Walgreens Passport Photos

Walgreens Passport Photo Price in 2026

The standard in-store passport photo service at Walgreens costs $16.99. That includes two 2x2 inch printed photos taken by a store associate and a digital copy sent to your email. There is no per-photo discount, no option to order a single print for less, and no way to split the package.

Prices correct as of June 2026. Confirm at your local store.

Walgreens occasionally publishes coupon codes through its app, typically around travel holidays or promotional periods, that bring the price down to around $11.99. These are not reliably available, but if you have the Walgreens app it is worth checking before you visit.

Does Walgreens Include a Digital Copy?

Yes. This is the question that causes more confusion than anything else about Walgreens passport photos, partly because some competing guides claim the digital copy is not included. It is. Walgreens confirmed on their own website that a free digital copy via email is included with every standard passport photo purchase.

Ask the associate to email it to you when you are at the counter. If you walk out without asking, contact the store as soon as possible with your receipt and they should be able to retrieve it, but it is easier to sort it at the time.

The digital copy is a JPEG file. For US online passport renewals via MyTravelGov, you upload this file directly during the application. There is no code system in the US passport process the way there is in the UK. You simply upload the JPEG when the application asks for your photo.

Clarification on competing guides: some pages claim Walgreens does not include a digital copy in the standard service. This is incorrect. Walgreens' own passport photo FAQ at photo.walgreens.com confirms a free digital copy via email is included with every purchase. Ask for it at the counter.

What the Walgreens Passport Photo Service Includes

When you go to the photo counter and ask for passport photos, here is what happens. A store associate photographs you in front of a white background screen using the store's photo equipment. They check the photo for basic compliance: head size, expression, background, and framing. The photos are then printed and ready in a few minutes. A digital copy is emailed to you on request.

The service covers US passport photos as standard. Walgreens also supports passport and visa photos for a range of other countries including Canada, China, Australia, France, Germany, and dozens more. If you need a non-US format, mention it when you arrive and confirm the associate knows the requirements for that specific country.

What Walgreens cannot do

Walgreens is not a passport acceptance facility. It photographs you and prints the photos, but it cannot accept your passport application, process your paperwork, or issue or renew any travel document. To submit your passport application you need a separate acceptance facility such as a post office, regional passport agency, or clerk of court.

Walgreens also cannot submit photos directly to any government system, provide IDPC codes, or link your photo to a digital application. You receive a printed photo and a JPEG file, and what you do with them is up to you.

How to Get Your Passport Photo at Walgreens

No preparation is needed beyond knowing the requirements. Walk in, go to the photo counter, and tell the associate you need a passport photo. They will take it from there.

1. Go to the photo counter during photo department hours — typically 9am to 9pm. Some 24-hour stores may have limited overnight availability depending on staffing. 2. Tell the associate you need a US passport photo. If you need a different country's format, say so at this point. 3. The associate will position you in front of the white background screen and take the photo. They should check your expression, head position, and that nothing is blocking your face before shooting. 4. You can view the photo before it is printed. If you are not happy with it, ask for a retake at this stage rather than after printing. 5. Ask the associate to email you the digital copy before you leave the counter. 6. Pay at the photo counter. Pick up your prints. Check them before leaving the store.

The whole process takes around 5 to 15 minutes at most locations. Some very busy stores may take longer if the photo counter is occupied.

Check your prints before leaving. Look at the head size relative to the frame, the background clarity, and your expression. If something looks wrong, it is much easier to ask for a retake at the counter before payment than to discover a problem after you have left.

The Free Retake Guarantee

Walgreens guarantees their passport photos comply with State Department requirements. If the State Department rejects your application specifically because of the photo, Walgreens will retake and reprint at no charge.

To use the guarantee: bring the official rejection notice from the State Department back to the same Walgreens store where your photo was originally taken. The guarantee applies to the original location only. Keep your receipt. Contact the store as soon as you receive the rejection to arrange the retake.

The rejection must be specifically for a photo issue. If your application is delayed or rejected for a different reason — incomplete form, incorrect supporting documents, processing backlog — the photo guarantee does not apply.

