scan of a printed photo
For a visa application with a scan, the photo is 2 × 2 inches, “Scanned at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch”. That gives 600 × 600 pixels. For a passport, “Do not submit photocopies or digitally scanned photos.”
Sources: travel.state.gov, Passport Photos (page updated March 24, 2026, read on October 19, 2026), and the visa, renewal, and USCIS pages linked above. All passport photo rules are in the requirements guide.