DV lottery photo requirements and reasons entries are disqualified
Made on your own device — nothing is uploaded. The full-size photo file is free; a ready-to-print 4×6 sheet is $3.99. Open the photo maker
The Diversity Visa photo rules from the Federal Register: 600×600 JPEG under 240 KB, head 50–69% of the height, and the photo mistakes that can make an entry ineligible.
The maker crops and scales your photo to the official head size, checks the background and tilt, and lets you download only when every check passes.
The file the entry form accepts
- JPEG (.jpg) file, 240 KB or smaller.
- Square: exactly 600 × 600 pixels.
- Head from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head between 50% and 69% of the image height (1 to 1 3/8 inches on a 2×2 inch print).
- Scanning an existing print instead? It must be 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) and scanned at 300 pixels per inch.
What can make an entry ineligible
The DV-2026 instructions say you may be ineligible if the photos for you and your family members do not fully meet the specifications or have been manipulated in any way, and that submitting the same photo as a prior year's entry will make you ineligible. In practice that means:
- A photo older than six months, or one that no longer looks like you.
- Last year's entry photo, reused.
- Anything edited beyond plain cropping and resizing — for example a replaced or whitened background, smoothed skin or a changed head size.
- A background that is not plain white or off-white.
- Eyeglasses. They are not allowed in DV photos at all.
- A hat or head covering that hides the hair or hairline, unless worn daily for a religious purpose — and even then the full face must show without shadows.
- Headphones, wireless hands-free devices or similar items. A hearing device you normally wear may stay.
- A uniform, except religious clothing worn daily.
- Photos copied or scanned from a driving licence or another official document, snapshots, magazine photos, low-quality vending-machine photos and full-length photos.
One photo for every person on the entry
You need a separate photo for yourself, your spouse and each unmarried child under 21 who is listed — even a child who will not move with you. A spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or permanent resident does not need one. Every photo must meet the same rules.
Babies and toddlers
No other person may be in the photo, and the child should look at the camera with eyes open. The instructions suggest laying the baby on its back on a plain white or off-white sheet, or covering a car seat with such a sheet, and checking that there are no shadows on the face when shooting from above.
New since March 2026
A final rule published on 11 March 2026 (effective 10 April 2026) adds a scan of your valid passport's biographic and signature page to the entry, and repeats the photo basics: a colour JPEG taken no more than six months before the entry, facing the camera with the head not tilted, on a neutral light background (very dark or patterned backgrounds are not accepted), in focus, with no eyeglasses or sunglasses. A head covering is accepted only when worn for religious beliefs and must not hide any part of the face; tribal, military, airline or other non-religious headgear is not accepted.
Head size is worded differently in the two documents. The rule says the head “must cover about 50% of the area of the photograph”; the DV-2026 instructions give 50% to 69% of the image height, chin to top of head. The maker follows the instructions' numbers, which are the ones with a measurable range. When the next entry period is announced, check its instructions at dvprogram.state.gov — entries are made only there, and we found no DV-2027 or later entry dates in the Federal Register.
How the maker fits these rules
For the DV photo the maker only crops and scales your picture — it never changes the background or retouches you — and saves a 600 × 600 JPEG compressed to stay under 240 KB. The download is free and stays locked until the background and tilt checks pass. The full rule table is on the DV photo page.
Sources: www.federalregister.gov · www.federalregister.gov
Checked 2026-10-20. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of State.