Face straight up, evenly lit, nothing else in the photo.
Passes.
Home › Baby passport photo
Newborns, infants and toddlers
Baby passport photos, taken at home.
Lay your baby on a white sheet and hold your phone above. We check the photo against the baby rules for your passport (eyes, hands, toys, shadows) before you pay a cent.
US Passport: Closed or half-closed eyes are OK for babies. No one else can be in the photo, not even a hand.
- Checked on your phone
- Never edited
- Free to check
Phone straight aboveWhat we check for babies
Your country’s baby rulesClosed eyes, open mouth, age limits
Hands, toys, pacifiersCircled right on the photo
Shadows and creasesFrom you leaning over the sheet
Size and positionCropped for you, never edited
How to take a baby passport photo
A white sheet, a window, your phone.
No studio and no extra pair of hands in the photo. Most babies are done in a couple of minutes.
1
Lay them on a white sheet
A plain white or off-white sheet, pulled smooth, on the floor or a firm mattress. Lay your baby on their back in a plain top, with room around their head.
2Window across from you
Hold your phone straight above
Phone flat, parallel to the sheet, about arm’s length up. Face the window across your baby so your shadow falls behind you, not on the sheet.
Window across from you3
OrCover a car seat
For a baby who won’t lie still: drape a white sheet over the car seat so no straps or pattern show, and take it straight on at their eye level.
- Feed them firstA fed, calm baby keeps still and keeps their eyes open longer.
- Take a burstHold the shutter, then check the sharpest one. Checking is free, so try as many as you like.
- Get their eyes upSomeone shakes a rattle right behind the phone, out of the photo.
- Stay with themNever leave a baby alone on a bed or table, even for a second.
What gets rejected
One baby, five photos.
Most rejected baby photos are one of these. Closed eyes depend on the document: switch it at the top and that card changes.
Holding their head is the most common reason baby photos are rejected.
Fix: lay them flat and keep your hands out of the frame.
Nothing can cover the face, and babies can’t hold toys.
Fix: take it out for a few seconds and try again.
Leaning in blocks the light, and creases show up grey.
Fix: smooth the sheet and face the window across your baby.
Babies may have closed or half-closed eyes in a US passport photo.
Passes.
Example photos are AI-generated.
Baby passport photo requirements
The baby rules, country by country.
Size, head position and background are the same as for adults. These are the parts that change for babies.
| Document | Eyes closed | Expression and mouth | Hands, toys, pacifier | The office’s own tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Passport | OK for babies, even half-closed | Neutral or a natural smile | Not allowed. No one else in the photo, not even a hand | Lay them on a plain white or off-white sheet, or cover a car seat with one. No shadows on the face. |
| US Visa | Must be open | Looking at the camera | Not allowed. No one else in the photo | Lay them on a white or off-white sheet. No shadows on the face. |
| Green Card | USCIS usually takes its own photo at the biometrics appointment, babies included. Check your form’s instructions before you print. | |||
| UK Passport | OK under 1 | Under 6: no neutral face needed, and they needn’t look straight at the camera | Not allowed. No toys or dummies. You can support their head if your hand doesn’t show | They must be on their own in the photo. |
| Australian Passport | Not stated: open is safer | Under 3: an open mouth is OK | Not allowed. No other person or object, no hands or toys | Plain white or light grey background, even light on the face. |
| NZ Passport | Must be open | Mouth closed | Not allowed. No other people or objects | Lay them on a plain light sheet and take it from above, with the whole face showing. |
From travel.state.gov, USCIS, GOV.UK, passports.gov.au and passports.govt.nz, checked November 2026. The passport office always makes the final call.
Toddlers and kids under 6
Once they sit up, use a wall.
- Sit them on a chair 2 ft in front of a plain wall or a taped-up white sheet.
- Get down to their eye level and face the window, so the light is even.
- Make it a game: someone behind you makes a face, you shoot the moment they look.
UK: under 6, they don’t need a neutral face or to look straight at the camera.
Australia: under 3, an open mouth is OK.
US and New Zealand: eyes open and looking at the camera; for a US passport a natural smile is fine.
Price
Check free. Pay for the one you keep.
$4.99 one time · no subscription
- Digital photo, cropped to your passport’s size
- A print sheet with cut lines
- Retake as often as you like before you pay
- Want a person to look too? Pro, $12.99, refund if rejected*
Rest of the family too?
Add anyone before you pay, $2.99 each. Everyone goes through the same checks, and you get one print sheet with all of you on it.
Questions
Good to know.
Can my baby’s eyes be closed in a passport photo?
It depends on the document. A US passport accepts closed or half-closed eyes for babies, and a UK passport accepts them under 1. A US visa and a New Zealand passport need open eyes. Australia doesn’t say, so open eyes are the safer choice. We check against the document you pick.
Can I hold my baby for the photo?
Not in the photo. Every document we support says no one else can be in it, and a visible hand is one of the most common rejections. Lay your baby on a sheet instead. The UK lets you support the head as long as your hand doesn’t show.
Can my baby have a pacifier (dummy) or a toy?
No. The UK says babies must not hold toys or use dummies, and Australia rejects photos with toys in them. Take it out for the few seconds the photo takes.
Can I use a car seat?
Yes, as long as a plain white or off-white sheet covers it so no straps, buckles or pattern show. The US State Department suggests it for babies who won’t lie still.
Does a newborn need a passport photo?
Yes. Every passport needs a photo, whatever the age. A newborn photo is usually the easiest: they sleep through it, and for a US passport closed eyes are fine.
My baby won’t look straight at the camera. Now what?
Hold the phone right above their face and have someone make a sound just behind it, then take a burst. For a UK passport, children under 6 don’t have to look straight at the camera.
Is my baby’s photo uploaded?
No. The check runs on your phone. Nothing is uploaded unless you buy, and then only the finished photo.