Skip to content

This is not affiliated with the U.S. government, USCIS or the Department of State.

DVcompass

Photo checker

Check your DV photo

Pick any photo. We check it against every official rule and fix it in one click.

The check runs on your own device — your photo is never uploaded, and we keep nothing. Come and check your photos for free.

travel.state.gov

Before you take the photo

  • Face the camera, against a plain white wall
  • Even light on your face, no shadows
  • Neutral expression, mouth closed
  • Both eyes open, looking at the lens
  • No glasses — not allowed since 2016
  • In colour, sharp and in focus
  • Nothing covering your hair or hairline
  • Taken in the last six months

A photo studio can take it in minutes. We take care of the size, crop and format.

A square photo with the head filling 50% to 69% of the height and the eyes between 56% and 69% up from the bottom edge.HEAD 50%–69%EYES 56%–69%

The spec, drawn

Where you sit in the frame

Head between 50% and 69% of the height, eyes in the brass band. We measure both on your photo.

JPEG · colour · square · 600–1200 px · ≤240 KB · ≤20× compression

DV photo requirements

The same rules apply to everyone on your entry — you, your spouse and every child. These are the Department of State’s figures for the digital photo; the checker above measures each one it can.

The file

Format
JPEG
Dimensions
Square, 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 pixels
File size
240 KB or less
Compression
20:1 or less
Colour
In colour (24-bit, sRGB) — not black and white

The framing

Head height
50%–69% of the image height, top of the hair to the bottom of the chin
Eye height
56%–69% of the image height, measured up from the bottom
Pose
Full face, looking directly at the camera
Background
Plain white or off-white

You, in the photo

How recent
Taken within the last 6 months
Expression
Neutral, with both eyes open
Glasses
Not allowed since November 1, 2016, unless a doctor's signed statement says they can't be removed
Head covering
Nothing that hides your hair or hairline, unless worn every day for religion — and it must not shade your face
Headphones
None — no headphones or wireless devices
Editing
Nothing that changes how you look. Cropping and resizing, which the Department's own photo tool does, are fine

Why DV photos get refused

  • The head is too small or too large in the frame, or the eyes sit outside the band.
  • A smile, a half-closed eye, or a look away from the lens.
  • Glasses — still one of the most common reasons, years after the rule changed.
  • A shadow on the face or the wall, or a background that isn’t white.
  • A filter or beauty app that changed how the face looks.
  • The wrong file: not JPEG, not square, or over 240 KB.

A refused photo means the whole entry is disqualified, and you won’t be told — which is why checking it first is worth the minute it takes.

Photo looks right?

Fill in the rest of your DV-2027 entry, with every answer checked as you go.

Fill your DV application

Official sources