What TNPSC asks for
TNPSC is the only body that spells out the whole layout, so it is the tool's first layout. Its notifications and its Instructions to Applicants carry the same lines for every recruitment: a 130 × 170 px photo at 200 DPI in which the bottom 55 px hold your name and the date of photography. The signature is a separate upload with no name or date.
| Upload | Pixels | File size | Format | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photograph with name and date | 130 × 170 px 3.5 × 4.5 cm, 200 DPI | 20–50 KB | JPG | White; a colour passport-size photo taken in a photo studio |
| Signature | 230 × 75 px 6 × 2 cm | 10–20 KB | JPG | White paper, blue or black ink pen |
Photograph with name and date: the notice's words
“The candidate should ensure that the name of the candidate and the date of photography (i.e., on or after the date of notification) are printed at the bottom of the photograph.”
“Of the total height of the photograph, the image of the candidate shall be 3.0 cm (115 pixels) and the candidate's name and date of photography shall be 1.5 cm (55 pixels).”
“frontal view showing both ears and part of the neck”
Name and date on the photo: Your name and the date the photo was taken, printed in the bottom 55 px (1.5 cm) of the 170 px (4.5 cm) photo; your picture fills the top 115 px (3.0 cm). The date must be on or after the date of the notification you apply for. TNPSC sets no font, text colour or date format.
Signature: the notice's words
“draw a box of dimension 6.0 x 2.0 cm (230 pixels x 75 pixels) on white paper and sign within the box, using a blue or black ink pen.”
How to add your name and date to the photo
- Pick the layout for your form (TNPSC, Kerala PSC, or your own size from your notice) and choose your photo.
- Drag or zoom the picture until your face is centred above the dashed line, then type your name and pick the date the photo was taken. Choose a date format, and tick Capital letters or Long name on two lines if you want them.
- For TNPSC, also type your notification's date. When no line of the checklist fails, download the file: Photograph.jpg at 130 × 170 px for TNPSC, 150 × 200 px for Kerala PSC.
Example: a TNPSC photo with the name and date strip
With the TNPSC layout, the strip takes the bottom 55 px whatever photo you start from, and your name and the date are printed in it. A long name that wouldn't fit across 130 px even at the smallest text size fails the checklist, so split it over two lines or use initials.
- Photograph with name and date: a 12-megapixel phone photo, 3,024 × 4,032 px, opens as a 1,800 × 2,400 px copy; the frame at the notice's 130 × 170 px shape (the picture above its 55 px name-and-date strip) covers 1,800 × 1,592 px, drawn smaller, at 130 × 170 px. The JPEG is 20,480 to 50,000 bytes (20–50 KB) with 200 DPI, named Photograph.jpg. Under 20,480 bytes at full quality, an invisible comment makes up the rest.
The JPEG quality it lands on depends on the picture itself.
Which exams ask for a name and date on the photo
We read the official notices on 8 October 2026. Two bodies want the name and date printed in a strip at the bottom of the photo (TNPSC and Kerala PSC), the Coast Guard wants them written on the photo with no position given, two want them on a slate held in the photo, and several dropped the rule. Other state PSCs, police boards and the Indian Army weren't surveyed, so read your own notice if your exam isn't here.
