How to Scan a Passport on iPhone (So the File Is Accepted the First Time)

By Xeplin · Published September 21, 2026

A visa portal, a bank, a landlord, or an employer asks for "a scan of your passport", and the scanner is a phone. That is fine. An iPhone produces a passport scan that is accepted everywhere a flatbed scan is, provided the file meets a few unwritten rules: the whole photo page with all four corners, both lines of code at the bottom readable, color, no glare on the laminate, and a file type and size the upload form will take. This guide covers how to get that with Apple's built-in scanner and with Scanner App, what to do about visa and stamp pages, and how to handle a file this sensitive.

The short version

• Scan the photo page only, unless you are asked for more. Whole page, four corners visible, in color.
• The two lines of letters and chevrons at the bottom must be sharp. That machine-readable zone is what automated checks read first.
• No flash. Glare on the laminate and the hologram is the most common reason a passport scan is rejected.
• Built in: Notes or Files, Scan Documents, set the filter to Color. Good for one page.
• Scanner App: the Scan Passport tool crops to the page and corrects the curve of the booklet, and exports PDF or JPG, offline and without an account.
• Check the form first: PDF or JPG, and the maximum file size. Then name the file properly.

What "a scan of your passport" usually means

Unless the request says otherwise, it means the biographical page: the one with your photo, name, passport number, dates, and the two lines of text at the bottom. Those lines are the machine-readable zone. They repeat your details in a fixed format, and many systems read them automatically and compare them with what you typed. If they are cut off, blurred, or covered by a thumb, the upload is rejected even when the rest looks perfect.

Some requests want more. Visa applications often ask for every page with a stamp or a previous visa, and some ask for the signature page. Read the wording, and when in doubt send the photo page first and the rest as additional pages of the same file.

One thing a scan is not: a passport photo. If you are renewing a passport and the form asks for a photo, it wants a new head-and-shoulders picture to a strict specification, not a scan of the old page.

Set up the shot

1. Flatten the booklet. Open it fully to the photo page and press the spine. Hold the edges down with two fingers outside the page, or rest something heavy on the opposite page.
2. Use a dark, plain surface. Edge detection needs contrast, and most passport pages are pale.
3. Light from the side, flash off. Daylight from a window is best. If a bright patch appears on the laminate, tilt the passport a few degrees until it moves off the text and the photo.
4. Hold the phone parallel to the page, directly above it, close enough that the page fills most of the frame.
5. Keep it in color. Black and white filters destroy the photo and the security print, and most recipients require color.

Route 1: Apple's built-in scanner

The iPhone has a document scanner in two places, and both do the same job.

1. In Notes, open a note, tap the attachment button, and choose Scan Documents. In Files, tap the More button and choose Scan Documents.
2. Hold the phone over the page. The scanner captures automatically when it finds the edges, or you can press the shutter.
3. Tap the thumbnail and drag the corners if the crop missed part of the page. Tap the filter button and choose Color.
4. Tap Done, then Save. From Notes, use Share to send the scan as a PDF. In Files it is saved as a PDF in the folder you chose.

This is enough for a single page now and then. The limits show up quickly: output is PDF only, so a portal that wants a JPG needs another step, there is no control over file size, the automatic crop often treats the open booklet as one wide page, and a scan made in Notes lives inside a note, which may sync through iCloud.

Route 2: Scan Passport in Scanner App

1. Tap the plus button. Under Tools, choose Scan Passport.
2. Hold the phone over the open photo page. The tool is built for the booklet shape: it crops to the single page rather than the spread, and corrects the curve near the spine so the text lines come out straight.
3. Check the result at full size. Zoom in on the two bottom lines and on the passport number. If any character is soft, retake it. It takes five seconds and saves a rejected application.
4. Leave the color mode on Color. Photo mode is the alternative if the portrait looks flat.
5. Need visa or stamp pages? Add them as further pages of the same document and drag them into order.
6. Tap Export and pick what the form asks for: PDF for a multi-page file, JPG or PNG when the portal wants an image.

Everything happens on the phone. There is no account and no upload, which matters more for this document than for any other you will ever scan. The general technique for cards with two sides is in how to scan an ID card or passport, and the tool itself is described on the ID card scanner page.

Match the file to the form

Name the file before sending it. "Passport_Surname_Firstname.pdf" reaches the right folder on the other side. "Scan 14.pdf" does not.

Why passport scans get rejected

• Glare over the photo, the number, or the bottom lines. Turn off the flash and tilt the page.
• Cut-off corners or bottom lines. Leave a small margin of background around the whole page.
• Blur, usually from low light. Move to a window and hold still, or rest your elbows on the table.
• Black and white. Rescan in color.
• Fingers in the frame covering text. Hold the opposite page instead.
• A photo from the camera roll with the table, the shadow of the phone, and a skewed page. Use a scanner mode so the page is cropped and squared.

Handle it like the most sensitive file you own

A clear color scan of a passport is what identity thieves look for. Send it only through the portal or address that requested it, and prefer an upload form over email when both exist. Attaching it to a message is covered in how to scan and email a document. Do not leave copies in chat threads: delete the message attachment after it has been received. Keep one master copy in a place you control, and delete the working copies once the application is finished. A scan that never left your phone until you chose to send it is the reason to use an offline scanner in the first place.

Quick answers

Can I scan my passport with my iPhone?

Yes. Use Scan Documents in Notes or Files, or the Scan Passport tool in Scanner App. A flat page, color, no flash, and all four corners in frame give a scan that is accepted like one from a flatbed scanner.

Which page of the passport do I scan?

The photo page with your details and the two machine-readable lines at the bottom, unless the request also asks for visa, stamp, or signature pages.

Should a passport scan be PDF or JPG?

Whatever the form specifies. If it does not say, send a PDF. Use JPG only when the upload field accepts images only.

Is a photo of my passport the same as a scan?

Not quite. A scanner mode crops to the page, squares it, and evens out the lighting. A plain photo usually includes background, shadow, and a skewed page, and is rejected more often.

Why does my passport scan keep getting rejected?

The usual causes are glare on the laminate, a cut-off bottom edge so the two code lines are incomplete, blur, or a black and white filter. Rescan in color by a window with the flash off.

Is it safe to scan a passport with an app?

It depends on where the app processes the image. Scanner App works on the device, offline, with no account, so the scan stays on your iPhone until you export it.

Scan it once, get it accepted

Flat page, side light, color, sharp bottom lines, the file type the form wants. Download Scanner App, free to download, and use Scan Passport to get a clean page on the first try.