How to Make a Passport Photo at Home for Free (2026 Guide)
A drugstore passport photo costs $15–20, takes a trip across town, and you walk out with two prints you can't reuse. The moment the photo gets rejected — head too small, shadow on the wall, off-center — you pay again.
You don't need any of that. If you have a recent phone photo of yourself and a browser, you can make a compliant passport or visa photo at home in about 30 seconds, for free, and print as many copies as you want.
Here's exactly how — including the size requirements for the US, EU, Korea, Japan, China, and India, and the mistakes that get photos rejected.
What You Need
Just two things:
- A front-facing portrait photo — head and shoulders, eyes open, neutral expression, even lighting. A normal selfie or a photo someone took of you both work.
- A browser — on your phone, laptop, or tablet. No app to install.
That's it. No printer required to make the photo — you only need one if you want a physical print at home.
The Fastest Free Way: Passport Photo Maker
Most "free" passport photo tools online do one of three annoying things: stamp a watermark across the result, lock the download behind a payment, or upload your face to their server. The Passport Photo Maker on TheDailyUtils does none of those.
Everything runs in your browser — your photo never leaves your device. Here's the full flow.
Step 1: Open the tool and pick your country
Go to thedailyutils.com/utils/image/passport-photo and choose a preset. Each one is sized to the official spec for that country:
| Preset | Size | Background |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) | White |
| EU / Schengen | 35 × 45 mm | Light gray |
| Korea (한국) | 35 × 45 mm | White |
| Japan | 35 × 45 mm | White |
| China | 33 × 48 mm | White |
| India | 35 × 45 mm | White |
The preset controls the dimensions, background color, and how much of the frame your face fills — so you don't have to measure anything yourself.
Step 2: Upload your photo
Drag a portrait onto the page or click to upload. JPEG, PNG, and HEIC (iPhone photos) all work. Then tap Generate Passport Photo.
Step 3: Let it auto-process
Three things happen automatically, all on your device:
- Face detection finds your face and eyes so the crop is positioned correctly.
- Background removal lifts you off your real background and drops in the solid color the preset requires (white or light gray).
- Cropping sizes everything to the exact spec at 300 dpi — the print resolution passport offices expect.
First run note: the very first time you use the tool, your browser downloads the AI models (~20MB total). After that it's cached and instant. The download is a one-time cost — and it's why nothing gets uploaded.
Step 4: Fine-tune (optional)
If the auto-crop isn't perfect, two sliders fix it:
- Vertical position — nudge your head up or down in the frame.
- Zoom — make your face slightly larger or smaller to hit the head-size requirement.
Pick JPEG (smaller file, fine for most submissions) or PNG (lossless) for output.
Step 5: Download — single photo or print sheet
Two download options:
- Download Photo — the single sized image, ready for an online passport/visa application upload.
- Download 4×6" Print Sheet (PDF) — tiles multiple copies onto a standard 4×6 photo print with light cut guides. Take it to any drugstore photo kiosk or print at home and cut. A US 2×2 sheet fits 6 photos; a 35×45 mm sheet fits 8.
That last option is the money-saver: one $0.39 print at a photo kiosk gives you 6–8 passport photos instead of paying $15 for two.
Passport Photo Size Requirements by Country
Even if you crop a photo manually, getting the size right is half the battle. Here are the most common official specs (always double-check your government's current guidance before submitting):
| Country / Region | Photo size | Background | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | Plain white or off-white | Head 1–1⅜ in (25–35 mm) tall |
| EU / Schengen | 35 × 45 mm | Light gray / plain | Face 70–80% of frame height |
| United Kingdom | 35 × 45 mm | Light gray / cream | No smiling, eyes open |
| Korea | 35 × 45 mm | White | Ears visible where possible |
| Japan | 35 × 45 mm | White / plain | Head ~32–36 mm |
| China | 33 × 48 mm | White | Used for visa & passport |
| India | 35 × 45 mm (2 × 2 in for some visas) | White | Check the specific application |
| Canada | 50 × 70 mm | Plain white | Larger than most — check carefully |
The presets in the Passport Photo Maker handle the US, EU, Korea, Japan, China, and India sizing automatically. For others, you can still use the closest preset and adjust the zoom slider.
