Exam Photo and Signature Size Guide (India)
The photo and signature sizes that SSC, UPSC, IBPS, the NTA exams (NEET, JEE Main, CUET) and PAN ask for, taken from each body's own notice and checked on 23 October 2026. The compressor above is set to a JPG between 20 and 50 KB; change the range to match your form. Nothing is uploaded: it all runs in your browser.
How to use Exam Photo & Signature Size
- Find your exam or service in the table below and note its KB range, format and dimensions. Then check your own year's notice, since the numbers change.
- Crop the photo to your head and shoulders, or the signature to just the ink, with the image cropper. For a printed size such as 3.5 × 4.5 cm, use the passport size photo maker.
- Drop the image above. Set the Target file size to the top of your range (Custom for numbers like 30 or 300 KB) and the Minimum size to the bottom.
- Check that each row says the file is inside the range, then download it. If the form wants a PDF, convert it with JPG to PDF.
Frequently asked questions
What photo and signature size does SSC CGL 2026 ask for?
There's no photo to upload: the CGL 2026 notice says the photo is captured live through the application, with your webcam or phone. The signature is a JPEG/JPG of 10 to 20 KB, about 6.0 cm wide and 2.0 cm high. For that, set the Target file size to 20 KB and the Minimum size to 10 KB, or use compress to 20 KB.
How do I get a photo between 20 and 50 KB for IBPS?
Crop to your head and shoulders, then drop it above: this page is already set to a JPG between 20 and 50 KB. The IBPS PO/MT 2026 notification prefers 200 × 230 pixels, which you can set first with the image resizer.
The portal says my file is too small. What do I do?
Enter the form's lower limit as the Minimum size. A file that comes out too small is saved at a higher quality, then at larger dimensions up to the original's. If it's still marked Under minimum, the original is too small or too plain to reach the size honestly: start from a larger, unedited photo or a bigger scan. The file is never padded with meaningless data, which some portals reject anyway.
Does 1 KB mean 1,000 or 1,024 bytes?
This tool counts 1 KB as 1,000 bytes, so a file under its 50 KB target is also under 50 KB counted the other way. For a minimum it's the opposite, so if a portal rejects a file that is only just above the minimum, raise the Minimum size by a KB or two.
Are these sizes up to date?
They were checked against the notices named in the table on 23 October 2026. Exam bodies change their rules from one year to the next, sometimes between exams in the same year, so always confirm with the notice or bulletin for the exam you're applying to.
Which background should my photo have?
Where the notices say, it's white or light: the NTA bulletins ask for a white background with about 80% of the image being your face, ears visible and no mask; IBPS asks for a light, preferably white, background; Passport Seva asks for plain white. Many forms also capture a live photo, so wear the same look in both.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser, so your photo and signature never leave your device.
Photo and signature requirements by exam
Checked on 23 October 2026. Requirements change every year, so treat this as a starting point and confirm with the official notice for your exam. Each row names the notice it was taken from. Scrawlspace isn't connected to any of these bodies.
| Exam or service | Photo | Signature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSC CGL | No upload: captured live in the application with a webcam or phone | JPEG/JPG, 10–20 KB, about 6.0 × 2.0 cm (the notice's annexure says 4.0 × 2.0 cm) | SSC, Notice of Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 (21 May 2026) |
| UPSC (online application) | JPG/JPEG, 20–300 KB, 550 × 550 to 1000 × 1000 px; a live photo is captured too | JPG/JPEG, 20–300 KB, 350 × 350 to 500 × 500 px; sign three times, one below the other, in black ink on white paper | UPSC Technical FAQs for the online application (OTR portal); UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026 notice |
| IBPS PO/MT | JPG/JPEG, 20–50 KB, 200 × 230 px preferred (4.5 × 3.5 cm), colour, light (preferably white) background; a live photo is captured too | JPG/JPEG, 10–20 KB, 140 × 60 px preferred, black ink on white paper, not in capital letters | IBPS, CRP PO/MT-XVI notification 2026 |
| NEET (UG) | JPG/JPEG, 10–200 KB, colour or black and white, white background, 80% face with ears visible, no mask; a live photo is captured too | JPG/JPEG, 10–100 KB | NTA, NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin |
| JEE (Main) | JPG/JPEG, 10–200 KB, colour, white background, 80% face with ears visible, no mask; a live photo is captured too | JPG/JPEG, 10–100 KB | NTA, JEE (Main) 2026 Information Bulletin |
| CUET (UG) | JPG/JPEG, 10–200 KB, colour, white background, 80% face with ears visible, no mask; a live photo is captured too | JPG/JPEG, 10–50 KB | NTA, CUET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin |
| PAN, online with a digital signature (Protean, formerly NSDL) | JPEG, colour, 200 DPI, at most 20 KB, 3.5 × 2.5 cm | JPEG, colour, 200 DPI, at most 10 KB, 2 × 4.5 cm | Protean (NSDL) guidelines for the online PAN application, Form 49A with DSC |
| Passport Seva | None needed at a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office PSK, where it's taken. At other collection centres, a printed colour photo, 4.5 × 3.5 cm, plain white background | Not uploaded | Passport Seva, instructions for filling the passport application form (booklet V3.0) |
Not listed here
Railway (RRB) recruitment notices and UTIITSL's PAN service are left out because their official pages couldn't be checked for this guide. Rather than repeat numbers from elsewhere, follow the notice (CEN) for your post or the instructions on the portal.
Fitting a size range
Set the Target file size to the top of the range and the Minimum size to the bottom. If the first result is too big, the quality drops to about half, then the image is scaled down a step at a time. If it's too small, the quality rises first, then the dimensions grow back, but never past the original or the Max width / height you set.
Each row shows the range and whether the file is inside it, along with its exact size in bytes. Photos usually land inside easily. Signatures are the usual problem: a small, plain image of black ink on white compresses very well, so for a 10 KB minimum scan or photograph the signature larger, crop it, and try again.
- Signature 10–20 KB: Target 20 KB, Minimum 10 KB, or start from compress to 20 KB.
- Photo 20–50 KB: this page's default, or compress to 50 KB with a 20 KB Minimum.
- Photo 10–200 KB: Custom target of 200 KB with a 10 KB Minimum, though 50 KB is usually plenty.
- Photo or signature 20–300 KB: Custom target of 300 KB with a 20 KB Minimum.
Before you upload
- Use a recent photo against a plain white or light background, facing the camera, with even light and no shadows.
- Sign on plain white paper in black ink, as SSC, UPSC and IBPS ask. IBPS rejects signatures in capital letters.
- Crop tightly with the image cropper before compressing; less background leaves more of the file size for your face or signature.
- If the form gives pixel dimensions, resize first with the image resizer and leave Max width / height off here. Each result shows its dimensions, so you can see if it had to be scaled down to fit.
- Save as JPG, the format every notice above accepts.