How to Scan a Passport with Your iPhone
Open the scanner, switch to Passport mode, and hold the photo page flat under even light — the app finds the edges and captures automatically. Crop and straighten if needed, then export a PDF. Everything runs on your iPhone, so the passport image is never uploaded to a server.
Tools used: Crop & perspective fixBrightness & contrastOCR text recognitionPDF conversion
Step by step
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Open Passport mode
Tap the scan button and pick Passport. This mode expects the machine-readable photo page rather than a full letter-size sheet, so framing and cropping are tuned for that shape.
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Lay the passport flat under even light
Open the booklet fully and press the photo page flat. Even, indirect light beats bright direct light — the laminate on a passport reflects, and glare is the single most common reason a passport scan comes out unreadable.
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Let the edges lock, then capture
Hold the phone parallel to the page and wait for the edge outline to settle before capturing. Shooting at an angle is recoverable, but a straight-on capture needs less correction afterward.
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Straighten and clean up
Use Crop & perspective fix to square the page, then Brightness & contrast if the photo page came out dim. This is also where you trim the opposite page out of the frame.
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Export as PDF
Export to PDF for anything official — visa applications and travel agents generally expect a PDF rather than a camera roll photo. JPG is available when an upload form specifically asks for an image.
Frequently asked
- Is it safe to scan a passport with a phone app?
- It depends entirely on whether the app uploads the image. This scanner does all capture and text recognition on the device using Apple's built-in frameworks, and does not send document images to a server. Before using any scanner app for identity documents, check whether it uploads to the cloud by default.
- What resolution should a passport scan be?
- Capture at the phone's normal resolution and avoid zooming in — cropping after capture keeps far more detail than zooming before it. If an embassy specifies a minimum DPI, export the PDF and confirm the page reads cleanly at 100% zoom.
- Can it read the machine-readable zone?
- The two lines of chevron-separated characters at the bottom of the photo page can be picked up by OCR, but treat the output as a starting point and check it against the printed page. OCR on a glossy laminate is the least reliable case.
- Why does my passport scan have a bright white patch?
- That is glare from the laminate. Move away from direct overhead light, tilt the passport slightly rather than the phone, or scan next to a window with indirect daylight. No amount of post-processing fully recovers a blown-out patch.
Last updated 2026-07-28