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Photo and signature size for Indian exams: RRB, SSC, UPSC, NEET, UGC NET and IBPS (2026)

By SlimIO · Updated October 13, 2026 · 6 min read

Almost every recruitment and entrance portal in India rejects a photo or signature that is a few kilobytes off. The rules also differ between exams: RRB wants a signature of 30–49KB, SSC wants 10–20KB, UPSC accepts anything from 20KB to 300KB. This page collects the current numbers from each exam's official notice, explains what they mean, and links each one to a tool preset that produces a file that passes.

Make your signature image →Draw or photograph your signature and get a JPG at the exact size and KB range your exam asks for.

All exams at a glance

RRB NTPC (CEN 06/2026)

The Railway Recruitment Boards changed the process in their recent notices: the photograph is captured live with your webcam or phone camera during the application, and it is checked against your photo ID. You must not photograph an existing printed or digital photo — the notice says such applications are rejected.

The signature is still uploaded. Paragraph 14.5.1 of CEN 06/2026 sets these rules:

• JPG/JPEG only, file size between 30KB and 49KB.
• At least 140 pixels wide and 60 pixels high, scanned at a minimum of 100 DPI.
• Black ink on white paper, in running (joined) handwriting — not block, capital or disjointed letters.
• The signature sits inside a 35 mm × 20 mm box and must be fully visible.

The 30KB minimum surprises people: a clean signature on white paper is a very simple image and usually compresses to well under 30KB. Re-saving it at a huge size to gain kilobytes makes the scan look odd. The RRB signature preset saves a 280 × 160 px JPG (the shape of the 35 × 20 mm box) at the best quality that fits under 49KB, and if the file is still below 30KB it adds inert padding so the size check passes while the picture stays the same.

Rejection reasons the notice lists include a non-white background, non-black ink, capital letters, an unclear or partly visible signature, and a thumb impression in place of a signature.

SSC (CGL, CHSL and other notices)

SSC also captures the photograph live while you fill in the form, and asks you to look the same on exam day as in that photo. The notices warn that capturing a photo of an existing photograph leads to rejection.

The signature is a scanned JPG/JPEG of 10–20KB. The CGL and CHSL notices give the image dimension as about 6.0 cm (width) × 2.0 cm (height); the One Time Registration instructions mention about 4.0 × 2.0 cm. Both describe a wide, short signature. SSC says blurred or miniature signatures are rejected, so fill the image with the signature rather than leaving a small scribble in a big white area. Use the SSC signature preset (300 × 100 px, 10–20KB). The rejection reasons and the 80% rule are in the SSC signature and photo guide.

UPSC (One Time Registration)

UPSC uses the same rules for the photo and the signature:

• JPG format, between 20KB and 300KB.
• At least 350 × 350 pixels and at most 1000 × 1000 pixels.
• Signature in black pen on white paper, with nothing else (no date) in the image.

Since the 2024 notices, the photo has extra conditions: it must be recent (not more than 10 days old when the application window opens), your name and the date the photo was taken must be clearly visible on it, and your face should fill about three quarters of the photo. Studios that print exam photos know this format; if you take it yourself, add the name and date below your face before resizing.

Presets: UPSC photo, 450 × 600 px and UPSC signature, 700 × 350 px. Both stay between 350 and 1000 pixels on each side.

NEET (UG) 2026

The NEET (UG) 2026 information bulletin from NTA lists these uploads:

• Passport-size photograph: JPG between 10KB and 200KB, colour or black and white, against a white background, with about 80% of the image being your face (without a mask) and your ears visible.
• Signature: JPG between 10KB and 100KB.
• Left and right hand finger and thumb impressions: JPG between 10KB and 200KB.
• Identity proof: 50KB to 300KB.

NTA has also asked for a postcard-size (4 × 6 inch) photograph in recent years; check the bulletin for your year. Presets: passport photo under 200KB and NEET signature, 10–100KB.

UGC NET (December 2026)

The UGC-NET December 2026 information bulletin (applications 8–28 October 2026) asks for a live photograph taken in the form, an uploaded photograph of 10–200KB with 80% of the face visible including the ears against a white background, and a signature of 10–50KB. Many sites still show the older NTA signature limit of 4–30KB; a very clean signature made to that rule can fall under the new 10KB minimum. Details, dates and the live photo step: UGC NET photo and signature size. Presets: passport photo under 200KB and UGC NET signature, 10–50KB.

IBPS and SBI bank exams

Bank exams have the most uploads: photo 200 × 230 px (20–50KB), signature 140 × 60 px (10–20KB), left thumb impression 240 × 240 px (20–50KB) and a handwritten declaration 800 × 400 px (50–100KB). The bank exam documents page has a preset and an example for each, plus the declaration text.

Mistakes that get uploads rejected

1. Capital letters. RRB and the bank exams reject signatures in BLOCK or CAPITAL letters. Sign the way you normally sign.
2. Blue or coloured ink, lined paper. Use a black pen on plain white paper; ruled lines and a grey background look like a bad scan.
3. A tiny signature in a large blank image. Crop close to the signature so it fills the frame.
4. Wrong KB. Both too big and too small are rejected when a range is given. Check the size shown after saving.
5. Photographing a photo. For live-capture portals (RRB, SSC) the photo must be of you, taken at that moment.
6. An old photo. UPSC wants a photo taken shortly before applying, with the date on it.

How to make the signature file

1. Sign on plain white paper with a black pen, two or three times, and pick the best one.
2. Photograph it from straight above in daylight, without your phone's shadow on the paper. (Or draw it with your finger on the signature page.)
3. Open the preset for your exam from the links above. The paper is cleaned to white, the signature is cropped and centred, and the file is saved as a JPG inside the KB range.
4. Check the pixel size and KB shown under the result, then upload.

If your exam is not listed, copy the size rules from your notice and paste them into the Paste your form's requirements box on the signature or photo page; the sizes and KB range are filled in for you. Certificates and ID proofs as PDF can be shrunk to an exact limit with compress PDF to 100KB or 200KB.

Sources

• Railway Recruitment Boards, CEN 06/2026 (NTPC), para 14.5.1 — rrbapply.gov.in
• Staff Selection Commission, CGL and CHSL notices, para 9.6 — ssc.gov.in
• UPSC online application instructions — upsconline.nic.in
• NTA, NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin — neet.nta.nic.in
• NTA, UGC-NET December 2026 Information Bulletin (8 October 2026) — ugcnet.nta.nic.in
• IBPS guidelines for scanning and uploading documents — ibps.in