Quick answer: baby rules in one minute
U.S. baby passport photo requirements use the same 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) printed photo size as an adult passport photo. The photo must be recent, color, sharp, printed on photo-quality paper, and taken against a plain white or off-white background.
The baby-specific flexibility is limited: The State Department says it’s OK if a baby’s eyes aren’t fully open. The other rules still apply. The child has to look at the camera, the whole face needs to be visible, the expression needs to be neutral and there should be no other person in the photo.
At home, the lowest-risk workflow is simple:
- Use a real white or off-white sheet, wall, or fully covered car seat.
- Take many original photos with no filters, portrait mode, beauty mode, AI cleanup, or background replacement.
- Pick the sharpest frame where the baby faces the camera and nothing blocks the face.
- Crop and print a 2 x 2 inch photo, then measure the printed square and head height with a ruler.
- Bring one printed photo to the child's DS-11 appointment. Do not staple or attach it yourself.
Exact size and print check
A U.S. baby passport photo uses the same physical dimensions as an adult one:
- Printed photo size: 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm).
- Head height: 1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm), measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
- Background: Plain white or off-white, with no shadows, texture, lines, toys, furniture, or visible car-seat edges.
- Recency: Taken within the last six months.
- Paper: Matte or glossy photo-quality paper.
For a 300 DPI print sheet, each 2 x 2 inch photo is 600 x 600 pixels on the sheet. That does not replace the physical rule. After printing, measure the final photo with a ruler. The square should be exactly 2 inches wide and 2 inches tall, and the head should land inside the 1 to 1⅜ inch range.
Eyes, expression, and the newborn exception
The official wording as it stands is not “closed eyes are always good”. It says it is ok if a baby’s eyes are not fully open. That means that a sleepy newborn photo may be usable if the face is clear and forward, but you should still go for an awake or partly awake frame if you have one available.
The expression rule is also more stringent than many parent guides make it seem. The State Department child examples require a neutral expression and are not allowed exaggerated expressions. Skip the crying shot, the open-mouthed laugh, the tongue-out, and the photo where the chin folds over the chest, hiding the lower face.
| Age | Eyes / expression | At-home tip |
|---|---|---|
| Newborn or young infant | Eyes not entirely open may be accepted; face still needs to be visible | Shoot right after feeding and a diaper change, before the baby is upset |
| Older infant | Eyes open is the safer target | Put a soft sound or familiar face near the camera lens, not inside the frame |
| Toddler | Eyes open, face forward, neutral expression | Use burst mode and expect to delete most frames |
| Child age 4-15 | Treat like an adult photo | Straight head, visible eyes, plain background, no exaggerated expression |
What cannot appear in the frame
The rule is simple and strict: only the child should appear in the passport photo. This is where baby photos often go wrong. The adult support is almost invisible to the parent taking the photo but obvious in the final crop.
Check for these before you print:
- Hands, arms, or any part of another person.
- A pacifier, bottle, toy, or anything held in the baby's mouth or hand.
- Car-seat straps, buckles, fabric logos, or a dark seat outline showing through the sheet.
- Sheet wrinkles that look like background lines behind the head.
- A shadow from the baby's head, the phone, or the adult taking the photo.
- Other children or background objects.
- Hats, headbands, or accessories that cover or shadow the face.
- A bib, collar, blanket, or swaddle edge covering the chin or jawline.
At-home setups by age
The practical challenge is not the 2 x 2 crop. It is supporting a small child without letting the support show. Pick the setup based on what the child can do safely.
Newborn: white sheet on a safe flat surface
Lay baby on his back on a plain white or off-white sheet. Stretch the sheet tight so there are no dark folds in the background behind the head. It is easier to work on a firm mattress, a changing pad on the floor, or a thick blanket on the floor than on a sofa because the baby does not sink into it.
Take a shot from directly above, with the phone parallel to the baby's face. Tilting the camera can make the forehead look too big and the chin disappear. Keep your shadow out of the shot and take short bursts when the baby is calm.
Older infant: white-covered car seat
Cover a car seat or bouncer with a plain white or off-white sheet for a baby who holds their head better but cannot sit alone. Fold the sheet behind the shoulders and around the seat edges so that straps, side bolsters and logos are not visible;
Not a top down photo, but a photo at face level. An adult may stand behind the seat for safety, but no part of the adult may be visible in the photo. Look for fingers in the crop near the ears and sheet shadows under the chin.
