Child passport photo rules — when eyes-open is enforced

The age cutoff — eyes-open and neutral-expression

Under 12 months: both eyes-open and neutral-expression rules waived. A sleeping newborn or a yawning infant is accepted. The face must still be fully visible from chin to forehead and the background plain.

Exactly 12 months: the rule kicks in. The State Department's age check uses the child's date of birth on the application, not on the photo. A photo taken at 11 months for an application submitted at 13 months follows the 13-month rule.

12 months and up: eyes open and looking at the camera, neutral expression or natural smile (no big toothy grin), no hat (except religious head covering with face visible).

Practical reality: for ages 1–3, this rule is enforced strictly. For ages 4–5, slightly off-camera gaze is sometimes accepted by human reviewers but flagged by the automated checker.

Getting an eyes-open shot at 1–3 years

Seat the child on a chair against a plain white wall. Their feet should not touch the floor (use a booster) so they can't slouch or fidget away.

Stand or kneel so the camera lens is at the child's eye level. Hold the phone with one hand at arm's length to get the right framing; have a second person stand directly behind you at the level of the lens holding a soft toy, a phone playing a 5-second animation, or a flashing keyring.

Call the child's name once they're looking at the toy/lens. Take a burst of 5–10 photos in 2 seconds — burst mode helps capture the 1-second window of attention.

Repeat as needed. Plan 15–20 minutes of session time with 4–5 attempts. The vast majority of useful shots come from the third or fourth attempt once the child is settled.

Common rejections for 1–5 year photos

Eyes not visible: the most common rejection. Either closed mid-blink (use burst mode), looking down (distraction held higher), or hair across the eyes (clip back or trim).

Looking off to one side: the rule is forward-facing. Hold the distraction directly above the camera lens, not to one side.

Mouth open or teeth showing in a big smile: rule is neutral or natural smile, mouth closed. Re-capture during a quieter moment.

Hands or pacifier in frame: never accepted. Remove pacifier 30 seconds before the shot; if the child grabs at the face, restart.

Tilted head: head must be straight. Some children naturally cock their heads; gently re-position before capturing.

Eyes-open for ages 5+

From age 5 the rule applies the same as adults. By 5, most children can hold eye contact for the 2-second window without much coaching.

If your 5+ child wears glasses every day, the no-glasses rule still applies — remove them for the photo. Squinting after removal is the typical follow-up issue; use diffused, non-direct light.

Schoolchildren occasionally have school photos that look right but were taken with patterned backgrounds or class-photo lighting — these almost never pass the State Department spec. Take a fresh photo at home against a white wall.

From raw child photo to compliant 2×2 inch JPEG

Pick the photo where the child is looking forward with eyes clearly open, mouth closed, head straight, no hands in frame.

Upload to complypic and select the US passport spec. The auto-crop centers the head at 60% of the frame height, normalizes background uniformity (without altering facial features), and exports at 600×600 px JPEG.

Preview before paying — if the eyes are slightly off-camera or the head is tilted, re-upload a different shot at no cost. US$4.99 per generated photo.

The State Department requires a fresh photo for each child passport. The validity windows are tighter for children: 5-year validity for under-16 passports, and a fresh photo at every renewal because children change appearance rapidly.

FAQ

Related guides

• How to take a baby passport photo at home — newborn to age 5
• US passport photo size — 2x2 inches, exact dimensions
• US passport photo rejected — top reasons and how to fix it