Why Can’t You Smile In Your Passport Photo?

Our passport photos are rarely the most flattering pictures we have of ourselves. That drugstore or post office lighting is not ideal, and it doesn’t help that we don’t get to show off our best happy faces.

When the time came to renew my passport last year, I received strict instructions from the postal worker who took my new photo that I must not smile. The resulting picture was … joyless, to say the least.

But why exactly aren’t people allowed to smile in their passport photos the way we do in other pictures? The answer has to do with technology and international security.

The United States doesn’t officially ban smiling. Rather, the State Department requires that passport photos show “a neutral facial expression with both eyes open and mouth closed.” The subject must look straight ahead and directly face the camera as well.

“An applicant actually can smile in their passport photo, as long as both of their eyes are open and their mouth is closed in the photo,” a spokesperson for the department told HuffPost.

So if you’d like to look a little more upbeat in your passport photo, perhaps the solution is to opt for a Tyra Banks-style “smize.” Showing your teeth won’t pass muster ― and apparently it’s a matter of border security.

“The main reason for banning smiling is the introduction of facial recognition software at airports and other border control checkpoints,” said Karolina Turowska, a biometric photography and travel expert at Passport-Photo.Online.

Many ports of entry utilize computers rather than immigration officers to scan arriving travelers’ passports and photograph them. Although humans can recognize each other easily regardless of facial expression, machines need a little extra help.

“Algorithms don’t work as we do,” Turowska explained. “To compare a 3D face with a 2D passport photo, they need to pinpoint and measure the users’ facial features. It includes the distance between the pupils, ears, nose and mouth, the mouth’s and the eyes’ width, and many others. Smiling can make it harder, as it alters facial proportions.”

Katy Nastro, a travel expert and spokesperson for the flight alert service Going, emphasized that the State Department rules don’t ban smiling explicitly.

“It moreso means you can’t smile like you’re posing for the first day of school, pearly whites front and center,” she said. “Smiling wide with teeth makes it harder to verify eye color and…