How We Check Passport Photo Rules

Every rule on this site comes from a government page, and each rule card shows the page and the date we last read it. This page explains where the rules come from, what the free check measures, and what it can't promise.

Where the rules come from

We read the rules only from government sources:

United States: the State Department's passport photo pages on travel.state.gov, the Foreign Affairs Manual (8 FAM 402.1) and the DS-11 form instructions.
United Kingdom: GOV.UK's photos for passports pages.
Canada: the Government of Canada's passport photo page on canada.ca.
India: Passport Seva's photo guidelines and form instructions, the Embassy of India in Washington DC, and the OCI services portal.

When two official sources disagree, we say so on the page and check for the stricter reading where we can. When a government doesn't publish a number (for example, a pixel size for US online renewal), we don't make one up.

How often we check

We read every source again at least every 90 days, and whenever a government announces a change. Each rule card shows the date of the last check. If a card's date is more than 90 days old, the card says so.

What the free check measures

The check runs in your browser with a face landmark model. It finds the face, measures the head from the chin to the top of the head, and reads the photo's pixels for:

head size, position and tilt, and whether you face the camera;
open eyes, a closed mouth and a smile where the rules forbid one;
glasses or anything else covering the eyes, with a second, larger model that loads after the first result;
even light on the face and glare around the eyes;
a plain, light, evenly lit background;
other people, hands or objects in the frame;
sharpness and enough detail for the printed size;
for photos checked as they are (UK and Canada), the file's pixel size, file size, format and shape.

What it can't promise

The check measures a photo against published rules. It can't see everything an officer looks at: it can't tell that a photo is recent or that a hat is worn for religious reasons, and the glasses check can miss very thin or rimless frames. Some items are estimates, and the report says when it had to guess (for example, where hair blends into the background). Only the passport office decides whether a photo is accepted.

Why we never edit photos

The US, UK, Canada and India all reject photos changed with software. The US shows a background cut out with a retouching tool as unacceptable, Canada names AI tools in particular, and Canada counts even cropping as a change. So we only crop and resize, and only for documents whose rules allow it. If a background fails, we tell you how to take the photo again.

Not a government website

IDPhotoPal is independent. We aren't connected to the State Department, HM Passport Office, IRCC, the Ministry of External Affairs or any other government body.