Short, dated posts: photo rule changes, rejection patterns, and findings from our spec data. For alerts when a specific document's rules change, use the email box on that document's page.
The US State Department, UK HMPO and Canada IRCC all reject passport photos that have been digitally altered or AI-generated. That includes background replacement, skin smoothing, and app 'beautify' filters, which is exactly what most photo apps sell.
Read more →We took Alexander Gardner's February 1865 portrait of Abraham Lincoln from the Library of Congress and measured it against the current US passport spec. Verdict: rejected, on background uniformity and brightness, with real measured numbers rather than guesses.
Read more →The checker now covers 21 documents, from US and UK passports to China visas, Schengen visas and India's OCI card. The specification data behind every page is published at /specs.json under CC BY 4.0, with each figure sourced to the official requirement.
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