| Who | What the notice asks | Use this tool? |
|---|---|---|
| TNPSC (all recruitments) | Printed at the bottom: the photo is 130 × 170 px (3.5 × 4.5 cm) at 200 DPI, with your picture in the top 115 px and the name and date in the bottom 55 px. 20–50 KB, saved as Photograph.jpg. “The candidate should ensure that the name of the candidate and the date of photography (i.e., on or after the date of notification) are printed at the bottom of the photograph.” TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026 (Advt. 747), Combined Civil Services Examination-IV (Group IV) ↗, dated 6 October 2026 | Yes: the TNPSC layout |
| Kerala PSC (One Time Registration) | Printed at the bottom in two lines, black text on a white strip. The photo is 150 × 200 px, up to 30 KB, JPG. No strip height is given. “Name of the candidate and the date of photograph taken should be printed legibly at the bottom portion.” Kerala PSC Category No. 151/2026 notification ↗, dated 30 September 2026 | Yes: the Kerala PSC layout |
| Indian Navy Agniveer (SSR 01/2027 and 02/2027) | Written in white chalk, in capital letters, on a black slate you hold in front of your chest when the photo is taken. The photo is 10 KB to 50 KB, taken not before March 2026, with a light background; a live webcam photo is also taken. “Photograph is to be taken with candidate holding a black slate in front of his/her chest with his/her name and date of photograph taken, clearly written on it with white chalk in capital letters.” Indian Navy Agniveer (SSR) 01/2027 and 02/2027 advertisement (March 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026 | No: it has to be a real slate in the photo |
| IAF Agniveervayu (Intake 02/2027) | The same black slate rule, in white chalk capitals. The photo is 100–200 KB, .jpg or .jpeg, taken not before one month from the date of registration, with a light background. IAF Agniveervayu Intake 02/2027 advertisement (July 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026 | No: it has to be a real slate in the photo |
| Indian Coast Guard Assistant Commandant (2027 batch) | Name and date written on the photo in capital letters; the position isn't stated. Uploads are 10–100 KB. That advert's applications closed in July 2025; for the CGEPT 01/2027 entry the advert only points to the portal's own specs. “with candidate name and date of photograph taken, clearly written on it capital letters” Indian Coast Guard Assistant Commandant 2027 batch advertisement ↗, dated 8 July 2025 | Only with your own size and capital letters, after you check the current advert |
| UPSC (CSE, ESE, CDS, NDA, CAPF) | Not any more. The CSE 2025 notice still had the line; it is gone from CDS-II 2025 (28.05.2025) onwards, and CSE 2026 and the current form instead take a live photo and an uploaded photo without a name or date. “Ensure that the name of candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are clearly mentioned on the photograph” UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 notice (05/2025-CSP) ↗, dated 22 January 2025 | No |
| NEET (UG) | Not in 2026. The 2025 bulletin only said the photo should preferably show the name and date; the 2026 bulletin dropped that line. NTA NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin (February 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026 | No |
| SSC, RRB, IBPS, AFCAT, JEE Main, CUET, UGC-NET | Not asked for in their latest notices. SSC and RRB take a live photo in the form instead of an uploaded one. SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 notice ↗, dated 21 May 2026 | No |
The TNPSC photo: studio picture, then the strip
TNPSC asks for a colour passport-size photo taken in a photo studio, with a white background, in frontal view showing both ears and part of the neck. It doesn't allow photos taken on cellular phones, selfies or photocopies, so start from the digital copy your studio gives you, not a phone picture. If your studio print already has your name and date at the bottom, TNPSC's para 3.4 lets you paste it on plain white paper, scan it at 200 DPI and crop it to the photo, in the same dimensions and the 20–50 KB range; don't add a second strip to it.
The date in the strip is the date of photography, and it must fall on or after the date of the notification you apply for: 6 October 2026 for Group IV 2026. Each new TNPSC notification has its own date, so the tool never fills one in. Type yours in the “Date of your notification” box and the checklist compares the two.
The Kerala PSC layout
Kerala PSC's Thulasi registration page sets the file: “Maximum Size : 30Kb, Image Dimension : 150W X 200H px, Image Type : JPG”. It adds that the name and the date the photo was taken “must be inscripted (in two lines) in black color text with white rectangular background at the bottom of the Photograph.” That is why the Kerala layout keeps to two lines and can't split a long name. No strip height, minimum file size or DPI is given, so the strip starts at 50 px, our own choice, and you can change it. The Category No. 151/2026 notification adds that a first-time profile needs a photo taken within six months, and that a photo that meets the rules stays valid for 10 years from upload. The signature has its own line on the Thulasi page, with no name or date: “Maximum Size : 30Kb, Image Dimension : 150W X 100H px, Image Type : JPG”.
