U.S. passport photo requirements dictate that your picture should be a true likeness of yourself. As such, they allow you to have your natural hair, tattoos, and any other permanent features on your body. But when it comes to glasses, hats, and other temporary gear, the stipulations dictate that these are not permissible as they are not permanent. So, where do earrings, necklaces, and piercings fall? Can you wear jewelry in a passport photo? Let’s find out:

Can You Wear Jewelry in a Passport Photo?

Your passport photo will likely remain the same for ten years. As such, you will feel the urge to put your best foot forward. But can you wear jewelry in a passport photo? As a rule of thumb, passport photo requirements do not bar you from adorning jewelry. So, you can wear a few pieces to enhance your appearance without getting your photo rejected. Even so, they should adhere to the following rules:

1. They should not cover your face: Your jewelry should enhance your appearance without blocking its visibility. So, you should avoid large pieces or anything that may cause shadows.
2. They should not have reflective effects: While wearing jewelry in passport photo is acceptable, the type of jewelry matters. You should not wear shiny things that will reflect light, thus barring facial visibility. Instead, go for opaque items that do not have such reflective properties.

So, can you wear jewelry in passport photo? The answer is yes if you can adhere to the requirements above. Let’s break down the jewelry criteria per item.

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Can You Wear Earrings in a Passport Photo?

Earrings are so common that they sometimes feel akin to a body part. As such, removing them to take a passport photo might feel like a big compromise. Luckily, you can wear earrings when taking your photo. However, they should meet the following conditions:

1. They should be small: Your go-to earrings may be big and flashy. But when taking photos, you must tone down the look by wearing small to medium earrings. They should be small enough to allow facial visibility. Studs and small hoops are great examples of acceptable earrings.
2. They should not reflect light in the photo: Reflections from the corner of your face can disqualify your passport photo. You must thus avoid any earrings with such effects.

What if your piercings are fresh, and you don’t want to remove the earrings and replace them with smaller ones? We understand that the risk of removing the earrings may prove too high. In such cases, we advise waiting until the piercing has healed. We can then expedite your passport application within days after you have taken a good photo!

Can You Wear Necklace in a Passport Photo?

A necklace is a subtle yet elegant way to elevate your style in a picture. But can you wear necklace in passport photo? Like any other jewelry, necklaces are permissible in passport photos if they are not reflective. They should also not be too big that they affect your face visibility. If your necklace does not meet these conditions, you have the following options:

1. You can take it off: An easy way to avoid having your picture rejected is to remove the necklace if it is too large or reflective.
2. You can tuck it under your shirt: If your necklace is too big or reflective, you can wear it under your shirt. It helps hide part of the necklace and can make the photo acceptable.

You can always consult our team if you are unsure whether to wear a necklace. We excel in processing passport photos and can review if your picture meets the passport photo requirements. If it does, we will process the photo and send it to your address in days!

Can You Have Piercings in a Passport Photo?

Having earrings in passport photo is okay if they are not too big or reflective. But can you have piercings in passport photo? Having facial piercings is okay if they meet the stipulations below:

1. The piercings should not cover the key lines on your face: The photo should show your cheekbones, nose, mouth, chin, and other key features. If the piercings are too large and they block these sections, the photo will not be acceptable.
2. The piercings should not be the key focus: While you can wear piercings, they should not be so apparent that they take away from the rest of your face. Instead, they should be subtle.

If your facial piercings do not match these conditions, you should remove them. However, if they are fresh, you can wait a few days or weeks before taking your picture to ensure you can remove them without affecting the piercing. Of course, we are always here to advise you on what is acceptable jewelry.