Can You Wear Glasses or Earrings in a Passport Photo?

Can you wear glasses in a passport photo? Can I wear earrings in my passport photo without it getting sent back? Two very different answers hide behind those two questions, and most of the confusion online is people mixing them up.

Glasses: this one has a hard no

If you're asking "can I wear glasses in my passport photo," the short answer is no. The State Department has banned glasses outright in US passport photos: prescription, reading, sunglasses, all of it. The reasoning is straightforward. Facial recognition software used at border checkpoints struggles with glare and lens distortion, and cutting glasses out entirely made matching more reliable across the board. The only way around it is a documented medical condition with a signed note from your doctor, and even then the lenses can't have any glare and the frame can't cover any part of your eyes.

If you normally wear glasses every day, plan to take them off before the camera comes out. There's no styling trick that gets around this one.

Earrings and jewelry: much more relaxed

Earrings are a completely different story. Nothing in the requirement bans them, and you can wear earrings in a passport photo as long as they don't hide part of your face or throw a shadow across it. Small studs or simple hoops are an easy yes. Where people run into trouble is with anything large, dangly, or shiny enough to catch the light: a big statement earring can cast a shadow along your jaw, and reflective pieces can create the same kind of glare problem that gets glasses rejected. The same logic covers necklaces and other jewelry too. Keep it small, keep it matte, and you're fine.

What about colored contacts and makeup?

Quick answers, since they come up in the same breath as glasses: natural, everyday makeup is fine, and colored contacts that change your eye color are not, since the photo is supposed to show your actual, normal appearance. We cover the fuller picture on makeup, plus a surprisingly common myth about hairstyles, in Can You Wear Makeup or Have Bangs in a Passport Photo?

Getting ready before you take the photo

• Take your glasses off completely. Don't just push them up or angle them; the frame has to be out of frame entirely.
• Stick to small, simple earrings, or skip them if you're not sure whether a piece is small enough.
• Skip anything shiny around your neck too. A plain outfit keeps the focus on your face, which is what the reviewer is actually checking.
• Take a few shots before you settle on one. A stud earring that looks fine on your phone screen can still catch a stray reflection you don't notice until you zoom in.

Why this is worth getting right the first time

A photo that gets held back for a stray reflection or a forgotten pair of glasses doesn't just cost you a retake. Depending on where you're applying, it can mean another printing fee, another trip, or a delay you weren't planning on. Of the two rules here, glasses are the one that actually gets photos rejected. Earrings almost never cause a problem unless they're doing something unusual, like covering half your face.

FAQ

Can you wear glasses in a passport photo? No. Glasses of any kind are banned in US passport photos, aside from a documented medical exception.

Can I wear glasses in my passport photo if I can't see well without them? Only with a signed doctor's note explaining the medical need, and even then the lenses can't have glare and the frame can't cover your eyes.

Can you wear earrings in a passport photo? Yes, as long as they're small enough that they don't obscure your face or cast a shadow across it.

Can you wear jewelry in a passport photo? Generally yes. Keep necklaces and earrings small and non-reflective so nothing casts a shadow or catches glare.

The takeaway

Glasses and earrings get lumped together in a lot of passport-photo advice, but they're not the same rule at all. Glasses are a flat no unless you have a medical exception on file. Earrings are fine as long as they're small and don't hide your face. Get those two things right, and you've cleared the part of this photo that people actually get wrong.