In practice, Walgreens photos are compliant the majority of the time. The in-store compliance check covers the key requirements, and the white background screen removes the most common single cause of rejection. The guarantee exists as a backstop, not because rejections from Walgreens are common.

Printing a Passport Photo at Walgreens for $0.39

If you already have a compliant digital passport photo, you can print it at Walgreens for the cost of a standard 4x6 inch photo: around $0.39 in-store, or slightly less when ordering online for same-day pickup. This gives you printed passport photos at a fraction of the $16.99 in-store service price.

How it works

Take or upload a passport photo that meets State Department requirements. Format it as a 4x6 inch template with two 2x2 photos on it, correctly sized and spaced. Upload the file to the Walgreens Photo website or app and order a standard 4x6 print. Select same-day pickup at your nearest store. Pick it up, cut out the two 2x2 photos along the crop lines, and you have compliant printed passport photos.

What to watch for

Walgreens prints whatever you upload. The photo center does not check whether your photo meets State Department requirements before printing. If the photo is not compliant and you submit it with your application, the rejection is on you, not Walgreens. The print hack only makes sense if you have a verified, compliant photo before you order.

Confirm that when uploading a 4x6 template, the print is set to actual size, not scaled to fill the frame. Some printing apps default to stretching the image to fit, which would resize the passport photos on the template to the wrong dimensions. Use the actual-size or no-crop print option.

The $0.39 print route does not come with a compliance check or a retake guarantee. You are responsible for the photo meeting requirements. Run the photo through a compliance checker before ordering prints.

Finding a Walgreens That Does Passport Photos

Walgreens has over 8,000 stores across the US, with around 78% of the US population living within five miles of a location. Most carry passport photo services, but not every store does. Smaller format stores and some locations without a dedicated photo counter may not offer it.

The most reliable way to check: use the Walgreens store locator at walgreens.com/store-locator and filter for stores with a photo center. You can also search "Walgreens passport photo near me" in Google Maps, which pulls directly from each store's listed services. Call the store before a dedicated trip, particularly if you are travelling specifically for the service.

Photo center hours are typically 9am to 9pm, though some locations operate different hours. The passport photo service requires a staff member to be present at the counter, so even in a 24-hour Walgreens, the service may not be available overnight.

Baby and Child Passport Photos at Walgreens

Walgreens takes passport photos for all ages. For older children who can follow instructions and hold a position, the in-store service works well. For babies and very young infants, the setup is more challenging.

The photo counter setup at most Walgreens stores uses a fixed white background screen at adult height and overhead studio lighting. This works for adults. For a baby who cannot sit independently, the associate needs to support the child or find an alternative positioning method. The overhead lighting can also create face shadows on small subjects who are not at the right height relative to the lights.

The home photo option for babies

For newborns and young babies, many parents get better results by taking the photo at home using the State Department's recommended method: lay the baby on a plain white or off-white sheet, photograph from directly above, and make sure no hands or supporting objects are visible in the frame. Get the photo verified for compliance, format it as a 4x6 template, and print it at Walgreens for $0.39. The result is a properly taken, compliant photo at a fraction of the walk-in service price.

This approach separates the taking of the photo (where home is actually better for babies) from the printing of it (where Walgreens is convenient and cheap). The in-store service bundles both, but you do not have to use both from the same place.

Walgreens Compared to Other Options

For a full-service walk-in passport photo where someone else takes and prints the photo, Walgreens at $16.99 is $1 cheaper than CVS ($17.99) and includes the digital copy that CVS charges $3.99 extra for. On a like-for-like comparison (prints plus digital file), Walgreens comes out around $5 ahead of CVS.

Walmart at $7.64 is considerably cheaper for the prints, but does not include a digital copy. If you are applying online via MyTravelGov and need a digital file, Walmart is not a complete solution without an extra step. If you only need prints for a paper application, Walmart saves money.

If you are applying online and do not need printed photos at all, neither Walgreens nor any pharmacy chain is your only option. A verified digital file from an online photo service costs less than Walgreens and gives you a photo that has been checked against State Department specifications before you use it. The Walgreens service checks compliance at the counter, but the check is manual and relies on the associate's experience. An automated verification service applies the same checks the State Department uses.