Baby passport photo: US rules for newborns and infants, and how to take one

A baby passport photo is the same 2x2 photo as an adult’s, taken of someone who cannot sit up, look at the camera on request or keep their hands out of the way. The rules make a few allowances for that, and a few things still get photos rejected. This guide covers the US rules for newborns, infants and toddlers exactly as the State Department’s passport photo page states them (checked September 2026), then shows the way that works best at home: a white sheet, daylight and a phone held straight above.

The US baby passport photo rules

A baby’s photo has to meet the same core requirements as any US passport photo:

• Size: 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), printed.
• Head: 1 inch to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, centred.
• Recent: taken in the last 6 months. For a newborn, that means a photo taken for the application, not one from the hospital.
• Background: plain white or off-white, with no shadows, texture or objects.
• Colour, sharp, even light: no shadows on the face, not blurry.
• Unedited: no filters, software, phone apps or AI.
• Printed on photo paper, matte or glossy, with no scans or photocopies.

The State Department’s section on babies and toddlers adds these points:

The page’s unacceptable examples for children are useful to look at before you start: a child not facing forward, an exaggerated expression, the face blocked by hands, a dummy covering part of the face, a blurry photo with a background that is not white, and a photo with another person in it and a busy background. The fix for the last one, in the page’s own words, is to place the child in a car seat with a white or off-white blanket.

What a baby passport application looks like

The photo is one part of the application. For a child under 16, the State Department’s page on applying for a child’s passport (checked September 2026) says:

• the child applies in person, with both parents or guardians present, or with extra documents if one cannot come;
• a child’s passport cannot be renewed; you apply in person each time;
• passports for children under 16 are valid for 5 years;
• you provide one photo with the application, and do not staple it to the form: the acceptance agent reviews it and staples it for you.

So the photo is checked by a person at the counter before the application goes anywhere. If it is clearly wrong, you usually hear about it there, which is a reason to take it carefully rather than a reason to worry.

How to take a baby passport photo at home

Lying down on a white sheet (newborns and young babies)

This is the easiest way for a baby who cannot sit up. The sheet is the background, the floor supports the head, and nobody’s hands need to be in the frame.

1. Lay a plain white sheet on the floor or a firm bed, near a window. Pull it tight so there are no creases around where the head will be.
2. Lay the baby on their back in the middle of the sheet, head straight, not turned to one side. Keep the clothing a colour other than white, so the shoulders stand out from the sheet.
3. Light from the side of the window on a bright day, without direct sun. Turn off overhead lights, which throw shadows under the brow and chin. Do not use the flash.
4. Hold the phone straight above, parallel to the baby, not at an angle. Stand or kneel to one side of the light so your body does not shadow the face. Use the rear camera, zoomed in slightly rather than held close.
5. Frame wide. Head and the top of the shoulders, centred, with generous space above the head and on both sides. The crop comes later.
6. Take a burst. Babies move. Twenty frames give you two or three with the face straight, still and fully visible.

In a car seat (babies who wriggle, and toddlers)

Cover the car seat with a plain white or off-white sheet so no fabric pattern shows behind the head, sit the baby in it, and take the photo at the baby’s eye level from a couple of metres away, zoomed in. The car seat keeps the head supported and upright, which helps with a baby who turns away the moment they are laid down.

Toddlers

A toddler can often sit on a chair against a white wall or a sheet hung behind them, like an adult. The allowance for eyes ends with babies: a toddler’s eyes must be open. A parent standing behind the camera and saying the child’s name gets a front-on look for a second or two, which is all the burst needs.

Choosing the frame and cropping it

Look at each frame at full size and keep only ones where:

• the whole face is visible, with nothing over the chin, mouth or cheeks;
• the face points at the camera and the head is not tilted far to one side;
• there is no hand, finger, shoulder or toy anywhere in the frame;
• the sheet behind the head is plain, with no dark crease or shadow;
• the face is sharp, especially around the eyes.

Then crop it to 2 x 2 inches. Open getPNG’s passport photo maker, drop the photo in and choose US passport. The tool finds the head and places it; check that the top of the head sits in the upper band and the chin in the lower one, and drag the photo or change Head size if not. It also looks at the background the camera saw and says if it looks too dark or uneven. Then save the photo, or a 4x6 inch print sheet to print at a kiosk, a pharmacy or an online lab at 100 percent with no border.

