How To: Affix a photo to a passport application

Summer is almost here and you're looking forward to that exotic vacation but you are going to need a passport and photos to go in it. There are a few simple ways to get a photo for your application. Find the method that is best for you and get traveling.

Whether you are applying for a U.S. passport in person or seeking to renew an old one by mail, you must submit two recent passport photos with the passport application.

You Will Need

* A computer with internet access
* Two passport photos
* A U.S. passport application
* A passport (optional)

Step 1: Locate a passport acceptance facility

Use the U.S. Department of State's Passport Acceptance Facility search engine to find your nearest passport office.

Post offices often serve as passport acceptance facilities.

Step 2: Get an application

Go to the facility to get a passport application, or download one at travel.state.gov, and print and fill it out.

Step 3: Get photos

Have two passport photos taken. Many national drugstore chains offer passport photo services.

Step 4: Attach the photos when applying in person

Take the photos along with the application to your local passport office if you are required to apply for the passport in person. The passport office will attach the photos to the application.

In the past, applicants for a U.S. passport were asked to staple photographs to the application. This is no longer the case.

Step 5: Attach photos when renewing by mail

When renewing by mail, place the photos inside your old passport and mail them along with the rest of your application package to a passport processing center.

Did you know? By the beginning of the 20th century, all countries required passports, although similar documents had been used for many centuries prior.