Your passport photo, taken by an AI photographer. Accepted or double your money back.
Take the photo on your phone with a frame that tells you where to stand and when the light is right. We crop it to 2x2 inches, size the head to spec, and check it against every rule the State Department publishes. You watch each check pass before you pay. Then download it, pick up prints at a Walgreens, CVS, Walmart or Target you choose, or have prints mailed.
Price band: Email delivery $9.95. Email plus prints picked up at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart or Target $12.95, plus about 50 cents to the store for the print, paid at the counter. Email plus prints mailed to you $14.95. Pharmacy counters charge $16.99 to $17.99 for two prints. For less than that you get the digital file for the online renewal, a check against every published rule before you pay, and prints if you want them.
How it works
1. Take the photo. Stand a few feet in front of a plain white or off white wall, in daylight if you can. No glasses, no hat, mouth closed, eyes open, look straight at the camera. Have someone take it from four to six feet away, or use the timer. The frame on screen tells you if you are too close, too dark or tilted before you press the button.
2. We do the photographer's job. Head size, centering, tilt, eyes, mouth, glasses, head covering, shadows on the face, shadows on the background, background color, sharpness, exposure, color cast, red eye, one face only. Every rule the State Department publishes, checked one by one, each with a plain fix if it fails ("step away from the wall so the shadow goes"). Nothing about your face is changed. Changed faces get rejected, and we want you to be accepted.
3. Get your photo. A digital file sized for the online renewal at travel.state.gov, plus a 4x6 sheet with two 2x2 photos you can print anywhere. Or let us handle the prints: ready at a pharmacy near you in about an hour, or mailed in a rigid envelope.
Three ways to get it
Email, $9.95. The 2x2 digital file and the 4x6 print sheet in your inbox within a minute of paying. Print the sheet at any pharmacy kiosk, usually for under a dollar.
Pick up at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart or Target, $12.95. Pick a store on the map before you pay. We send the print order to that store. You walk in, give your name, pay the store about 50 cents for the print, and leave with two 2x2 prints. Usually ready within an hour between 8 AM and 8 PM Eastern; outside those hours we show you the ready time before you pay.
Mailed to you, $14.95. Two 2x2 prints on photo paper, cut and packed in a rigid mailer at our own fulfillment center, shipped the same day by USPS First Class. Postage included. Four prints for $3 more, six for $5 more.
What you get
- A 2x2 inch photo as a digital file that meets the State Department's upload rules for online renewal. The digital file is included with every option.
- A 4x6 print sheet with two 2x2 photos, for home or pharmacy printing.
- A results card showing every check that passed, so you know why the photo is right.
Accepted or double your money back
If the State Department rejects a photo we approved, email us the rejection notice within 90 days of your order, or use the refund link on your order page. We refund twice what you paid, prints and postage included, to the card you used, within 3 business days. No form, no argument.
Two things it does not cover: a photo you used after we warned you it failed a check, and a photo older than 6 months when you submitted it. [Full guarantee page link]
The rules, in plain words
These come from the State Department's own page, which we check against every time it changes.
- Taken in the last 6 months, in color.
- Plain white or off white background, no shadows, texture, objects or lines.
- Head between 1 and 1 3/8 inches from chin to top of head, centered, the whole head in the frame.
- Face the camera straight on, head not tilted, shoulders square.
- Neutral expression or a natural smile. Eyes open and visible, mouth closed, no teeth.
- No glasses of any kind, and none resting on your head. Medical exceptions need a signed doctor's note with the application.
- No hats or head coverings, unless worn daily for religious reasons or on medical grounds, with a signed statement. Even then, one plain color and the full face visible.
- No uniforms, camouflage, headphones or earpieces. Nothing covering any part of the face. Jewelry and piercings are fine if they do not hide the face.
- Sharp, well lit, natural skin tones. Not blurry, grainy or washed out. No red eye.
- Send the original. No filters, no retouching, nothing that changes how you look.
The full explanation with every rule mapped to our checks: [Requirements page link]
FAQ
Can I take it myself? Yes, with the timer, or ask someone to take it. Do not hold the phone at arm's length: a close selfie distorts the face and fails the head size check. We warn you on screen if the photo looks like one.
Can I wear glasses? No. The State Department does not accept any glasses in passport photos. If you cannot remove them for a medical reason, you need a signed note from your doctor with your application.
Can I smile? A natural smile is fine. Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open. Big grins and teeth get rejected.
Do you edit my face? No. We handle the crop, the head size and the technical checks. Your face, your features and your expression are never altered, because an altered photo is exactly what the State Department rejects.
Which file do I upload for online renewal? The 2x2 digital file we email you. It is sized within the limits the State Department publishes for the online upload. The 4x6 sheet is for printing only.
How fast is pickup? Between 8 AM and 8 PM Eastern, prints are usually ready within an hour. Outside those hours the exact ready time is shown before you pay. At the counter you pay the store about 50 cents for the print; everything else is paid here. Either way the digital file is in your inbox within a minute.
Is my photo private? Your photo is used to make your passport photo and for nothing else. It is never used to train AI, and it is deleted 30 days after your order, or the moment you press delete now on your order page.
Does this work for a baby or a child? Yes. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet and shoot from above, or cover a car seat with the sheet. No other person in the frame, no hands holding the head, no pacifier. A baby's eyes may be not fully open; every other child needs open eyes. Our checks switch to the baby rules when you tell us it is for an infant. The full guide is on the [Baby passport photo page link].