How do I print a 2x2 passport photo?

Do not print the 2x2 file directly; kiosks and labs print standard sizes. Place the photo on a 4 x 6 inch sheet (our maker includes one with six copies laid out), print that sheet as a regular 4 x 6 photo anywhere, and cut along the grid. A 4 x 6 print costs well under a dollar at most kiosks.

Where can I print a passport photo?

Any photo kiosk or print counter that prints 4 x 6 photos: CVS, Walgreens, Walmart photo centers, and most drugstore kiosks, plus online print services. You are printing an ordinary 4 x 6 photo, so you pay the photo-print price, not the $8 to $18 passport-photo service price.

Can I print a passport photo at home?

Yes. The requirement is about the result, not who prints it: 2 x 2 inches on matte or glossy photo quality paper, sharp, with no visible pixels. Plain office paper fails the photo-quality rule. Print the 4 x 6 sheet at 100 percent scale (no fit-to-page) and measure a cut photo to confirm 2 x 2.

What paper do passport photos need?

Matte or glossy photo quality paper per the State Department; USCIS instructions say thin paper with a glossy finish. Glossy photo paper satisfies every agency at once. Photocopies and digitally scanned photos are rejected.

Why is my printed photo the wrong size?

Almost always a scaling setting: fit-to-page, borderless stretch, or printing the bare 2x2 file on 4x6 paper. Print the prepared 4 x 6 sheet at exactly 100 percent and the photos come out 2 x 2. If the head size is wrong in the photo itself, printing cannot fix it; re-crop first.

How many photos should I print?

The sheet gives six identical copies, which covers any single US filing (the highest count is two per person) with spares. See how many your form actually needs before buying store pairs twice.

The under-a-dollar method · paper rule from the official sources

How to print a passport photo (for the price of one 4 x 6)

The trick every photo counter hopes you never learn: a passport photo is just a 2 x 2 inch photo printed on photo paper, and a standard 4 x 6 print fits six of them. Put the photo on a 4 x 6 sheet, print that sheet as an ordinary photo at any kiosk for well under a dollar, and cut. The maker builds the sheet for you, with the head already placed inside the published band.

Print it at a store kiosk

Get your compliant photo on a 4 x 6 sheet: the maker's $9.99 download includes it (six copies, 300 DPI), or lay out your own.
Upload the sheet to any photo-print service or bring it to a kiosk at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart and order one standard 4 x 6 glossy print.
Pay the ordinary photo price (typically $0.35 to $0.50), not the passport-photo service price.
Cut along the grid lines; each photo measures exactly 2 x 2 inches.

Print it at home

Allowed, and the rule governs the output: matte or glossy photo quality paper (plain office paper fails), sharp with no visible pixels, undamaged. Print the sheet at exactly 100 percent scale; fit-to-page is the classic reason home-printed photos come out the wrong size. Measure one cut photo with a ruler before submitting: 2 x 2 inches. And always print from the original file, never a photocopy or a scan, both of which are rejected outright.

When printing cannot save the photo

Printing changes paper, not compliance. If the head is outside the published band, the background is not white, or the file is a scan, a perfect print of it still fails. Run the photo through the free checker first: it measures the head against the published band on your device. The full failure list, with fixes, is on rejected passport photos.

Printing questions

How do I print a 2x2 passport photo?: Do not print the 2x2 file directly; kiosks and labs print standard sizes. Place the photo on a 4 x 6 inch sheet (our maker includes one with six copies laid out), print that sheet as a regular 4 x 6 photo anywhere, and cut along the grid. A 4 x 6 print costs well under a dollar at most kiosks.
Where can I print a passport photo?: Any photo kiosk or print counter that prints 4 x 6 photos: CVS, Walgreens, Walmart photo centers, and most drugstore kiosks, plus online print services. You are printing an ordinary 4 x 6 photo, so you pay the photo-print price, not the $8 to $18 passport-photo service price.
Can I print a passport photo at home?: Yes. The requirement is about the result, not who prints it: 2 x 2 inches on matte or glossy photo quality paper, sharp, with no visible pixels. Plain office paper fails the photo-quality rule. Print the 4 x 6 sheet at 100 percent scale (no fit-to-page) and measure a cut photo to confirm 2 x 2.
What paper do passport photos need?: Matte or glossy photo quality paper per the State Department; USCIS instructions say thin paper with a glossy finish. Glossy photo paper satisfies every agency at once. Photocopies and digitally scanned photos are rejected.
Why is my printed photo the wrong size?: Almost always a scaling setting: fit-to-page, borderless stretch, or printing the bare 2x2 file on 4x6 paper. Print the prepared 4 x 6 sheet at exactly 100 percent and the photos come out 2 x 2. If the head size is wrong in the photo itself, printing cannot fix it; re-crop first.
How many photos should I print?: The sheet gives six identical copies, which covers any single US filing (the highest count is two per person) with spares. See how many your form actually needs before buying store pairs twice.

Six prints for the price of one 4 x 6

$9.99 for the checked digital file and the ready-to-print sheet; the print itself costs you pocket change.

Make my print sheet