600 × 600 pixel photo
A square JPEG between 600 and 1200 pixels, under 240 KB, head 50–69 % of the height.
"600 by 600" is the smallest size the US State Department accepts for a digital visa photo, and the number most people search for when the form rejects their upload. The tool opens with that preset: a square crop, head at 60 % of the height, eyes at 62 % from the bottom, encoded as a JPEG under 240 KB. It outputs 1200 pixels — the maximum — unless a smaller size is needed to meet the file limit.
| Head height (chin to crown) | 50–69 % of image height |
|---|---|
| Eye height | 56–69 % from the bottom edge |
| Background | white |
| Digital upload | 600–1200 × 600–1200 px, square · JPEG · ≤ 240 KB |
| Glasses | Not allowed |
| Taken within | The last 6 months |
| Official source | U.S. Department of State — Photo Composition Template (head 50–69 %, eyes 56–69 %); file rules from the Digital Image Requirements page ↗Checked against the official page on 2026-09-20 |
- 100% freeNo account, no paid download, no watermark.
- Nothing is uploadedYour photo is processed on your device and never reaches a server.
- Official rules, citedEvery size and head-height figure links to the government page it comes from.
- Cheap to printDownload a 4×6 sheet and print it at any photo kiosk instead of paying counter prices for two prints.
The rules behind the number
The US digital image requirements say the photo must be square, at least 600 × 600 pixels and at most 1200 × 1200, JPEG, sRGB colour, no more than 240 KB and compressed no harder than 20:1. The head must be 50–69 % of the image height and the eyes 56–69 % of the height from the bottom. Those rules apply to the DS-160 visa form, the Diversity Visa entry and the online passport renewal. Other countries' online forms use their own sizes — the UK wants at least 600 × 750 — so 600 × 600 is specifically the US square.
Why resizing a photo to 600×600 is not enough
Resizing a portrait photo to a 600-pixel square squashes it; cropping it to a square leaves the head at whatever size it happened to be. The upload check measures the head and the eye position, so a square that merely has the right pixel count still fails. The tool crops around the detected head so the proportions are right, then encodes to the file limit. If you already have a correct 2 × 2 print, scanning it at 300 dpi also gives a valid 600 × 600 file.
Getting under 240 KB
A 1200-pixel JPEG of a face on a plain background is normally 100–200 KB at good quality, so the limit is rarely a problem. The tool lowers the JPEG quality in small steps until the file fits and reports the final size in the checklist; only if that is not enough does it fall back to 600 pixels. The file-size guide covers the cases where a photo still will not fit.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1200×1200 better than 600×600?
Both pass. 1200 keeps more detail and is what the tool produces by default; the file stays under 240 KB in almost every case.
Can I use this for a printed passport photo?
The same crop is a valid 2×2 photo. Switch to the US passport preset for the 300 dpi print file and the 4×6 sheet.
The form says my file is too large. Why?
Phone photos are several megabytes. Download the file from this tool rather than uploading the original — it is encoded to the 240 KB limit.