Baby Passport Photo [+No Trip to the Counter]

Lay your baby on a white sheet, take the photo from above, and we do the rest. The State Department's infant rules are checked by software before you pay, and the prints come to you.

Take or upload a photo

Every rule checked before you pay. Accepted or double your money back with the Acceptance guarantee.

A phone photo of a baby on a white sheet next to the finished 2 x 2 inch baby passport photo

A passport photo your baby will actually sit for

  • Take as many as you need

    Babies move. Take five or six, run each through the check, and keep the one that passes with the face you like. Retakes are free before you pay.

  • Guided, then checked

    The camera tells you if you are too close, tilted or throwing a shadow. Then the software crops, sizes the head, replaces the sheet with plain white and checks the infant rules, and shows you each result before you pay.

  • Accepted or double your money back

    With the Acceptance guarantee, a rejection means twice your money back.

How it works

  1. Take or upload a photo

    Spread a plain white sheet on the floor or a bed near a window, in daytime, flash off. Hold the phone flat about two to three feet above the baby's face. The camera tells you if you are too close, tilted or throwing a shadow.

  2. The AI does the tune up

    Crop to 2 x 2 inches, head sized to the rule, plain white background, then the initial check: face recognized, one face only, minimum size, correct proportions, background can be replaced, no red eyes. Tell us it is a baby and the eye rule relaxes for children under one.

  3. Pay, and it is yours

    Pay once. The digital file is in your inbox within a minute, and the prints, if you chose them, ship within one business day or are ready for pickup in about an hour.

Why PassportPhotos AI

  • Independent

    We make the photo. The passport comes from the State Department, and a child under 16 applies in person with both parents, or with a consent form from the one who cannot come.

  • The team behind PassportPhotos.com since 2020

    Six years of passport photos, babies included. The white sheet trick below is the one that works.

  • Real support

    Not sure the photo will pass? The initial check tells you before you pay. If you still have a question, a person answers hello@passportphotos.ai and 516-231-9449.

  • Acceptance guarantee

    Add it at checkout and a rejection means double your money back, to the card you used.

Three tips before you take the photo

  • Sheet, not arms

    A plain white sheet on the floor, pulled smooth. Nobody's hand in the frame. If the baby will not lie still, drape the sheet over a car seat and let the seat do the holding.

  • Straight down

    Hold the phone flat over the baby's face, two to three feet up. A tilted phone makes a tilted head, and that is a rejection.

  • Nothing in the mouth, nothing on the head

    No pacifier, bottle, toy, hat or bib pulled up over the chin. Eyes open if you can get them; under one year old, not fully open is accepted.

Take or upload a photo

Technical details

Document
US passport for a child under 16 (infants and toddlers)
Size
2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm)
Resolution
600 to 1200 px square (300 to 600 dpi at 2 x 2 in), JPEG, 54 KB to 10 MB
Online submission
No. Children apply in person with a printed photo. The digital file is included for your records
Printable
Yes, 4 x 6 in sheet with two 2 x 2 photos
Background
White or off white, plain
Head height
1 to 1 3/8 in (25 to 35 mm), chin to top of head
Eye line
1 1/8 to 1 3/8 in (28 to 35 mm) from the bottom of the photo
Taken within
The last 6 months
Last updated
2026-09-14
Written by
The PassportPhotos AI team
Reviewed by
Asaf Jacobi, founder, PassportPhotos.com since 2020

Every rule checked before every delivery.

The rules for babies, in plain words

The State Department uses the same photo rules for a newborn as for an adult, with one allowance for the eyes.

  • Same size. 2 x 2 inches, in color, head 1 to 1 3/8 inches from chin to top of head, centered, the whole head in the frame.
  • Eyes. Open if possible. Under one year old, eyes that are not fully open are accepted. From the first birthday on, they need to be open.
  • Nobody else. No hand or arm holding the head, no fingers at the edge, no shoulder to lean on. If a hand shows, the photo is rejected.
  • Nothing in or near the mouth, nothing on the head. No pacifier, bottle, toy, hat, hood or bib over the chin.
  • Background. Plain white or off white. A smooth white sheet or blanket is enough; we replace it with pure white anyway.
  • Recent. Taken in the last 6 months. For a newborn that means a photo taken for this purpose, not the hospital picture.
  • Quality. In focus, evenly lit, no shadow across the face, no filters. The face is never edited.

Where to take it

On the floor. The easiest. White sheet, window light from the side, phone held flat above. Take several.

In a car seat. Cover the seat with the sheet so it does the holding and your hands stay out. Aim the phone square to the face, not down the length of the seat.

Never on a lap. Even a white shirt behind the head shows the adult's outline, and the State Department rejects it.

Prints for the in person appointment

A child under 16 applies in person, at a passport acceptance facility or agency, with one printed 2 x 2 photo on photo paper. Choose digital plus prints and we mail two free by USPS, 2 to 3 business days, or pick them up at a location near you, ready in about an hour. You can also print the 4 x 6 sheet yourself at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart.*

*Listed stores are not affiliated with our service.

What it costs

The digital photo is $16.99. Digital plus two printed photos shipped free is $19.99. Add the Acceptance guarantee for $6.99 at checkout. Tax included, one payment, no account.

Sources: U.S. Passport Photos, travel.state.gov and Children Under 16, travel.state.gov.

Safe with PassportPhotos AI

Photos taken with PassportPhotos AI comply with standards recognized by the US Department of State.

  • Every rule checked

    The software checks your photo against every published rule for your document before you pay.

  • 200% money back guarantee

    Double your payment back if your photo is rejected, with the Acceptance guarantee.

  • Image protection

    Deleted 30 days after delivery, never used to train AI.

Secure checkout by Shopify.Read the full guarantee

Choose your document

FAQ

  • My baby will not open their eyes. Is that a problem?
    Not under one year old. The State Department accepts an infant's eyes not fully open. Try just after a feed, when the baby is awake and calm, and take several. From the first birthday on, wait for open eyes.
  • Can I hold my baby up for the photo?
    Not with your hands in the picture. Lay the baby on the sheet, or cover a car seat with the sheet. Our checks flag anyone else in the frame before you pay, and a hand in the picture is a rejection at the counter, so keep hands out entirely.
  • Does it have to be a white sheet?
    White or off white, plain, no pattern. A pale smooth blanket works. We replace the background with pure white, but a plain sheet gives a cleaner edge around the head and the ears.
  • Does a newborn really need a new photo?
    Yes. Every applicant needs a photo taken in the last 6 months that looks like them now, whatever their age.
  • Do babies need a digital file or a print?
    A print. Children under 16 apply in person with a printed photo. The digital file is included with every order so you have it, and the 4 x 6 sheet prints two.
  • How many photos do I need?
    One for the application. We send two prints, so you have a spare or one for a second document.
  • Can I use the same photo for my baby's US passport and a foreign passport?
    Often not. Other countries use other sizes, 35 x 45 mm for most of Europe for example. Pick the country and document on our All documents page and the same photo is cropped to that spec.
  • Is my baby's photo private?
    Used to make the passport photo and for nothing else. Deleted 30 days after delivery. Never used to train AI. Only a parent or legal guardian may upload a child's photo.

Written by the PassportPhotos AI team. Reviewed by Asaf Jacobi, founder, PassportPhotos.com since 2020.