What AFCAT asks for
AFCAT's rules are in the notification's instructions for scanning the photograph, signature and thumb impression, and are repeated in para 7.6 and the form table. There are no pixel sizes, only file sizes, and every file has a minimum as well as a maximum and a fixed name.
| Upload | Pixels | File size | Format | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passport photograph | Not set | 100–200 KB | JPG/JPEG | Light (no colour named for the upload) |
| Signature | Not set | 80–150 KB | JPG/JPEG | White paper, black ink pen |
| Thumb impression | Not set | 50–100 KB | JPG/JPEG | Plain blank paper, ink from a stamp pad |
Passport photograph: the notice's words
“The photograph must be a recent passport size colour picture with a light background.”
“The photograph should be taken while looking straight at the camera with a relaxed face.”
“The size of the scanned image should be between 100KB to 200KB in jpg/jpeg format only.”
“Name of Photo File should be Passport Photograph.jpg or Passport Photograph.jpeg”
Name and date on the photo: Not stated: the AFCAT 02/2026 notification has no rule about a name or date on the photo.
Signature: the notice's words
“The applicant has to sign on white paper with Black ink pen.”
“The signature must be signed only by the applicant and not by any other person.”
“Please scan the signature area only and not the entire page.”
“Size of file should be between 80KB to 150KB in Jpg/jpeg format only.”
“Name of the Signature File should be Signature.jpg or Signature.jpeg.”
Thumb impression: the notice's words
“Male candidates should upload their left thumb, and Female candidates should upload their right thumb - created by pressing on ink stamp pad and then on plain blank paper.”
“Size of the file should be between 50KB to 100KB in jpg/jpeg and pdf formats only.”
What CDS asks for
CDS is a UPSC exam, so its files are the ones every UPSC exam takes on the Common Application Form; the CDS (II) 2026 notice sends you to the portal's instructions for the details. These are the portal's words.
| Upload | Pixels | File size | Format | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photograph | Not set | 20–200 KB | JPG/JPEG | Plain white; no dark background and no shadows |
| Triple signature | 350 × 350 to 500 × 500 px | 20–100 KB | JPG/JPEG | Plain white unruled paper, black ink |
Photograph: the notice's words
“Upload a photo named photo in jpg format with a file size between 20KB and 200KB.”
“Make sure your face covers 75% i.e. 3/4th area of the photo.”
“Photo background shall be plain white.”
“Photograph is NOT to be signed.”
Name and date on the photo: Not asked for in 2026-27. The CSE 2025 notice (old OTR portal) wanted your name and the date the photo was taken on it; no 2026 or 2027 notice, portal file or form note says so.
Triple signature: the notice's words
“Candidate should sign their own signature three times vertically (one below the other) on a plain white paper using a black ink.”
“File size: 20 KB - 100 KB”
“Image dimensions: 350 - 500 pixels”
“The height and width of signature image must be between 350 and 500 pixels”
“Applications with signature files that do not meet the prescribed specifications will be rejected.”
How to use the CDS and AFCAT resizer
- Choose AFCAT or CDS (UPSC) above the tool first: switching clears the cards.
- Add a picture to each card and frame it. AFCAT takes your photo, one signature and your thumb impression (men left, women right); CDS takes a photo with your face filling at least three quarters of it on plain white, and three signatures one below the other. Use Whiten the paper on the scans.
- When each checklist is green, download the files. AFCAT's come as Passport Photograph.jpg, Signature.jpg and Thumb Impression.jpg; CDS's as photo.jpg and signature.jpg. Upload them under those names.
Example: an AFCAT photo and a CDS triple signature
- Passport photograph: a 6-megapixel phone photo, 2,160 × 2,880 px, opens as a 1,800 × 2,400 px copy; with no shape set, the frame is the whole 1,800 × 2,400 px, kept at 1,800 × 2,400 px. The JPEG is 102,400 to 200,000 bytes (100–200 KB), named Passport Photograph.jpg. Over the limit even at 60% quality, it would get fewer pixels, same shape.
- Triple signature: a 6-megapixel phone picture of the paper, 2,880 × 2,160 px, opens as a 2,400 × 1,800 px copy; the frame at the largest shape the range allows covers 1,800 × 1,800 px, drawn smaller, at 500 × 500 px. The JPEG is 20,480 to 100,000 bytes (20–100 KB), named signature.jpg. Over the limit even at 60% quality, it would get fewer pixels, same shape.
The JPEG quality it lands on depends on the picture itself.
AFCAT and CDS side by side
| Upload | AFCAT 02/2026 | CDS (UPSC form) |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | 100–200 KB, light background, Passport Photograph.jpg | 20–200 KB, plain white background, face at least 75%, photo.jpg |
| Signature | One signature, 80–150 KB, Signature.jpg | Three, one below the other; 350–500 px wide and high; 20–100 KB, signature.jpg |
| Thumb impression | Men left, women right; 50–100 KB, Thumb Impression.jpg | Not asked for |
| Pixel size | None stated for any file | None for the photo; 350–500 px for the signature |
| Live photo | Yes, form item 10.4 | Yes, matched with your uploaded photo |
Why AFCAT files have a minimum size
AFCAT sets a floor as well as a ceiling for each file: 100 KB for the photo, 80 KB for the signature and 50 KB for the thumb impression. A plain scan, like a thumb impression on white paper, can come out under the floor even at full JPEG quality. When that happens the tool adds an invisible comment to the file until it reaches the floor; the picture itself is unchanged. Some coaching sites still quote 10–50 KB or 20–50 KB for the AFCAT photo: that isn't the 2026 rule.
Left thumb or right thumb?
