DS-82 photo requirements

The specification

Editing and retouching

Do not change your photo using computer software, phone apps or filters, or artificial intelligence.

Department of State, quoted from the official source

What the official source does not say

On the DS-82 mail-in route the applicant DOES attach the photo: "You must staple your photo to the application... Use four staples vertically in the corners as close to the outer edges of the photo as possible." Do not carry this instruction onto the DS-11 page, where State says the acceptance agent staples it instead. No eye-height rule is published for US passport photos.

The mail-in renewal photo, and the eligibility gate around it

The DS-82 photo spec is word for word the DS-11's: one color 2 x 2 inch print attached to the mailed application, taken less than six months ago, head 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, facing the camera directly, no eyeglasses, head coverings, or uniforms (with the same signed-statement religious and medical exceptions), printed on matte or glossy photo quality paper against a plain white or off-white background. Nothing is written on the back.

What actually decides whether you can use this form is not the photo but eligibility. The DS-82 requires submitting your most recent passport, and that passport must have been issued when you were at least 16, issued less than 15 years ago, and not mutilated, damaged, or reported lost or stolen. Fail any of those and the form itself sends you to Form DS-11 in person, same photo spec, different filing.

There is also a third route that skips the print entirely: eligible renewals can be filed online with a digital photo upload instead of a mailed print, under a different file specification. If you would rather upload than mail, that route has its own page.

Questions about the DS-82 photo

Do I write anything on the back of a DS-82 photo?

No. The form contains no instruction to write anything on the back of the photo; the print is attached as-is. Writing names on photo backs is a USCIS-form requirement, not a passport one.

Can I renew by mail with DS-82 if my passport was lost or stolen?

No, and the form says so verbatim: a passport that has been mutilated, damaged, or reported lost or stolen means applying on Form DS-11 instead. DS-82 requires submitting your most recent passport, issued when you were at least 16 and less than 15 years ago.

What photo goes with a DS-82 renewal?

One color 2x2 print, taken within the last 6 months, head 1 to 1 3/8 inches, plain white or off-white background, no glasses, hats, or uniforms, unedited. The same print spec as the DS-11; the difference is eligibility, not the photo.