What KCET asks for
KEA's whole rule for the two images is one line each in the Simple Diksuchi's list of mandatory documents: JPG, under 50 KB. There is no minimum size, no pixel size and no background colour, so the table says "Not set" and "Not stated" for them.
| Upload | Pixels | File size | Format | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photograph | Not set | less than 50 KB we aim for 49 KB or less | JPG (.jpg/.jpeg) | Not stated |
| Signature | Not set | less than 50 KB we aim for 49 KB or less | JPG (.jpg/.jpeg) | Not stated |
Photograph: the notice's words
“STUDENT'S PHOTOGRAPH (IN JPG FORMAT. < 50KB)”
Name and date on the photo: Not asked for: no KEA 2026 document mentions a name or date on the photo.
Why 49 KB or less: KEA says "< 50KB", strictly under 50 KB, and doesn't say whether a KB is 1,000 or 1,024 bytes; at most 49,000 bytes is under it either way, with room to spare.
Signature: the notice's words
“STUDENT'S SIGNATURE (IN JPG FORMAT. < 50KB)”
Why 49 KB or less: KEA says "< 50KB", strictly under 50 KB, and doesn't say whether a KB is 1,000 or 1,024 bytes; at most 49,000 bytes is under it either way, with room to spare.
How to use the KCET resizer
- Choose a recent photo for card 1 and a scan or straight phone photo of your signature for card 2.
- Zoom and drag until your face is centred and fills most of the photo, and the signature fills most of its picture; tap Whiten the paper if the signature's paper looks grey.
- When the checklist is green, download each JPG. Both stay under 50 KB, ready for the upload step of the KEA application.
Example: a phone photo through the KCET resizer
- Photograph: a 12-megapixel phone photo, 3,024 × 4,032 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 at most 49,000 bytes (less than 50 KB, aiming for 49 KB or less), named kcet-photo-1800x2400.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.
What "< 50KB" means for your file
"< 50KB" means strictly under 50 KB. KEA doesn't say whether it counts a kilobyte as 1,000 or 1,024 bytes, which makes a difference of 1,200 bytes at this size. A file of exactly 50,000 bytes is 50 KB on the 1,000-byte reading, not under it, so the tool keeps each file to 49,000 bytes or less, under 50 KB on either reading with a little room to spare, and uses the highest JPEG quality that fits, so you don't lose sharpness you don't have to. The checklist shows the exact byte count of every file. There's no minimum, so a small, plain signature isn't padded.
Information Bulletin-1 asks you to keep 2–3 printed copies of the same photograph you scanned and uploaded. Download the photo once and print from that file, so the prints and the upload match.
What KCET doesn't ask you to upload
- Thumb impression: pressed in ink on the OMR answer sheet in the exam hall, not uploaded.
- Declaration: an on-screen declaration you accept before paying the fee; there is nothing handwritten to scan.
- Agriculture-quota documents: they go through a separate KEA portal and aren't covered here.
The live photo in the KCET form
KCET 2026 also uses Face Recognition. After you register and log in, KEA's guide says you verify yourself ("login + OTP or live photo") before you can fill in the application, and that your admission at every later stage is checked against this live photo. It doesn't replace the JPG photo: you still upload that in the form.
Do it in good light, facing the camera, looking like the photo you upload: the same face is checked at each later admission stage.
Why KCET uploads get rejected
- KEA's 2026 documents list no rejection reasons for the photo or signature files. They set only the format (JPG) and the size (under 50 KB), and say your admission at every later stage is verified against your live photo.
How the tool reaches the KB range
With no pixel size from KEA, your crop is kept: it is drawn at up to 2,400 pixels on its longest side and saved as a JPEG at the highest quality under the cap. A phone photo usually needs more than that: if even 60% quality is too big, the pixel size is reduced, keeping your shape, and the quality search runs again. The checklist is read back from the finished file. To bring any other picture under a KB limit, use the Image Compressor.
Check before you apply
- KEA's only numbers are "JPG, < 50KB" for both files and it doesn't say whether 50 KB means 50,000 or 51,200 bytes. "<" means strictly under, so the tool keeps each file to at most 49,000 bytes, under 50 KB on either reading.
- KEA publishes no pixel or cm size, minimum KB or background colour. Any such size you see quoted for KCET isn't a KEA rule, so the tool keeps your crop.
- The 2026 application portal is closed, so nobody could check its upload screen; it may enforce limits the PDFs don't mention. When UGCET-2027 applications open (expected around January 2027), check the new Diksuchi and the upload screen.
- Your left thumb impression is put on the OMR answer sheet with an ink pad in the exam hall. It isn't uploaded.
- The declaration is a box you accept on screen before paying the fee; there is no handwritten declaration to upload.
Sources
Rules on this page and in the tool are as per the UGCET-2026 Simple Diksuchi (English) dated 16 January 2026; check the latest notice before you apply. We read the official sources below on 8 October 2026 (UGCET 2026 (KCET for the 2026-27 academic year); no UGCET 2027 notification had been published on 8 October 2026) and will check them again by 10 January 2027.
- UGCET-2026 Simple Diksuchi (English) ↗, dated 16 January 2026
- UGCET-2026 Sarala Diksuchi (Kannada edition) ↗, dated 16 January 2026
- CET Diksuchi-2026 booklet (KEA) ↗, dated 21 January 2026
- UGCET-2026 Information Bulletin-1 (English) ↗, dated 17 January 2026
- KEA UGCET-2026 page ↗, read on 8 October 2026