Why TNPSC uploads get rejected
TNPSC's notice lists what it doesn't accept for the photo:
- TNPSC doesn't allow photos taken on cellular phones, selfies, photocopies, or photos from family functions or tourist places.
- Backdrops of plants or buildings aren't allowed: the photo needs a white background.
- The photo has to be taken on or after the date of the notification and uploaded with every online application, so an older photo with an older date doesn't meet the rule.
How the tool makes the strip and reaches the KB range
The file is drawn at its exact pixel size. Your picture is scaled to cover the area above the strip (the same framing maths as the passport photo maker), then the strip is painted white and each line of text is centred in it. The text starts as large as the strip allows for the number of lines and gets smaller only until the longest line fits inside the photo's width, so a long name never runs off the edge; the result shows the text size it ended up at. The JPEG is then saved at the highest quality that stays under the maximum, found by halving the gap between a too-big and a small-enough quality. If the file is still under the minimum at full quality, an invisible comment is added to reach it; the picture isn't touched. For the TNPSC layout, 200 DPI is written into the file.
TNPSC's 230 × 75 px signature (10–20 KB) can be made with the Signature Extractor, which cleans the paper and sizes it. If the wall behind you isn't white, fix that first with Change Photo Background Colour, then add the strip here.
Check before you apply
- TNPSC sets no font, text colour or date format for the strip. The tool writes black text on a white strip and lets you choose the date format: that is our choice, not TNPSC's.
- The date must be on or after the date of the notification you apply for (06.10.2026 for Group IV 2026), so the tool never fills in a notification date for you: type the one on your own notice.
- Kerala PSC also wants the name and date at the bottom, in two lines of black text on a white strip, at 150 × 200 px and up to 30 KB, but it gives no strip height: the strip height in the tool's Kerala PSC layout is our default, and you can change it.
- Indian Navy Agniveer and IAF Agniveervayu want the name and date written in white chalk on a black slate that you hold at your chest when the photo is taken. A printed strip doesn't meet that rule, so don't use this tool for them.
- The list of bodies that ask for a name and date isn't complete: other state PSCs, police boards and the Indian Army weren't surveyed. Read the notice for your own recruitment.
- Rules change: UPSC dropped the name-and-date line in 2025 and NEET (UG) dropped its 'preferably' line in 2026. Check the latest notice before you apply.
Sources
Rules on this page and in the tool are as per the TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026 (Advt. 747), Combined Civil Services Examination-IV (Group IV) dated 6 October 2026; check the latest notice before you apply. We read the official sources below on 8 October 2026 (TNPSC Group IV 2026 (Notification No. 11/2026, Advt. 747, dated 06.10.2026) and the TNPSC Instructions to Applicants (updated up to 11.06.2026), which carry the same rule for every TNPSC recruitment) and will check them again by 1 April 2027.
- TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026 (Advt. 747), Combined Civil Services Examination-IV (Group IV) ↗, dated 6 October 2026
- TNPSC Instructions to Applicants (updated up to 11.06.2026) ↗, dated 18 June 2026
- Kerala PSC Thulasi One Time Registration page ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- Kerala PSC Category No. 151/2026 notification ↗, dated 30 September 2026
- Indian Navy Agniveer (SSR) 01/2027 and 02/2027 advertisement (March 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- IAF Agniveervayu Intake 02/2027 advertisement (July 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- Indian Coast Guard Assistant Commandant 2027 batch advertisement ↗, dated 8 July 2025
- UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 notice (05/2025-CSP) ↗, dated 22 January 2025
- UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026 notice (05/2026-CSE) ↗, dated 4 February 2026
- NTA NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin (February 2026) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 notice ↗, dated 21 May 2026