Baby & child passport photo checker
Babies are judged by a different, kinder rule-set — and most checkers don’t know it. This one applies the State Department’s actual children’s rules: another person’s face in frame is a fail; a visible supporting hand is a fail; a young baby’s half-open eyes are officially okay.
We measure, we don’t certify. IDPhotoCheck checks your photo against the published measurements — the issuing authority makes the final decision, and no tool can promise approval.
What this tool will not do to a US photo
The official US rule requires your original, unedited photo: no filters, no retouching, and no software-changed backgrounds. So this checker measures and crops — and refuses to replace the background or “beautify” a face — for US documents. If your background is not white, the honest fix is a retake against a plain white wall or sheet. Why we refuse to edit your photo →
Tap to choose a photo, or drop it here
JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC — processed on your device, never uploaded
We measure, we don’t certify. IDPhotoCheck checks your photo against the published measurements — the issuing authority makes the final decision, and no tool can promise approval.
The official children’s rules this page checks
| Photo size | 51 × 51 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height | Head 1–1⅜ in (25–35 mm) from chin to top of head |
| Background | Plain white or off-white sheet — no other person, no visible support |
Source: U.S. Department of State — Passport Photos — children & infants section (travel.state.gov) (official page). Values checked 2026-11-08. If the official page and this table ever disagree, the official page wins — please tell us.
- No other person in the photo — the detector counts faces, and a parent’s face at the edge fails this rule, exactly as an examiner would see it.
- No visible support — pixels cannot prove a hand is absent, so the checker asks you to confirm it. An honest question beats a fake detection.
- Eyes are advisory, never a fail — under one year, “it is okay if a baby’s eyes are not entirely open” (the State Department’s words). Older children must have eyes open.
- The sheet trick — lay the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover the car seat with one. The background is measured like any other photo’s.
How to take a baby photo that passes
- White sheet on the floor or bed, baby lying on it, camera directly above.
- Daylight from a window to the side — no flash shadows behind the head.
- Photograph a fed, sleepy baby; dangle a toy just above the lens for the look-up moment.
- Take twenty frames. Pick the one where the face is square to the camera, then measure it here.
Questions
What are the US baby passport photo rules?
From the State Department’s Passport Photos page: the child must be the only person in the photo; the child faces the camera; for a baby under one year it is okay if the eyes are not entirely open (all other children must have their eyes open); lay the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with one; no shadows on the face or background; the photo must not show anyone supporting the child.
My baby’s eyes are half open — is the photo ruined?
Not for an under-one: the official rule explicitly relaxes the eyes-open requirement for babies under a year. This checker therefore never fails a baby photo on eyes alone — it shows the reading as advisory.
Can I hold my baby’s head steady?
Your hands cannot be visible in the photo. Lay the baby down on a white sheet instead — most parents find a just-fed, sleepy baby photographs easiest, looking up at the camera.
Checking the whole family’s photos? Adults use the US passport checker; a baby’s head-height band is the same 25–35 mm, but everything around it is judged by the children’s rules above. Background trouble? The background checker isolates the sheet/backdrop.