Where to Get a Passport Photo: Every Option Compared

Disclosure: IDPhotoly is our sister service. We compare it with the same criteria as every other option. This site is an independent guide, not a government website, and nothing here replaces the official rules on travel.state.gov.

You can get a U.S. passport photo in four basic ways: at a store counter, at a post office, at home with a phone, or through an online photo service. Each one solves a slightly different problem. Some are cheapest, some are fastest, and only some give you the digital file you need to renew online. This page lines them up side by side so you can pick the right one in a couple of minutes.

Every option at a glance

Prices below were checked on each provider's own website in October 2026. They are approximate, they can differ by location, and they change, so treat them as a starting point and confirm with your store before you go.

For a deeper look at the numbers, including add-ons and retakes, see our breakdown of how much passport photos cost.

Store counters: pharmacies and big-box stores

Drugstores are the classic choice because they are everywhere and usually need no appointment. An employee takes the photo against a white screen and prints two 2x2 photos in a few minutes.

• Walgreens lists about $16.99 for two prints and includes a free digital copy by email. That emailed file is the big difference if you plan to renew online.
• CVS lists about $17.99 for two prints. A digital copy costs about $3.99 more and is only available at select stores, so ask before the photo is taken.
• Walmart lists about $7.64 for two prints, the lowest store price we found. The catch: only Supercenters with a staffed Photo Center or a camera kiosk offer it, and Walmart has fewer of those than it used to.

Quality depends on the person behind the counter. Lighting, head size and shadows vary from store to store. If you want the two big pharmacies compared on every detail, read CVS vs Walgreens passport photos.

Post offices, shipping stores and clubs

Post offices that accept passport applications can also take your photo. USPS lists a $15 photo fee and lets you book a photo-only appointment, including a digital photo for online renewal. The downside is that you cannot just walk in; you schedule through the USPS appointment tool. Our USPS passport photo guide covers how booking works.

FedEx Office and The UPS Store are convenient if one is near your work. FedEx Office store pages we checked list about $15.95 for two prints or a digital copy on USB. The UPS Store is a franchise network, so whether a store takes photos, the price, and whether a digital copy is offered all depend on the owner.

AAA offices in many regions take passport photos, and some membership levels get them free once a year. Prices and perks differ by club, so check your own club's page.

Costco is no longer an option. Its in-warehouse photo centers closed in 2021, and warehouses do not take passport photos.

At home with your phone

The State Department says your photo can be taken by a company that offers photo services, at an acceptance facility, or by a friend or family member. That last line is what makes a home photo legal. It does not make a selfie acceptable: someone else should hold the phone, a few feet away, at eye level.

What you need is simple: a plain white or off-white wall, soft even light from a window, and a phone on the rear camera. After that, the photo has to be cropped to the exact size and head position, which is where most home photos fail. Our hub on taking a passport photo at home walks you through the setup step by step.

The home route is the cheapest. If you crop it yourself correctly, the only cost is a 4x6 print, or nothing at all if you renew online. Our guide to a free passport photo shows the trade-offs honestly.

Online passport photo services

Online services sit between a store and pure DIY. You take the photo at home, upload it, and the service crops it to the official size, fixes the background where that is allowed, and checks it against the rules. You get a digital file and, usually, a printable sheet or mailed prints.

Here is how a few of them describe themselves on their own sites, as of October 2026:

• IDPhotoly (our sister service) gives you a digital file sized for online applications, with an optional 4x6 and A4 print sheet. It works in your web browser with no app, and its pricing page states a double refund if an authority rejects the photo, claimed within 30 days. Its price is shown at checkout in your local currency.
• Passport Photo Online lists about $16.95 for a digital photo and about $19.95 for printed photos with delivery, and offers a double money-back guarantee if the photo is not accepted.
• PhotoAiD advertises an acceptance or double money-back guarantee and shows its price after you choose your document.

For a side-by-side table on price, digital file, print sheet, compliance check, refund and privacy, see the best passport photo apps compared.

Which option fits your situation?

If you are renewing online, also check the file rules before you choose: the State Department lists accepted file types and a size range for uploads. Our page on digital passport photo size explains them.

How to avoid paying twice

The real cost of a passport photo is not the price at the counter. It is what happens if the photo is rejected: a delay on your application, a letter asking for a new photo, and possibly a missed trip. A few habits prevent most problems.

1. Take off your glasses. They are not allowed unless you have a signed medical statement.
2. Look for shadows on the background and on your face before you leave the counter.
3. Make sure the photo is recent, taken within the last six months, and looks like you today.
4. Ask for the digital file if you might renew online later. It is cheaper to get it now than to go back.
5. Run any photo through our free passport photo checker before you submit.

If you want to know what usually goes wrong, our guide to why passport photos are rejected ranks the common reasons. For more topics, browse all passport photo guides.