2x2 inches, and a head-height window that matters more
The US passport photo canvas is a perfect 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) square. What actually gets photos rejected is not the canvas, though — it's the head inside it. The State Department requires the head, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head including hair, to fall between 1 and 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm). A photo that is exactly 2x2 inches with a head outside that range is rejected just as often as one cropped to the wrong size, which is why the guide lines in this tool are the part that matters — the crop is just what happens once your head sits between them.
A 2x2 photo in pixels, centimetres and millimetres
“2x2” is always inches: a square 2 inches wide and 2 inches tall. Here is the same photo in the other units you are likely to be asked for:
| Measured in | 2x2 photo |
|---|---|
| Inches | 2 × 2 in |
| Millimetres | 50.8 × 50.8 mm, usually written as 51 × 51 mm |
| Centimetres | 5.08 × 5.08 cm |
| Pixels at 300 DPI | 600 × 600 px — the standard for passport photos and digital uploads |
| Pixels at 600 DPI | 1200 × 1200 px |
| Head height inside it | 1 to 1⅜ in (25–35 mm) |
Pixels only follow from inches once a resolution is fixed: 2 inches × 300 dots per inch = 600 pixels. That is why the same 600 × 600 file is sharp printed at 2 inches and soft if it is stretched to 4.
Turn any photo into a 2x2 photo
You do not need a photo booth or a special app. Take a picture on your phone against a plain light wall, drop it into the tool above and drag and zoom until your chin and the top of your head sit between the guide lines. The tool crops and scales it to exactly 2 × 2 inches and saves a 600 × 600 px JPEG — the job people look for as a “2x2 photo converter”, done without uploading a photo of your face to someone's server.
What US rules specifically require
- Background: plain white or off-white, with no shadows, patterns or texture.
- Glasses: not permitted, even prescription ones - take the photo without them.
- Headwear: not allowed except for documented religious or medical reasons, and the full face must remain visible.
- Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open and clearly visible.
- Colour: a full-colour photo, not black and white.
- Recency: taken within the last 6 months, reflecting your current appearance.
This tool gets the size and head placement right, which is the most common reason US passport photos come back. It cannot judge lighting, background or expression - that part is on the photo itself, not the crop.
Taking the photo yourself
A phone camera is fine; the technique matters more than the hardware. The most common mistake is a selfie at arm's length — the closeness distorts your nose and compresses the sides of your face in a way that can fail the State Department's facial-recognition check even when it looks fine to the eye. Have someone else take the photo from about two metres away with a normal (not ultra-wide) lens instead.
For the background, stand a good arm's length in front of a plain white or light wall so you don't cast a shadow onto it, and use soft, even light - daylight from a window works well, or two lights angled roughly 45 degrees on either side. Avoid direct flash pointed straight at your face, which flattens features and can bleach out detail.
Digital upload vs. a printed photo
Online passport renewal accepts a digital JPEG upload of at least 600×600 pixels - this tool's default 300 DPI setting produces exactly that for a 2x2 inch photo. If you're applying by mail, in person, or want a physical print as a backup, use the print sheet option: it lays several copies out on a 4×6 inch sheet with thin cut lines, since photo shops and pharmacies print that size cheaply and a single print gives you multiple passport photos.
How to print 2x2 photos
The print sheet holds six 2x2 photos with thin cut lines on one 4×6 inch (10×15 cm) image — the most common photo print size, so it can be printed almost anywhere.
- Make the sheet. Set Print sheet to “Add a 4×6 in sheet” and download it together with the single photo.
- At a photo store or pharmacy: order the sheet as an ordinary 4×6 print, the same way you would order any photo, and ask for it not to be cropped or enlarged.
- At home: load 4×6 matte or glossy photo paper. In the print dialog, choose the 4×6 paper size, set scaling to 100% / Actual size (the files carry a 300 DPI note, so programs that honour it place each photo at 2 inches), turn off “Fit to page” and borderless printing, and pick the highest quality setting.
- Printing from a browser instead? Chrome counts 96 pixels per inch, so at its default 100% the 600×600 photo prints at 6.25 inches. Set Scale to Custom: 32 and it comes out at exactly 2 inches (we measured both). Do not print the 4×6 sheet from a browser tab, and avoid Windows’ right-click Print, which fills the page and trims the head. Details in how to print a 2x2 passport photo at home.
- Check before cutting. Measure one photo with a ruler: it must be exactly 2 inches (51 mm) on each side. If it is larger, a scaling or borderless setting enlarged the sheet — print again with it switched off.
- Cut along the lines with a paper trimmer or a sharp craft knife and a ruler; scissors tend to leave the edges uneven.
The State Department's rules for printed photos are short: the photo must be on matte or glossy photo-quality paper, not ordinary printer paper; photocopies and scans of a photo are not accepted; the photo must not be altered with software, filters or AI; and it must have been taken within the last six months. A clean print with no creases, smudges or marks on the face is what you want to hand in.
Resolution
300 DPI is the standard and the default here, producing 600×600 px for the full 2x2 inch photo - right at the State Department's stated minimum with no wasted margin. Choose 600 DPI only if you specifically want extra resolution for a large print; going below 300 risks a soft result or an outright rejection by upload systems that check pixel dimensions before a human reviews anything.
Everything happens in your browser using the canvas API. Your photo is never uploaded to a server - for a US government identity document, that's worth more than it might sound.