When this does not work

• The face is not straight. A baby lying with the head turned to one side, or looking past the camera, will be rejected. The crop cannot turn a head. Take more frames, or try the car seat.
• Shadows. A shadow from you or the phone across the face, or a dark crease in the sheet behind the head, is a retake. Do not brighten it or paint the sheet white in an editor: the State Department rejects edited photos, children’s included.
• Hands in the frame. If someone has to hold the baby still, their hands are in the photo and it fails. Use the sheet on the floor or the car seat instead.
• The head is too small in the frame. A photo taken from far away and cropped hard can end up soft when printed at 2 x 2 inches. Get closer with the zoom, not the phone, and use a sharp frame.
• Not enough space above the head. If the 2x2 square would run off the edge of your photo, the gap is filled with white. Frame wider.
• Another country’s passport. The numbers and the rules differ, and some countries do not accept home photos at all. Canada, for example, asks for a child’s photo to be taken by a commercial photographer (see Canadian passport photo requirements). This tool’s crop is only as right as the document you choose.

The acceptance agent and the State Department make the final decision. A crop that sits in the bands is a good start, not a promise.

Other countries: a short note

Newborn passport photo requirements look similar across most countries, because they follow the same international standard, but the size, the allowed background colour and who may take the photo all vary. Canada allows a newborn to be photographed in a car seat with a white blanket behind the head, gives some range for infant expressions, and wants the photo taken by a commercial photographer at 50 x 70 mm. The UK asks for a plain cream or light grey background on printed photos, as set out in the guide to passport photo backgrounds. Always read the official page for the passport you are applying for.

If your child also needs a US visa rather than a passport, the digital photo rules are in US visa photo requirements, and the full adult rules, which a baby’s photo follows everywhere the baby section does not say otherwise, are in US passport photo requirements.

A photo of your baby’s face is one to keep off other people’s servers, and many passport photo apps upload it to process it. getPNG crops the photo inside your browser tab and sends it nowhere; the guide to checking that a website is not uploading your photos shows how to see that for yourself.

The steps, in short

1. Lay a plain white sheet. On the floor or a bed, pulled tight, or over a car seat. No pattern, no creases near the head.
2. Light from the side of a window. Daylight, not a flash. Make sure you and the phone do not throw a shadow on the baby's face.
3. Take it from straight above. Phone parallel to the baby, face centred, head and top of the shoulders in frame with space above the head. Take a burst.
4. Pick a frame with the face fully visible. No hands, no dummy, no toy, no one else's fingers. Eyes may be partly closed for a baby; the face must face the camera.
5. Crop it to 2 x 2 inches. Open getPNG's passport photo maker, choose US passport and place the top of the head and the chin in the bands. Save the photo or a 4x6 print sheet.

Questions

Does a baby need a passport photo?

Yes. A US passport application for a child under 16, newborns included, comes with one photo that meets the passport photo rules. Both parents or guardians normally apply in person with the child, and the acceptance agent reviews and staples the photo.

Do a baby's eyes have to be open in a passport photo?

Not entirely. The State Department says it is okay if a baby's eyes are not entirely open. All other children must have their eyes open.

Can I hold my baby for the passport photo?

Not in a way that shows. No other person can be in the photo, and a photo where the child's face is blocked by hands is shown as unacceptable. Lay the baby on a white sheet, or put them in a car seat covered with a white sheet, so no hands are needed.

What background does a baby passport photo need?

The same as an adult's: plain white or off-white, with no shadows, texture or objects. The State Department suggests placing the child on a plain white or off-white sheet, or covering a car seat with the sheet.

Can I edit my baby's passport photo to fix the background?

No. The no-edit rule applies to children too: no software, phone apps, filters or AI, and no background removed with a retouching tool. If the sheet is creased or shadowed, straighten it and take another photo.

What are newborn passport photo requirements in Canada or the UK?

Each country sets its own. Canada, for example, requires a child's passport photo to be 50 x 70 mm and taken by a commercial photographer, with a car seat covered by a white blanket allowed for newborns. Check the official page for the passport you are applying for.