JPEG vs PNG vs HEIC for Government Uploads

One of the main reasons photos fail to upload on government websites is that the person has chosen the wrong image format. Whether it's a passport photo, visa image, ID document or an online application photo, the file format is often the reason it's rejected - not because the picture is bad, but because the file type is not one that the government system's software can handle.
During the operation of our passport photo maker, we regularly encounter problems with users who do not always understand the requirements of the US Department.
This guide is here to help clarify, in plain language and with technical details, JPEG vs PNG vs HEIC for government uploads, what causes rejections to happen and which format you should use to avoid delays.

How Government Upload Systems Really Work

Most government websites are run on very old or very conservative IT systems. These systems are prioritising:

• Stability over trying out new things
• Being able to read files in a way that's easy to predict
• Being able to handle biometric analysis
• Processing being as efficient as possible Uploading a file goes through these stages:

1. Format validation - checking the file extension and MIME type
2. Image decoding - using software on the server to read the file
3. Biometric analysis - checking the image for things like face detection and proportions
4. Automated rejection rules - if any of these stages fail, the upload gets rejected - and often without any clear explanation.

JPEG for Government Uploads

Why JPEG Is the Default Standard

JPEG has been the standard for digital photos for decades and government systems trust it because it's:

• Supported by almost every browser and server in the world
• Fully compatible with biometric analysis software
• Easy to understand and reprocess
• Reliable

Technical reasons why JPEG is great

• It uses lossy compression which is perfect for photographs
• It preserves facial detail and is good at small file sizes
• It supports the required DPI settings (300 DPI and above)
• And it has minimal problems with metadata

When JPEG works best

• When you're uploading a passport photo
• When you're applying for a visa
• When you're uploading a photo for a national ID
• When you need the file to be able to be read for face recognition JPEG is the format government portals were built for

PNG for Government Uploads

When PNG will be accepted by the system

PNG is sometimes allowed, especially if:

• You're uploading a scanned document
• You're uploading a form that contains text or a signature
• The system you are uploading to explicitly says PNG is supported

Why PNG is likely to cause problems

PNG uses lossless compression, this means that:

• The files are going to be much, much larger
• You're going to exceed file size limits more easily
• It's going to take longer to upload and process Some biometric systems struggle with:
• Transparency layers in the image
• Too much color depth
• Colour profiles embedded in the picture

Verdict on PNG

PNG can work if:

• The system you are uploading to explicitly says it's allowed
• You're careful not to exceed the file size limit
• You make sure the image is flat, i.e. no transparency But for photos, it's usually not necessary and is actually a risk.

HEIC for Government Uploads

Why HEIC exists, and why it's not supported

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) was introduced to try and:

• Save storage space
• Improve image quality on mobile phones
• Support new image pipelines

Apple uses HEIC by default on iPhones

Why governments have rejected HEIC
Despite its technical advantages, HEIC has been rejected in government systems because:

• Many servers can't decode HEIC
• It requires additional codec licenses
• It's not supported by older biometric analysis engines
• MIME type detection often fails
• Conversion pipelines are often missing In effect, HEIC uploads are often:
• Automatically rejected
• Converted incorrectly
• Failed silently but then flagged later

The harsh reality

Even if a system says it accepts the file, the back-end processing may fail and you won't know until later.
HEIC is the most common hidden cause of upload failure

Biometric & Compliance Considerations

Government photo systems are not just visual, they're actually analytical. They check for:

• Head size ratios
• Eye position
• Face boundaries
• Contrast and sharpness
• Pixel level consistency Why the format of the image matters for biometrics
• JPEG is optimised for the biometric analysis pipeline
• PNG may introduce unnecessary complexity
• HEIC can break decoding before analysis even starts A photo in the right format is perfect, but a photo in the wrong format is no good at all.

Common Format-Related Rejection Reasons

• "Unsupported file type"
• "Image cannot be processed"
• "Invalid photo format"
• Silent rejection
• Delayed manual review And most of these come back to HEIC uploads or oversized PNG files.

Which Format Should You Use? (The clear answer)

Use JPEG (.jpg) if:

• You're uploading a photo and you want to be safe
• The form you are filling in is a photo
• You want the lowest risk of rejection Use PNG (.png) only if:
• The system you are uploading to explicitly says PNG is allowed
• You are uploading a scanned document
• You're careful not to exceed the file size limit Avoid HEIC (.heic) unless:
• The system you are uploading to says it's supported
• HEIC conversion is handled on the server side (which is rare) If in doubt, always convert to JPEG

Frequently Asked Questions

Is JPEG always accepted by government websites?
Almost all government portals will accept JPEG. It's the safest choice for photo uploads.Why do iPhone Photos get Rejected by Governments?
iPhones tend to save their photos as HEIC by default, which is a file type that many government systems just can't handle.
Does Turning HEIC to JPEG mess with the Image Quality?
Converting it properly doesn't affect the biometric details and actually makes the file more usable by the system.
Is PNG better than JPEG when it Comes to Photo Quality?
PNG is lossless but in the real world the trade off for photographs is that JPEG gives you a better balance of size & quality, and it works more widely across platforms.
What File Format do Passport Officers want for Digital Photos?
Across the world, JPEG is the standard for submitting passport and visa photos to government offices.

The takeaway from all this

When it comes to uploading photos to government systems, it's not about whether JPEG or PNG or HEIC is the best quality - its about whether the system can deal with it.
Government platforms are designed to be cautious and play it safe - so using JPEG lines up with their rules and systems. PNG can work in some cases, but HEIC is basically a non-starter because it's incompatible with the systems they use.
Choose JPEG to avoid having your Photos get rejected and cause delays & resubmissions