How many passport photos are required to be submitted with the passport application?
Two (2) identical photos must be submitted with the passport application.
What type of paper are the photographs to be printed on?
The photos should be printed on thin photo-quality paper.
Do the photos have to be in color?
Yes, the photos to must be in color.
How recent must the photos be?
The photos must be no older than 6 months.
How big must the photos be?
The photos must measure exactly 2 inches by 2 inches.
What pose should the photos show?
The photo should show a clear, front view, full face of the customer.
The customer should be in normal street attire, without hat or dark glasses
against a plain white or off-white background. The customer should have a
natural expression, mouth closed, and eyes open and looking directly ahead.
Photos in which the face of the person being photographed is not in focus will
not be accepted.
How big should the head be in the photo?
The customer's head, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of
the hair, should be between 1 inch and 1-3/8 inches. The head should be centered
in the photo. The head of the person being photographed should not be tilted up,
down or to the side. It should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
Can hats or religious headgear be worn for the photo?
Unless worn daily for religious reasons, all hats or headgear should be
removed for the photo. In all cases, no item or attire should cover or otherwise
obscure any part of the face.
Can eyeglasses be worn for the photo?
Eyeglasses worn on a daily basis can be worn for the photo. However,
there should be no reflections from the eyeglasses that obscures the eyes.
Can sunglasses or tinted glasses be worn?
Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not
acceptable unless you need them for medical reasons. A medical certificate may be required.
Can work uniforms be worn for the photo?
Uniforms should not be worn in photographs except in the case of
religious attire that is worn daily. Otherwise, normal street attire should be worn.
Can a parent or guardian appear in the photo of a minor child?
No, the minor child must be the only subject in the photo. Nothing used
to support the minor child, whether by mechanical or human means, should be in
the camera's frame.
Are photos that are copied from recent driver licenses or other official
documents acceptable?
No, only original photographs are acceptable. Copied or digitally
scanned photos of photos will not be accepted. In addition, photos must not be
retouched to alter the customer's appearance in any way.
May photos be taken with a digital camera?
If the digital camera has sufficient resolution — capable of capturing
and storing images with 1 million pixels (megapixels) or more — it can be used
to take the photos. However, printing of digital images is best done by
professional photography processing labs because many off-the-shelf digital
printers cannot achieve the image-quality required for passport and visa
photographs. In any case, the image-quality criteria, described on this website,
must be met in the submitted conventional film photo and/or the digital image
printed photo.