Entered photographs must be created or published for the first time between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. First-time publication is defined as being published by a media organization in print or online. Personal web sites or social media accounts do not qualify.

Entries should be true representations of a news scene or candid moment. Documentary photographs cannot be directed, set up or staged. Only portraits may be posed.

POY does not accept AI-generated images in any category. Photojournalism is based on eye-witness reporting with a camera. Color images should replicate what the human eye experiences. Flagrant pre- or post-production effects that use excessive tonal aberrations, textures, vignettes, color saturation or other manipulations may be disqualified.

POY follows the National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics. All captions and story summaries should meet journalistic standards for accuracy and publication requirements: https://nppa.org/code-ethics

POY will not accept images and stories from government agencies or state-sponsored media that do not practice editorial independence.

POY does not accept entries in which the subject is also the employer or special access was granted to photographers hired by the organizing agency, such as a political party or a corporation. You may not submit entries that feature your employer.

Use of Submitted Material

By entering this competition, you declare that you meet the eligibility requirements stated in the rules of the competition and that you are authorized by the holder of the copyright (or the right to copyright) to submit photos and multimedia entries to the Pictures of the Year International (POY, POYi) competition. You grant permission to Pictures of the Year International, the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Missouri School of Journalism and POY programs (such as CPOY, POY Asia, POY Latam and the POY Archive) to use your submitted material in exhibitions, publications, in promotion of the competition itself, and for educational research and historical record purposes concerning Pictures of the Year International. This usage includes, but is not limited to print, digital and online platforms such as the CPOY, POY or MU websites, social media, books, slides/tapes, television broadcast/film/tapes, DVDs and CDs. Entries may become part of the permanent POY archive.

Pictures of the Year International is a program of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The University of Missouri is a public, tax-exempt educational institution of the State of Missouri. POY provides an educational mission for career development and student advancement, without profit. To achieve the educational mission of the competition, POY requests up to $60 per person (U.S. dollars) compensation to cover the costs associated with operation of the competition.