Print Passport Photos Online, at Home or at a Photo Lab

Your passport photo is ready, and now you need it on paper. This page shows three ways to print it: order prints delivered, send a 4 × 6 file to a store for pickup, or print it on your own printer. It also gives exact layouts for fitting two, four or six 2 × 2 inch photos on one 4 × 6 sheet. Don't have a correctly sized photo yet? Make one with the tool above first.

Three Ways to Get Printed Passport Photos

All three start with the same thing: a digital photo at the right size. For a U.S. passport, visa or green card, that's a 600 × 600 pixel photo, which prints at 2 × 2 inches at 300 DPI. idphoto.us doesn't print or mail photos; you choose where to print.

Order Professional Prints Delivered to Your Door

Most online photo print services sell standard 4 × 6 inch prints and mail them to you. Upload a 4 × 6 layout (see the template below) instead of the single photo, so you get several passport photos on one print. Allow for shipping time; if your appointment is soon, use store pickup instead.

Send a 4x6 File to Walgreens, CVS or Walmart

Pharmacies and big-box stores such as Walgreens, CVS and Walmart sell 4 × 6 photo prints that you can order online and collect in store, often the same day. Upload your 1800 × 1200 pixel layout as a regular 4 × 6 print, not as a passport photo order, then cut the photos out at home.

Before you order, check the print preview. If the service offers a "crop to fit" or "fill" option, make sure your layout isn't zoomed or trimmed. Ordering one print at actual size and measuring it is cheaper than reprinting a batch.

Print on Your Own Inkjet Printer

A color inkjet printer and a pack of 4 × 6 inch photo paper are enough. Many inkjets can't print right to the edge of the paper, so use the two-photo layout, which leaves a margin on every side. You can also print on letter-size photo paper: place the 600 × 600 photos with space between them on an 8.5 × 11 inch page (2550 × 3300 pixels at 300 DPI) and print at actual size.

Free 4x6 Passport Photo Template

You don't need special software to make a 4 × 6 sheet. In any photo editor that lets you paste one image onto another:

1. Create a new image 1800 pixels wide and 1200 pixels tall with a white background. That's 6 × 4 inches at 300 DPI.
2. Paste your 600 × 600 pixel passport photo onto it, and place the copies at the positions in the table below. Don't resize the photo.
3. Save as a high-quality JPEG and print it as a 4 × 6 photo.

Layout for Two, Four or Six Photos per Sheet

Positions are the top-left corner of each 600 × 600 photo, measured in pixels from the top-left corner of the 1800 × 1200 canvas.

Two 2 × 2 inch rows take up the full 4 inches of a 4 × 6 print, so layouts with four or six photos run to the edge of the paper. Home printers and some print services can trim or skip a thin strip at the edges, which would make the outer photos slightly too small. Most U.S. applications ask for one or two photos, so the two-photo layout is the safest choice; print a second sheet if you need more.

Best Photo Paper and Printer Settings

Glossy vs. Matte Photo Paper for Passports

The Department of State accepts U.S. passport and visa photos printed on matte or glossy photo-quality paper. Plain paper, cardstock and laser prints don't qualify. Whichever finish you choose, the photo must not be creased, smudged or marked.

If you're printing photos for a green card or another USCIS form, check the form's instructions. The Form I-485 instructions, for example, ask for photos on thin glossy paper. Glossy paper is therefore the safer choice if you'll use the same prints for both a passport and an immigration form.

Turning Off 'Fit to Page' Scaling

The most common printing mistake is letting the printer resize the photo. In the print dialog:

• Set the paper size to 4 × 6 in (or letter, if that's what you loaded) and the paper type to photo paper, glossy or matte to match.
• Turn off Fit to page, Scale to fit or Fill frame, and choose Actual size or 100% scale.
• Choose the highest print quality and color printing.
• Turn off borderless printing for the two-photo layout. Borderless mode slightly enlarges the image so it reaches the edges.

Print one sheet and measure a photo with a ruler before printing more. Each photo must be exactly 2 inches (51 mm) on each side.

How to Cut Passport Photos Accurately

• Let the ink dry for a few minutes before you handle the print, so it doesn't smudge.
• Use a paper trimmer, or a metal ruler and a craft knife on a cutting mat. Freehand scissors make wavy edges.
• Cut exactly along the photo's edge, not inside it. Trimming even a sixteenth of an inch makes the photo smaller than 2 × 2 inches.
• Measure after cutting. Each photo should be a true 2-inch square.
• Keep the photos flat and clean. Don't fold them or touch the face area, and don't staple them through your face when you attach them to a form.

Before you send your photos, compare them with the full passport photo requirements.