DV Lottery photo size in pixels: 600 × 600

The official size: 600 × 600 pixels

Both the State Department's photo requirements and the DV-2026 instructions say the digital image must be:

• in a square aspect ratio (height equal to width);
• 600 × 600 pixels in dimension;
• in JPEG (.jpg) format;
• 240 kB or less in file size;
• in colour.

The current text gives this one size only. Older advice online mentions sizes up to 1200 × 1200 pixels; don't rely on it. Make the photo exactly 600 × 600. The DV Lottery Photo Tool always saves that size.

File type, size and colour

The colour and compression rules are on the State Department's digital image requirements page. A good 600 × 600 JPEG usually lands well between 54 kB and 240 kB.

Head and eyes, in pixels

The photo composition template gives the head size as a share of the image height. In a 600-pixel photo that means:

The face must be centred and looking straight at the camera. A head that is too small, from a photo taken far away and not cropped enough, is the most common size problem.

From a printed photo: 2 × 2 inches at 300 ppi

If you have a printed photo, the instructions allow scanning it: the print must be 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) and scanned at 300 pixels per inch. Two inches at 300 pixels per inch is 600 pixels, so the scan comes out at exactly 600 × 600.

• Scan at 300 ppi, not 600: a 600 ppi scan of the same print is 1200 × 1200 pixels, which is not the official size.
• Crop the scan to the photo's edge, with no white border from the scanner glass.
• Don't scan a photo from a passport, ID card or driving licence; copies of official documents are not accepted.

From a phone photo

A phone photo is usually 3,000 to 4,000 pixels wide and not square. To turn it into a DV photo:

1. Crop a square around your head and shoulders, with the head at the right size (50–69% of the height).
2. Scale the square down to 600 × 600 pixels.
3. Save it as a JPEG under 240 kB.

Never enlarge a small photo, such as a screenshot or a copy sent through a chat app, up to 600 pixels: it comes out blurry. Start from the original camera photo. The DV Lottery Photo Tool does all three steps on your phone, and the photo is never uploaded.

How to check a photo's size

• Windows: right-click the file, choose Properties, then Details: "Dimensions" shows the pixels and "Size" the bytes.
• Mac: select the file and choose Get Info; Preview's Inspector also shows the pixel size.
• Phones: open the photo and look at its details (swipe up, or the "i" or Details button).
• Everything at once: the DV Photo Checker reads the pixels, file size, format and colour, and measures the head and eyes.

Common size mistakes

• Not square: 600 × 800 or 3:4 phone crops.
• A passport size instead: 35 × 45 mm photos (413 × 531 pixels at 300 ppi) are a different shape.
• Too big: 1200 × 1200 from a 600 ppi scan, or a full-size phone photo.
• Too squeezed: a 20 kB file made by a generic compressor.
• Upscaled: a small photo stretched to 600 pixels.