Passport photo requirements: exact pixel and KB sizes
Rejected passport photos almost always fail on one of four things: the wrong dimensions, a head that is too large or too small in the frame, a background that is not plain, or a file that is over the portal's KB limit. This guide lists the official technical specifications for the US, India, the Schengen area and the UK, then shows how to hit them exactly with a passport photo resizer that runs entirely in your browser.
Official specifications by region
Requirements change; always confirm against the issuing authority's current page before you submit.
- Print size
- 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm)
- Pixel dimensions
- 600 × 600 px (square) at 300 DPI
- Head proportions
- Head height 1 – 1 3/8 in (25 – 35 mm), roughly 50–69% of the photo height; eyes 1 1/8 – 1 3/8 in from the bottom
- Background
- Plain white or off-white, no shadows
- File size limit
- JPEG, 54 KB – 240 KB for online uploads
- Print size
- 35 × 45 mm
- Pixel dimensions
- 413 × 531 px at 300 DPI
- Head proportions
- Face covers 70–80% of the frame, centred, both ears visible
- Background
- Plain white or light background
- File size limit
- JPEG, 10 KB – 20 KB for the Passport Seva portal
- Print size
- 35 × 45 mm
- Pixel dimensions
- 413 × 531 px at 300 DPI
- Head proportions
- Head height 32 – 36 mm, about 70–80% of the image height
- Background
- Light grey or off-white, uniform
- File size limit
- JPEG, typically under 300 KB (varies by consulate portal)
- Print size
- 45 × 35 mm
- Pixel dimensions
- 531 × 413 px at 300 DPI
- Head proportions
- Head (crown to chin) 29 – 34 mm
- Background
- Plain cream or light grey
- File size limit
- JPEG, 50 KB – 10 MB depending on the upload form
How to hit the exact pixel and KB requirement
- 1
Crop to the right head proportion
Open the resizer, drop in your photo and pick the country preset — the crop box locks to the correct aspect ratio. Drag and zoom until the head fills the share of the frame listed above, with the eyes near the upper third and both ears visible.
- 2
Set the exact dimensions and DPI
The preset fills in the pixel size (for example 413 × 531 px) and 300 DPI. You can also type millimetres, centimetres or inches — the tool converts them to whole pixels at your chosen DPI, so nothing is rounded to a wrong size.
- 3
Compress to the KB limit, not a guess
Send the cropped photo to the compressor and enter the portal's limit, such as 20 KB for Passport Seva or 240 KB for DS-160. The compressor binary-searches JPEG quality to find the largest file that still fits under the cap, which keeps the face as sharp as the limit allows.
- 4
Download and verify
Check the reported dimensions and byte size against the requirement, then download. Processing happens locally, so your identity photo never leaves your device.
Common rejection reasons
- Photo stretched to fit the frame instead of cropped — always crop to the preset aspect ratio.
- Head too small because the original was a full-body picture.
- Visible shadow on the background from a flash fired too close to a wall.
- Glasses, headwear or a strong smile where a neutral expression is required.
- File over the KB limit, or resaved so aggressively that the face is blocky.
- Wrong colour profile or a PNG where the portal only accepts JPEG.
Passport photo FAQs
It depends on the country. A US passport photo is 600 × 600 px at 300 DPI (2 × 2 in). Indian, Schengen and most EU photos are 35 × 45 mm, which is 413 × 531 px at 300 DPI. A UK passport photo is 45 × 35 mm, or 531 × 413 px. Always resize to the exact pixel numbers the upload form asks for.
Use a target-size compressor rather than guessing a quality slider. Resize the photo to the required pixel dimensions first, then compress to the exact KB target so the encoder only has to remove data it can afford to lose. Shrinkora searches for the highest JPEG quality that still lands inside your KB limit.
Plain white or off-white for the US and India, and light grey or off-white for Schengen and the UK. The background must be uniform, with no shadows, patterns or objects behind the head.
Most authorities want the head to fill 70–80% of the image height, measured from the crown of the head to the chin. The US uses an absolute measurement instead: head height 25–35 mm within the 51 mm square, with the eyes 29–35 mm from the bottom edge.
For screen-only uploads the pixel dimensions are what get validated, but many portals also check the embedded DPI value, and printed photos need 300 DPI to look sharp. Shrinkora writes the DPI you choose into the downloaded JPEG or PNG metadata, so both checks pass.
No. Every resize and compression step runs in your browser using the Canvas API. Your passport photo never leaves your device, and nothing is stored or transmitted by the tool.
Shrinkora is not affiliated with any government agency. Specifications are provided for convenience and can change without notice — verify with the issuing authority before submitting an application.