Where to get a cheap passport photo
If you’re applying for or renewing a U.S. passport, part of the process is submitting a photo of yourself that adheres to a strict set of guidelines. This photo becomes part of the passport itself and is used to help positively identify you.
In this article, we’ll cover the most important of those guidelines, discuss places where you can have a proper passport photo taken for cheap and even share tips for taking the photo yourself if you want to take that route.
The best way to ensure that you’re getting a passport photo that will pass the application process — and ensure that your application isn’t delayed — is to go somewhere that offers passport photography services. Since this is a very basic head shot and not a glamour shot, there’s no reason to spend a lot of money for it with a professional photographer.
After we cover some of the least expensive places to get passport photos taken, we’ll look at the guidelines you need to be aware of if you want to try to have an acquaintance do it for you.
According to our research, here are the least expensive places to get your passport photos taken and printed:
Cheapest places to get passport photos taken and printed
Location Price Number of Photos Notes
The UPS Store: Price varies by location; participating locations only.
FedEx Office: $14.95 for two photos.
Walgreens: $14.99 for two photos; available at most stores.
CVS: $14.99 (but there is often a $2 off coupon available) for one photo; available in select locations.
Post Office: $15 for one photo; available at select locations.
The government does provide an online tool that will help you crop your photo to meet their specifications here.
Once your photo meets the specs, you’ll need to print it. If you have a printer that prints high quality images on photo paper, you can do this yourself. If you don’t, you’ll need to take it to a photo processing center for printing.
Here’s where we found the cheapest prices for printing passport photos. You probably won’t be surprised that money expert Clark Howard‘s favorite warehouse store leads the pack!
Cheapest places to print passport photos
Costco :$4.99 for four photos. Available most locations.
Walmart: $7.44 for one photo.
Target: $12.99 for two photos
Final thought
Whether you choose to do it yourself or have your pictures taken and printed at one of the locations above, submitting your photo is just one of the things involved in getting a passport. You can see what else you’ll need in our story on the entire process here.