AFCAT asks men for the left thumb and women for the right thumb, pressed on an ink stamp pad and then on plain blank paper. Press once, firmly, and lift straight up so the ridges don't smudge; then photograph or scan the paper straight on in good light, frame the impression in the thumb card and whiten the paper. The format line for the thumb says “jpg/jpeg and pdf”, while para 7.6 and the form item say JPG/JPEG, so the tool makes a JPG, which all three accept. CDS has no thumb upload.
The CDS triple signature
For CDS, sign three times, one below the other, in black ink on plain white unruled paper, and scan all three as one image. The tool frames them as a square of up to 500 × 500 px (a smaller scan keeps its own pixels), inside the 350–500 px the portal allows for both the width and the height, then fits 20–100 KB. The CDS (II) 2026 notice, dated 20 May 2026, says the same: sign three times, one below the other, on plain white paper using black ink. AFCAT wants a single signature, so don't reuse the CDS file there. For the other UPSC exams, see the UPSC Photo & Signature Resizer and the NDA page.
The live photo in the AFCAT form
The AFCAT form also has a Live Image Capture step (form item 10.4) that takes your picture with the device camera, besides the photo you upload, so apply from a computer with a webcam or from a phone. On exam day there is a separate biometric and photograph capture before the test.
“10.4. Live Image Capture: Capturing Candidate Live image via device camera”
CDS also captures a live photo on the UPSC form, with your webcam or with your phone through a QR code, and matches it with your uploaded photo; if the two don't match, you can't go further with the application.
Why AFCAT uploads get rejected
- The AFCAT 02/2026 notification doesn't list reasons for rejecting an upload. What it fixes is each file's size range, the JPG/JPEG format and the exact file name, so keep to all three; the tool does.
Why CDS uploads get rejected
- Any deviation from the portal's instructions stops the file from uploading at all (FAQ Q.21).
- Photos with a dark background, shadows, blur, or a face that is too small, too close or not straight aren't accepted, and a signed photo isn't either.
- Uniform, coloured or dark glasses that hide your eyes, and glare on spectacles, aren't accepted.
- Signature files that don't meet the specifications are rejected. The portal's examples of wrong signatures: written side by side instead of one below the other, blue or coloured ink, ruled or coloured paper, blurred or rotated.
- If your live photo doesn't match your uploaded photo, you aren't allowed to go further with the application.
How the tool reaches the KB range
AFCAT and the CDS photo set no pixel size, so the tool keeps your crop, drawn at up to 2,400 pixels on the long side, and saves it at the highest JPEG quality under the file's maximum; a very detailed picture is scaled down, keeping its shape, until it fits. The CDS signature starts at up to 500 × 500 px and only gets smaller if it must. Under the minimum, an invisible comment brings the file up to it. The checklist is read from the finished file. For other photo sizes, use the Passport Size Photo Maker or Increase Image Size in KB.
AFCAT: check before you apply
- AFCAT sets a minimum as well as a maximum for every file: 100 KB for the photo, 80 KB for the signature and 50 KB for the thumb. Some coaching sites quote 10-50 KB or 20-50 KB for the AFCAT photo, which is wrong for the 2026 cycles.
- AFCAT gives no pixel, cm or DPI size for any upload, so the tool keeps your crop and only fits the file size.
- The thumb clause says "jpg/jpeg and pdf formats" once, while para 7.6 and form item 10.3 say JPG/JPEG. The tool saves JPG, which every clause accepts.
- The file names are fixed: Passport Photograph.jpg, Signature.jpg and Thumb Impression.jpg. The tool downloads each file under its name, so don't rename them.
- These are the AFCAT 02/2026 rules (01/2026 had the same). Check again when AFCAT 01/2027 is notified (expected around November 2026), and for CDS when the CDS (I) 2027 notice is out (expected around December 2026).
AFCAT sources
Rules on this page and in the tool are as per the AFCAT 02/2026 Notification (read on 8 October 2026); check the latest notice before you apply. We read the official sources below on 8 October 2026 (AFCAT 02/2026 (applications 20 May to 21 June 2026 after the extension, courses from July 2027), whose upload rules match AFCAT 01/2026; CDS (II) 2026 on the UPSC Common Application Form) and will check them again by 1 December 2026.
- AFCAT 02/2026 Notification ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- AFCAT 01/2026 Notification (same upload rules) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- AFCAT official portal (EdCIL) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- UPSC Combined Defence Services Examination (II), 2026, Notice No. 11/2026-CDS-II ↗, dated 20 May 2026
- UPSC Instructions for Uploading the Photo & Signature (used for CDS) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- UPSC Common Application Form: upload checks and on-screen notes (used for CDS) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- UPSC Instructions for uploading documents (used for CDS) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- UPSC General Instructions for filling forms (the old OTR module no longer applies) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
CDS: check before you apply
- The CDS signature's 350–500 px applies to its width and its height: that reading comes from the Common Application Form's own note, read from the form's script, whose file name changes whenever UPSC updates the site. The portal's PDF only says “Image dimensions: 350 - 500 pixels”.
- The form's upload check tests the CDS files' size, format and name, not their pixels; the tool keeps to 350–500 px all the same.
- UPSC's instruction files move when the site is rebuilt. If a CDS link below has stopped working, look under Instructions and FAQs on upsconline.nic.in.
- These are the CDS (II) 2026 rules; read the CDS (I) 2027 notice when it is out, usually in December.
CDS sources
The CDS rules above are UPSC's, from these sources, which we read on 8 October 2026:
- UPSC Instructions for Uploading the Photo & Signature (upsconline.nic.in) ↗, dated 4 February 2026
- UPSC Common Application Form: on-screen upload notes and checks ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- UPSC online portal FAQs (Q.21 and Q.24 on photo and signature upload) ↗, read on 8 October 2026
- Combined Defence Services Examination (II) 2026, Notice No. 11/2026-CDS-II ↗, dated 20 May 2026