Toddler: wall setup, but make it quick
A plain wall is often easier for toddlers than a sheet. Move the child a bit away from the wall to make the shadow in the background smaller. Put the camera at eye level or at nose level. Have an adult behind the camera call the child’s name and then take a burst of photos before the child moves.
Do not give the child a toy, snack, or pacifier to keep them quiet. If it gets into the picture or alters the shape of the mouth, it introduces a new risk of rejection.
Lighting and avoiding shadows
Before you worry about cropping, use soft, even light. Light from a big window usually works better than a ceiling light. Avoid direct sun on the face, which creates hard shadows under the nose and chin. Avoid using a phone flash right next to a wall, which will often create a dark outline around the head.
If the baby is lying down, make the necessary adjustments to light the face evenly. For a seated baby or toddler, pull the child away from the wall and use frontal light. A dull picture that is well lighted is less risky than a dramatic portrait.
Phone settings that quietly ruin baby photos
The current guidance from the State Department is to not enhance or change a passport photo using software or artificial intelligence tools. It also says photos are scanned for artificial intelligence tools. The same goes for baby photos.
The safest approach is to make the original camera photo boring and clean:
- Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera.
- Use the normal 1x lens if possible; ultra-wide lenses distort faces.
- Turn off portrait mode, beauty mode, skin smoothing, live filters, and scene optimizer features.
- Do not use AI background replacement, object removal, eye brightening, or baby-cute filters.
- Cropping, rotating, and laying out the original photo for print are fine. Changing the face, skin, hair, or background is not.
Rejection checks before you print
Once you select your best frame, refer to this table. If the source photo is the problem, reshoot it rather than try to fix it later.
| Problem in the baby photo | Why it is risky | Better fix |
|---|---|---|
| Baby is asleep with eyes fully shut | Official guidance only says a baby's eyes may be not entirely open | Try another short session when the baby is drowsy but partly awake |
| Parent's fingers show near the head | Another person is in the photo | Use a white sheet or covered car seat so hands can stay out |
| Pacifier, bottle, or toy is visible | The face is blocked or the child is holding an object | Remove it right before taking the burst |
| Chin is tucked into the chest | The full face and jawline are not clear | Roll a small towel under the sheet below the shoulders, not visible in frame |
| Sheet has dark folds behind the head | Background is not plain | Pull the sheet tight or use plain poster board under the sheet |
| Face is angled away from camera | Child must face the camera | Put the sound or adult attention directly behind the lens |
| Photo is blurry | Passport photos need a clear image | Use brighter light, a steady hand, or a tripod/phone stand |
| Background was replaced with AI | Digital or AI background changes are not allowed | Retake against a real white or off-white background |
How to crop and print with PhotoTools
PhotoTools is most useful after the source photo already passes the rule checks. Use it to generate a U.S. 2 x 2 inch print sheet at 300 DPI on 4 x 6 or 6 x 4 photo paper. It runs in your browser, so the child's identity photo is not uploaded to a server.
Two print habits matter:
- Choose the U.S. 2 x 2 inch preset and use an original camera photo with enough space around the head.
- When printing, select actual size or 100% scale. Do not use "fit to page," because it can shrink or enlarge the 2 x 2 photo.
Cut the sheet after printing and measure a photo. The tool helps with layout; it does not make an official acceptance decision and should not be used to fix a photo with shadows, filters, a visible parent or a bad background.
What you need at the DS-11 appointment
Children under 16 cannot renew a passport by mail or online. Each time, they apply in person with Form DS-11 at an authorized passport acceptance facility. The child must be present, and both parents or guardians normally must be present too. If one parent or guardian cannot attend, the State Department requires additional consent documents.
For a typical under-16 application, prepare:
- The completed DS-11 form, printed single-sided. Do not sign it until the acceptance agent asks.
- The child's original or certified-copy birth certificate as evidence of U.S. citizenship.
- Evidence of the parent or guardian relationship, often the same birth certificate.
- Physical photo ID for each parent or guardian, plus required photocopies.
- One printed passport photo on photo-quality paper. Do not staple or attach it yourself.
- Fees. At this July 2026 review, the State Department listed a $100 child passport book application fee plus a $35 acceptance fee, but check the official fee page before the appointment.
Official source to check
Confirm current rules before submitting a minor's application. The State Department updated its passport photo and under-16 application pages in July 2026, so use the official pages as the final authority.