DV Lottery Photo Requirements (2026): The Complete 600×600 Checklist
6 min read • Updated 2026-08-28 • Free forever
📋 In this guide
Every year, thousands of Diversity Visa (Green Card lottery) entries are disqualified before anyone reads them — because of a technically invalid photo. The US State Department's DV entry system (the E-DV portal) automatically rejects images that fail its pixel, size and framing checks. This guide covers every rule, why photos fail, and how to verify yours in seconds.
The exact technical requirements (2026)
| Requirement | Spec |
|---|---|
| Format | JPEG (.jpg only — PNG/HEIC/WebP fail) |
| Dimensions | Exactly 600×600 pixels (square) |
| File size | Maximum 240 KB |
| Color | 24-bit color (no grayscale) |
| Head height | 50–69% of image height, measured chin to crown |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no shadows or patterns |
| Recency & pose | Taken within the last 6 months, facing camera, neutral expression, no glasses |
Why DV photos actually get rejected
From community reports and official guidance, the top failure reasons in order:
- Wrong pixel size — a photo cropped to 601×601 or 590×590 fails instantly. "Roughly square" is not square.
- Oversized file — phone JPEGs are often 2–6 MB. You must compress below 240 KB without wrecking quality.
- Head too small or too large — head height outside 50–69% is invisible to the eye but not to the checker.
- Shadows or colored background — walls look white but scan as cream/grey under indoor light.
- Scanned prints — scan dust, moiré patterns and low DPI fail quality checks. Use a fresh digital photo.
- Edited/synthetic images — heavy AI generation or filters can trigger manipulation flags.
How to check your photo before you submit
Run your image through a validator that checks all six technical rules at once — dimensions, size, format, color depth, and framing. Our free DV Lottery photo checker does this entirely in your browser: your photo is never uploaded to any server, which matters because DV entries have been flagged for image provenance in the past. After checking, you can also run the State Department's own photo tool (tsg.phototool.state.gov) for a second opinion — it crops to the official template and strips metadata.
Quick DIY workflow (2 minutes)
- Take a fresh photo: plain white wall, daylight, no glasses, shoulders square.
- Open the photo checker and pick "DV Lottery".
- Fix anything marked ✕ — resize to 600×600, compress under 240 KB, re-frame the head.
- Re-check until everything is ✅, then submit your E-DV entry with confidence.
One last thing: each person may submit only ONE DV entry per year — duplicates disqualify you. So validate first, submit once.