What Sarathi asks for
Sarathi's rules come from two official places that give the same numbers: the guideline PDF "Photo and Signature Scan & Upload Process" and the specification box on the portal's Upload Photo And Signature screen. Both pixel sizes are marked "preferred", and one 10–20 KB range covers both files. The guideline is from 2014, and it was still the one the live portal served on 8 October 2026.
| Upload | Pixels | File size | Format | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photograph | at least 420 × 525 px (preferred) 3.5 × 4.5 cm, 300 DPI or more | 10–20 KB | JPEG/JPG | Light-coloured, preferably white |
| Signature | 256 × 64 px (preferred) 3.5 × 1.06 cm | 10–20 KB | JPEG/JPG | White paper, black pen |
| Thumb impression (only if you can't sign) | 256 × 64 px (presumed) | 10–20 KB | JPEG/JPG | Not stated |
Photograph: the notice's words
“Photograph must be a recent (within 6 months) passport size colour picture.”
“The picture should be in colour, against a light-coloured, preferably white, background.”
“Dimensions - Width 35mm/1.4 inches (minimum of 420 pixels) & Height 45mm/1.75 inches (minimum of 525 pixels) - 420 x 525 pixels (preferred).”
“Size of file should be between 10kb - 20kb.”
Name and date on the photo: Not asked for: no Sarathi source mentions a name or date on the photo.
Signature: the notice's words
“The applicant has to sign on white paper with Black pen.”
“Dimensions - Width 256 pixels x Height 64 pixels”
“Size of Both These files should be between 10kb - 20kb.”
“Allowed File Types Are- JPEG/JPG/jpeg/jpg.”
Thumb impression (only if you can't sign): the notice's words
“For illiterate applicants - Right hand thumb impression in case of female applicant and left hand thumb impression in case of male applicant”
How to use the Sarathi photo and signature resizer
- Choose a recent colour photo for card 1, and a scan or straight phone photo of your signature, signed with a black pen on white paper, for card 2. Use card 3 only if you can't sign.
- Drag or zoom the photo until your face is centred in the at least 420 × 525 px frame, and tap Make the background white if the wall isn't light. Frame the signature so it fills the wide 256 × 64 px strip, then tap Whiten the paper.
- When the checklists are green, download the files and choose them at the Upload Photo and Signature step of your application.
Example: a phone photo through the Sarathi resizer
- Photograph: an 8-megapixel phone photo, 2,448 × 3,264 px, opens as a 1,800 × 2,400 px copy; the frame at the notice's 420 × 525 px shape covers 1,800 × 2,250 px, drawn smaller, at 420 × 525 px. The JPEG is 10,240 to 20,000 bytes (10–20 KB) with 300 DPI, named sarathi-photo-420x525.jpg. Under 10,240 bytes at full quality, an invisible comment makes up the rest.
The JPEG quality it lands on depends on the picture itself.
Photo upload, Aadhaar eKYC or the RTO
Whether you upload these files depends on your route. For a learner's licence with Aadhaar eKYC, the contactless route, the photo comes from Aadhaar: Tamil Nadu's manual says "Photo will be taken from Aadhaar. Signature is not required", and Sarathi's learner's licence stages page reportedly says only the signature is uploaded then. Without eKYC, Sarathi's learner's licence FAQ says you "visit the concerned RTO for physical verification of documents and submit Biometrics". For a driving licence, the Parivahan FAQ says the photo and signature upload is "available as per states customization", and Sarathi's driving licence stages page reportedly lists it as applicable for only some states. Both stages pages show their text only inside a full browser session, so those two lines are as our researchers quoted them, not re-read for this check; they are listed under Sources.
Sarathi doesn't take a live webcam photo at the upload step: you upload a scanned or camera photo. The guideline mentions a digital camera or web camera only as ways to take it, and it asks for at least 300 ppi ("minimum 118 ppcm (300 ppi)").
The 10 KB minimum and a small signature
Sarathi sets a floor as well as a ceiling: "Size of Both These files should be between 10kb - 20kb." A 256 × 64 px signature is a tiny picture, and clean black ink on white paper compresses so well that it often stays under 10 KB even at full quality. The tool tries the highest quality first; if the file is still too small, it adds an invisible comment block to the JPEG until it passes 10 KB. The picture is unchanged, and the checklist shows the final size in bytes. The same happens with the thumb impression.
