Guides

Photo and signature size for every major exam

Bank exams want a 20 to 50 KB photo, NTA exams take up to 200 KB, and SSC takes your photo live with the camera. Here is every size we could confirm from the official notices, checked on 10 October 2026.

Published by Sumit Teli

Every size below can be made on your phone. Resize image sets the exact pixels, the KB tools such as Compress image to 50 KB land the file inside the range, and the signature resizer cleans up a signed sheet. Nothing is uploaded.

Compress a photo

The short answer

  • Bank exams (IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, SBI Clerk): photo 200 × 230 pixels, 20 to 50 KB; signature 140 × 60 pixels, 10 to 20 KB. All four use the same four uploads.
  • NTA exams (NEET UG, JEE Main, CUET UG): photo 10 to 200 KB with no fixed pixel size; signature 10 to 100 KB (10 to 50 KB for CUET).
  • SSC (CGL, CHSL, MTS): there is no photo upload at all, because the form takes your photo live with the camera. Only the signature is uploaded, 10 to 20 KB.
  • GATE: the widest limits of all, 5 to 600 KB for the photo and 3 to 300 KB for the signature, but with minimum pixel sizes.

We read every figure from the organisation’s own notice or website on 10 October 2026, not from coaching sites. Exams publish their rules again with each notification, so check the notice for your cycle.

Photo size by exam

ExamSizeRules worth knowing
IBPS PO/MT-XVI, IBPS Clerk XVI20 to 50 KB; 200 × 230 px preferred (4.5 cm high × 3.5 cm wide)Recent colour photo, light or white background; a live photo is also taken
SBI PO 2026, SBI Junior Associate20 to 50 KB; 200 × 230 px preferredSame rules as IBPS
NEET UG 202610 to 200 KB, JPGWhite background, 80% face with ears visible, no mask, taken on or after 1 January 2026
JEE Main 2026, CUET UG 202610 to 200 KB, JPGColour, white background, 80% face with ears visible, no mask
GATE 20265 to 600 KB, JPG; 200 × 260 to 530 × 690 px (3.5 × 4.5 cm)Face 60 to 70% of the image, plain white background
UPSC CAPF (AC) 202620 to 200 KB, JPGUPSC also captures a live photo
SSC CGL, CHSL, MTSNo upload: taken live in the formPlain background, good light, no cap, mask or glasses

A photo inside the KB range but far from the preferred pixels can still look wrong on the admit card. For the bank exams, set 200 × 230 first, then compress. For NTA exams, any normal passport-style photo works once it is under 200 KB.

Signature size by exam

ExamSizeNotes
IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, SBI Clerk10 to 20 KB; 140 × 60 px preferredBlack ink on white paper, not in capital letters
SSC CGL 2026, SSC CHSL 202610 to 20 KB, JPEG; about 6.0 × 2.0 cm (one annexure says 4.0 × 2.0 cm)Blurred or tiny signatures are rejected
SSC MTS 2025 (latest notice)10 to 20 KB, JPEG; about 6.0 × 2.0 cmSame rules as CGL
NEET UG 2026, JEE Main 202610 to 100 KB, JPGNo extra rules stated
CUET UG 202610 to 50 KB, JPGNo extra rules stated
GATE 20263 to 300 KB, JPG; 250 × 80 to 580 × 180 pxBlack or dark blue ink, filling 70 to 80% of the image
UPSC CAPF (AC) 202620 to 100 KBUPSC asks you to sign three times, one below the other, on white paper in black ink

Watch the minimum. A clean signature on white paper often compresses to under 10 KB, and a form with a 10 KB floor then refuses it. Use a larger pixel size in the same shape rather than padding the file.

Thumb impression, declaration and documents

UploadExamsSize
Left thumb impressionIBPS, SBI240 × 240 px at 200 DPI (3 × 3 cm), 20 to 50 KB, black or blue ink
Handwritten declarationIBPS, SBI800 × 400 px at 200 DPI (10 × 5 cm), 50 to 100 KB, English, black ink, not in capitals
Finger and thumb impressionsNEET UG 2026JPG; the bulletin gives 10 to 200 KB in one place and 50 to 300 KB in another
Certificates (Class X, category, PwD)NTA examsPDF, 50 to 300 KB
Class X certificateIBPS, SBIPDF, A4, up to 500 KB

Where a notice contradicts itself, as NEET’s does for finger impressions, aim for a file that satisfies both ranges: 50 to 200 KB.

PAN, passport and Aadhaar

  • PAN (Protean, online with scanned images): Protean’s own pages disagree. Its application instructions say photo up to 20 KB at 3.5 × 2.5 cm and signature up to 10 KB at 2 × 4.5 cm, both 200 DPI colour JPEG. A newer Protean article allows up to 50 KB for each. A file under 20 KB and 10 KB passes either rule. The PAN card photo resizer makes that size.
  • Passport: no photo upload for applications at a Passport Seva Kendra; the photo is taken at the counter. A printed 4.5 × 3.5 cm photo is needed only for applications submitted through a DPC, SPC or CSC.
  • Aadhaar: no photo upload. The photo is captured at the enrolment centre, and changing it means visiting one.

Making the files

  1. Start from a good photo. Daylight, a plain white wall behind you, face straight to the camera, no cap or dark glasses. Crop to head and shoulders.
  2. Set the pixels if the exam names them. For banks, 200 × 230 for the photo. For GATE, at least 200 × 260. Use Resize image and keep JPG.
  3. Bring it into the KB range. Use the KB page closest to the limit, such as Compress image to 50 KB for banks or 200 KB for NTA. The preview shows the exact size before you download.
  4. Make the signature. Sign in black ink on white paper, photograph it from above, then let the signature resizer crop it, whiten the paper and fit 140 × 60 or the exam’s size.
  5. Check every box before you submit. Open each file once. Make sure the photo and signature are in the right boxes and that each size is inside its range, not just under the maximum.

For a thumb impression or the bank declaration, photograph the sheet the same way and use Resize image for 240 × 240 or 800 × 400, then Compress image to 100 KB if it is still too large.

Why uploads get rejected

  • Below the minimum. 8 KB fails a 10 to 20 KB rule even though it is under 20.
  • Wrong format. Renaming a PNG or HEIC file to .jpg doesn’t convert it. Save or convert it as a real JPG.
  • Capital letters. IBPS and SBI reject signatures and declarations written in capitals.
  • A photo of a photo. SSC’s live capture rejects a picture of an old printed photo.
  • Swapped uploads. A photo in the signature box, or the reverse, can stop you sitting the exam. Check before paying the fee.

Two exams aren’t in the tables. We couldn’t open the official RRB and CAT notices to confirm their numbers, so we left them out rather than repeat figures from other sites. UPSC’s Civil Services notice points to the upload instructions on upsconline.nic.in instead of stating sizes.

Sources