Photo, signature, and PDF size limits for Indian government exams

How to read this limits database

Every row identifies the portal, document type, dimensions, file-size rule, primary source, and verification date. Read the note as carefully as the numbers. “Preferred” is not the same as “minimum,” “about 6 × 2 cm” is not an official pixel count, and “live photograph” means a prepared image file is not the required input at all.

The database covers major national recruitment portals and two state commissions with clear primary-source rules. It is not a claim to cover every post issued by every Indian authority. Recruitment bodies can publish exam-specific corrigenda, and third-party application providers can change validation. When the active advertisement conflicts with this page, the active advertisement wins.

The patterns that cause most upload failures

The first pattern is applying one organisation’s photo rule to another document. IBPS uses different ranges for the photograph, signature, thumb impression, handwritten declaration, and certificates. A 200 × 230 image is a photograph preset, not a signature preset. Always match both the portal and document label.

The second is assuming every portal still accepts an uploaded photograph. SSC’s current application flow captures a live image. Recent RRB notices do the same. A perfectly resized passport photo can therefore be irrelevant or explicitly disallowed. Use the live camera flow when the notice requires it and prepare only the separate signature or certificate uploads.

The third is treating physical dimensions as pixels. SSC’s cited notice describes its signature as about 6.0 × 2.0 centimetres and gives a 10–20 KB range. Pixel dimensions depend on scanning resolution, so FileGizmo labels its 300 × 100 output as a practical same-ratio helper, not an SSC-mandated pixel grid.

The fourth is checking only the number displayed by a file manager. “20 KB” can mean a decimal or binary unit depending on the interface, while the portal validates bytes. FileGizmo works in bytes and reports one decimal place in KB. Aim comfortably below a hard maximum rather than depending on a rounded boundary value.

Current national-portal notes

IBPS has the clearest reusable image specification in the current source set. The cited PO/MT and CSA documentation uses a preferred 200 × 230 pixel photograph at 20–50 KB and a preferred 140 × 60 pixel signature at 10–20 KB. It also asks for a live photograph during registration, so the prepared photo does not replace that identity step.

SSC’s 2026 notice uses live photo capture and requires a scanned JPEG/JPG signature between 10 and 20 KB. The notice describes the signature as about 6.0 cm wide by 2.0 cm high. It warns that blurred or miniature signatures can be rejected even when the file passes technical validation.

Current RRB recruitment material also uses live photo capture. The cited CEN specifies a JPG/JPEG signature between 30 and 49 KB, at least 140 pixels wide by 60 pixels high, created from black ink on white paper in running handwriting. Older RRB notices used uploaded photographs, so check the CEN number rather than relying on an old tutorial.

UPSC’s 2026 Civil Services notice requires an uploaded photograph, a live photograph, and a sheet with the candidate signing three times in black ink. It points applicants to the online portal’s photo and signature instructions but does not state one universal pixel or KB pair in the notice. That absence is represented honestly in the table instead of being filled with a number copied from an older application cycle.

State PSCs are not interchangeable

BPSC’s cited application notice uses webcam capture for the photograph and specifies clear Hindi and English signature images in JPG/JPEG, no more than 15 KB, at 220 × 100 pixels. Kerala PSC uses a different system: its general conditions specify a 150 × 200 pixel JPG photograph no larger than 30 KB and a 150 × 100 pixel JPG signature no larger than 30 KB.

Those two examples are enough to disprove the idea of a universal “state PSC size.” If your state commission is not listed, use the custom controls only after finding dimensions and bytes in its official advertisement, OTR instructions, or upload screen. Do not infer its rule from BPSC or Kerala PSC.

PDF limits need document-level verification

PDF ceilings often belong to a particular evidence type rather than the application as a whole. The cited IBPS notification permits specified supporting certificates as readable A4 PDFs no larger than 500 KB. The cited RRB FAQ lists an upper limit for the SC/ST certificate used for a travel pass. The BPSC notice cited here requires requested supporting-document PDFs to remain within 100 KB.

A generic “compress to 200 KB” instruction can therefore be too large for one BPSC document and unnecessarily destructive for a 500 KB IBPS allowance. Identify the exact row in the active form, preserve readability, and compress only as far as required. Text, seals, registration numbers, and signatures must remain legible after reduction.

Maintenance and corrections

FileGizmo records the primary URL and last-verified date so another person can reproduce each check. Rows are reviewed quarterly and when a major portal publishes a new cycle. A source can remain online after its process has been replaced, which is why the exam or CEN identifier appears in the note.

If you find a newer official notice, compare its document type and recruitment cycle with the existing row before reporting a correction. A coaching article, screenshot without a URL, or competing resizer is not sufficient evidence. A correction should link directly to the authority’s notification, FAQ, corrigendum, or application instruction page and quote the relevant section in context.

Use the linked resizer to prepare supported photos and signatures locally. It displays the same source and verification metadata beside each preset, then checks dimensions, JPG output, and byte range before download. The final portal preview remains the last acceptance check.