DV Lottery Photo — free online maker
For the Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery entry form. Works on your phone, nothing is uploaded.
Official specifications
| Digital size | Exactly 600 × 600 px, square |
| Format | JPEG, file size ≤ 240 kB |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, evenly lit |
| Head height | 50–69% of the image from chin to crown |
| Recency | Within the last 6 months |
| Glasses | Not allowed |
| Expression | Neutral, both eyes open, looking straight at the camera |
DV lottery photo, green card lottery photo, US lottery photo — the same shot
People look for this photo under several names — the DV lottery photo, the green card lottery photo, or the US lottery photo — and they all mean the same entry image: a 600 × 600 px square JPEG under 240 kB on a plain white or off-white background, with the head at 50–69% of the image height. This maker produces exactly that file.
Want to test a DV lottery photo before you enter? Run it through the DV lottery photo checker — it measures the file against the same specification and reports pass, warn or fail without uploading anything. For the full rule set, including head size in millimetres and the family-photo rule, see the DV lottery photo requirements guide, and for the parallel US visa case use the US visa photo checker.
Why DV photos get disqualified
The E-DV system auto-rejects entries whose photo fails the size and format checks before a human ever sees them. The usual causes: image not square, wrong pixel dimensions, file over 240 kB, or head outside the 50–69% band. Our tool outputs a 600 × 600 JPEG that runs well under 240 kB, with the face framed to the official band by default.
One photo per person — including family
Every dependent in your entry needs their own compliant photo, including young children (no toys, no pacifiers, child alone in frame, someone may hold them if the hands are not visible).
What happens after the entry
A compliant entry photo is not the last photo you will need. The E-DV system checks the square JPEG at submission — dimensions, aspect ratio and file size — but winners go on to a DS-260 immigrant visa application that wants the standard 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) photo, taken fresh, within 6 months, plus a printed copy carried to the interview. In other words the lottery photo and the visa photo are the same picture in different containers: the entry asks only for pixels under 240 kB, the visa asks for paper as well. Keep the source image you used so the later application starts from the same compliant shot.
Two details disqualify entries more often than people expect. The first is a duplicate: once per person per year, and a second entry in the same year removes you from the draw entirely, so there is no quietly re-uploading an improved photo. The second is the family: a spouse and every unmarried child under 21 named on the entry each need their own separate photo with their own compliant file, and a baby's photo follows the same rules as an adult's. Get these wrong and the entry can pass the machine check yet still be set aside later, when there is no appeal.
How it works
- Tap the button — the 600 × 600 DV format is pre-selected.
- Upload a photo taken against a plain wall (see the home photo guide).
- Face detection frames the crop; download a compliant JPEG.
Everything runs locally in your browser — the photo never leaves your device.
Related: US visa photo · US passport photo