Thumb impression if you can't sign
The guideline's signature section has one more line, for applicants who can't sign: the right thumb for a woman, the left thumb for a man. Press the thumb once with ink on white paper and take a straight photo or scan in landscape, with plain paper on both sides of the impression, then choose it in card 3. The 256 × 64 px strip is four times as wide as it is high, because it's the signature's slot with the signature's 10–20 KB limit, so zoom out until the whole impression fits and centre it. Your fingerprints are still taken in person at the RTO.
Why Sarathi uploads get rejected
- A file outside 10–20 KB or not in JPG format: the guideline says "If the file size and format are not as prescribed, an error message will be displayed."
- A photo where your face isn't clear may be rejected.
- Caps, hats and dark glasses in the photo aren't acceptable.
How the tool reaches the KB range
Each file is drawn at its exact pixel size and saved as a JPEG at the highest quality that stays under 20 KB, found by halving the gap between a too-big and a small-enough quality about seven times. A file still under 10 KB at full quality is padded with an invisible comment, as above. Sarathi doesn't say whether a KB is 1,000 or 1,024 bytes, so the tool aims between 10,240 and 20,000 bytes, which passes either way. 20 KB is tight for a at least 420 × 525 px photo: a busy background can push the JPEG quality quite low (the card shows it). A plain white background, with Make the background white if needed, leaves more of the 20 KB for your face. For a passport size print of the same photo, use the Passport Size Photo Maker.
Check before you apply
- States can customise Sarathi: the Parivahan FAQ says the upload is "available as per states customization", and for a driving licence Sarathi's stages page reportedly lists it as applicable for only some states. Check the limits on your own upload screen.
- With Aadhaar eKYC for a learner's licence your photo comes from Aadhaar. Tamil Nadu's manual says "Photo will be taken from Aadhaar. Signature is not required"; Sarathi's learner's licence stages page reportedly says only the signature is uploaded then. Neither stages page could be re-read outside a browser session for this check.
- The newest official picture of the upload screen is from 2021 and the guideline PDF from 2014; both were still on the live portal on 8 October 2026.
- "kb" isn't defined as 1,000 or 1,024 bytes, so the tool keeps each file between 10,240 and 20,000 bytes, which passes either way.
- A clean 256 × 64 signature often comes out under 10 KB even at full JPEG quality. The tool then adds an invisible comment to the file to reach 10 KB. Whether the portal really refuses smaller files hasn't been checked.
- The 300 DPI in the guideline is the least resolution for your camera or scanner ("minimum 118 ppcm (300 ppi)"); the tool also writes 300 DPI into the photo file.
- The Upload Documents stage (the Form 1 self-declaration and other documents) is separate: Sarathi's FAQ allows jpeg, jpg or pdf files up to 300 KB there.
Sources
Rules on this page and in the tool are as per the Sarathi guideline: Photo and Signature Scan & Upload Process (file date 28 October 2014, read on 8 October 2026); check the latest notice before you apply. We read the official sources below on 8 October 2026 (Standing Sarathi guideline (PDF created 28 October 2014) and the portal's upload screen as shown in official manuals (2016 and 2021), all still served by the live portal on 8 October 2026) and will check them again by 1 April 2027.
- Sarathi guideline: Photo and Signature Scan & Upload Process ↗, file date 28 October 2014, read on 8 October 2026
- Sarathi user manual: Upload Photo & Signature screen (screenshot dated 4 February 2016) ↗, file date 1 November 2023, read on 8 October 2026
- Sarathi user manual (Hindi, NIC Madhya Pradesh): New LL without Aadhaar ↗, dated 24 March 2021
- Sarathi manual: New LL under Aadhaar authenticated contactless services (Tamil Nadu) ↗, dated 8 October 2021
- Sarathi FAQ (Learner Licence) ↗, dated 11 February 2020
- Sarathi FAQ (Services on Driving Licence) ↗, dated 8 October 2020
- Parivahan FAQ "How can I upload photo and signature?" (the site's last-updated date) ↗, file date 9 September 2026, read on 8 October 2026
- Sarathi: Stages of application for learner's licence (as quoted by the researchers; not re-checked) ↗, read on 7 October 2026
- Sarathi: Stages for issue of driving licence (as quoted by the researchers; not re-checked) ↗, read on 7 October 2026