5 Mistakes That Get Passport Photos Rejected
The tool fixes framing and background, but these are on you when you take the original photo:
- Shadows on the face or wall. Face a window or use soft, even light. Avoid overhead lighting that casts shadows under your eyes.
- Wrong expression. Neutral face, mouth closed, both eyes open. Most countries don't allow big smiles for passports.
- Glasses glare or tint. Many countries now ban glasses entirely. If you wear them, take the photo without.
- Hair covering the face or eyes. Keep your face and the outline of your head clearly visible.
- Hats or head coverings. Not allowed unless for religious reasons, and even then the full face must be visible.
Get those right when you snap the photo, and the tool handles the rest.
Is It Safe to Make a Passport Photo Online?
This is the part most people should worry about and don't: your face is sensitive biometric data. Many free online photo tools upload your image to a server to process it — meaning a copy of your face now lives on someone else's computer.
The Passport Photo Maker is 100% client-side. Face detection, background removal, and cropping all happen inside your browser using open-source models. Your photo is never uploaded, never stored, and never seen by anyone but you. Close the tab and it's gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make a passport photo at home for free?
Open the Passport Photo Maker, pick your country preset, upload a front-facing portrait, and let it auto-detect your face, remove the background, and crop to spec. Download the single photo for an online application, or the 4×6" sheet PDF to print. It's free with no signup and no watermark.
Can I print a passport photo at home?
Yes. Download the 4×6" print sheet PDF, which tiles 6–8 copies onto a standard photo-print size with cut guides. Print it at home on photo paper, or send the PDF to a drugstore photo kiosk (Walgreens, CVS, Costco, etc.) for around $0.39 — far cheaper than the $15–20 in-store passport photo service.
Is the photo good enough for an official passport or visa application?
The tool outputs at 300 dpi in the correct dimensions and background color for each country preset, which meets standard submission specs. The remaining requirements — neutral expression, even lighting, no glasses glare, eyes open — depend on the original photo you upload. Always confirm against your government's current guidance before submitting.
Does it remove the background automatically?
Yes. It uses AI background removal to lift you off your real background and replace it with the solid color the preset requires (white for most countries, light gray for EU/Schengen). No green screen or blank wall needed.
Is there a watermark on the downloaded photo?
No. Both the single photo and the print sheet PDF are clean — no watermark, no logo, no branding.
What's the difference between a 2×2 and a 35×45 passport photo?
2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) is the square format used by the United States and some other countries. 35 × 45 mm is the rectangular format used across the EU, UK, Korea, Japan, India, and most of the world. The tool has presets for both, so you don't have to convert anything.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It runs in any modern mobile or desktop browser. iPhone HEIC photos are supported directly — no need to convert them first.
Make Your Passport Photo Now
Free, no signup, no watermark, nothing uploaded. Make a compliant passport or visa photo in about 30 seconds.
Open the Passport Photo Maker →
More Free Tools & Apps from SoSo Family
The Passport Photo Maker is one of 42+ free tools on TheDailyUtils — no sign-up, no download, all in your browser. If you're going fully paperless, the SoSo Family iPhone apps share the same free, privacy-first philosophy:
- Scanory — the best free document scanner for iPhone: scan IDs, forms, and documents to PDF with no watermark
- Qrra — create custom QR codes free for menus, Wi-Fi, and business cards
- VoiceNote+ — free voice memo app with AI transcription in 13 languages
- SnapTip — split bills fairly with a free tip calculator
- FitnessLog — free workout tracker, no subscription
All free. All private. We're here to help.