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UPSC Photo & Signature Resizer

Make the two files every UPSC exam now takes on the Common Application Form: your photo, saved as photo.jpg inside 20–200 KB, and your triple signature, saved as signature.jpg at 350–500 px on each side inside 20–100 KB. Nothing is uploaded.

Rules as per the UPSC Instructions for Uploading the Photo & Signature (upsconline.nic.in) dated 4 February 2026; check the latest notice before you apply. Open the official notice ↗

Photograph

Any pixel size · 20–200 KB · JPG/JPEG

A recent passport size colour photo that shows your full face, on a plain white background, saved with the file name photo.

Triple signature

350 × 350 to 500 × 500 px · 20–100 KB · JPG/JPEG

Your signature three times, one below the other, in black ink on plain white unruled paper, scanned as one image and saved with the file name signature.

Besides the photo you upload, the Photo & Signature step of the form takes a live photo, and you can't submit without it. This tool doesn't make the live photo: see the live photo section below.

Runs in your browser: your photos and scans are never uploaded.

What UPSC asks for

Since UPSC moved to the Common Application Form on upsconline.nic.in, you upload your photo and signature once, in the form's Photo & Signature module, whichever exam you apply for. The Civil Services, CDS, NDA & NA and ESE notices give no KB figures in their main text and send you to the portal's instructions; CAPF 2026 repeats the same limits. The table sums those instructions up; under it are the portal's own words, including the on-screen note that says what “350 - 500 pixels” means.

UploadPixelsFile sizeFormatBackground
PhotographNot set20–200 KBJPG/JPEGPlain white; no dark background and no shadows
Triple signature350 × 350 to 500 × 500 px20–100 KBJPG/JPEGPlain 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 UPSC resizer

  1. Choose a recent colour photo for card 1, and a scan or straight phone photo of your three signatures for card 2.
  2. Zoom the photo until your face covers at least three quarters of the frame, centred, with both ears showing; tap Make the background white if the wall behind you isn't plain white. Frame the signature sheet so all three signatures fill the square, and tap Whiten the paper if it looks grey.
  3. When both checklists are green, download photo.jpg (20–200 KB) and signature.jpg (up to 500 × 500 px, 20–100 KB) and upload them under those names.

Example: a phone photo through the UPSC 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 20,480 to 200,000 bytes (20–200 KB), named photo.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.

Signing three times for UPSC

The triple signature replaced the single signature of the portal's older instructions. Sign your usual signature three times on plain white unruled paper, one below the other, in black ink, with a gap between each. The portal wants exactly three, upright and sharp, in one image. Its examples of signatures it turns away include three written side by side, blue or coloured ink, ruled or coloured paper, a blurred scan and a rotated one.

The portal file only says “Image dimensions: 350 - 500 pixels”; the form's note is clearer: “The height and width of signature image must be between 350 and 500 pixels”. Three signatures stacked one below the other come out roughly square, so the tool frames the signature as a square. A sharp phone photo comes out at 500 × 500 px, the largest the rule allows; a smaller scan keeps its own pixels, and one under 350 × 350 px is enlarged to that, with a warning in the checklist. If the file would be over 100 KB, it makes the square smaller, never below 350 × 350 px. The form's own check looks at the size, format and name rather than the pixels, but keeping inside 350–500 px follows the instructions.

The file names photo.jpg and signature.jpg

The form checks the file name as well as the size and type: the photo must be named photo and the signature signature, ending in .jpg or .jpeg. The tool downloads them under exactly those names. If your phone saves the second copy as photo (1).jpg because a file called photo.jpg is already in Downloads, rename it back before you upload. If you use a scribe, the same form takes the scribe's photo (scribe_photo.jpg, 20–200 KB, face at least 75%) and signature (scribe_signature.jpg, 20–100 KB, 350–500 px on both sides): make them here and rename the downloads.

One set of files for every UPSC exam

These notices all send you to the same Photo & Signature module, so one photo and one signature file work for each:

  • Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, Notice No. 05/2026-CSE, dated 4 February 2026
  • CAPF (ACs) Examination 2026, Notice No. 08/2026-CAPF, dated 20 February 2026
  • NDA & NA Examination (II) 2026, Notice No. 10/2026-NDA-II, dated 20 May 2026
  • Combined Defence Services Examination (II) 2026, Notice No. 11/2026-CDS-II, dated 20 May 2026
  • Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination 2027, Notice No. 02/2027-ENGG, dated 16 September 2026

The one difference on paper is ESE 2027: its appendix still says each file may be up to 300 KB. The portal enforces 200 KB for the photo and 100 KB for the signature, and a file inside those also meets the ESE wording, so the tool uses the portal limits. There are pages with their own notes for NDA and for CDS and AFCAT.

What changed from the old OTR portal

Up to CSE 2025, applications went through One Time Registration. The CSE 2025 notice (dated 22 January 2025) wanted your name and the date the photo was taken printed on the photo, a photo no more than 10 days old, and files of up to 300 KB. All three went with the move to the Common Application Form: the 2026-27 notices, the portal's files and the form's notes don't mention a name, a date or an age in days. The portal's only related line is “Photograph is NOT to be signed.”. If a guide still tells you to add a name strip, it is describing the old portal.

The live photo in the UPSC form

Besides the photo you upload, the Photo & Signature step of the form takes a live photo, and you can't submit without it. Capture from this device uses your webcam; Capture from Mobile shows a QR code that opens the camera on your phone. Use a well-lit room, look straight into the camera, and take off any cap, mask or dark glasses. The live photo is matched with your uploaded photo, and if they don't match you can't go further with the application. Your face is checked again at the exam venue.

“Capture of live photograph shall be mandatory for submission of the application for any examination”

Do the live capture in the same plain, bright spot where you took your uploaded photo, without a cap or dark glasses: the two photos are compared.

Why UPSC 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

UPSC sets no pixel size for the photo, so the tool keeps your crop, drawn at up to 2,400 pixels on its longest side, and saves it at the highest JPEG quality that stays under 200 KB. If even 60% quality is too big, it reduces the pixels, keeping the shape, and searches again. The signature starts at up to 500 × 500 px and goes through the same search; only if it can't get under 100 KB at a reasonable quality does the square shrink, down to 350 × 350 px at most. A file under 20 KB gets an invisible comment added until it reaches the minimum, and the picture isn't touched. The checklist is read from the finished file. For other forms, use the Passport Size Photo Maker or the Image Compressor.

Check before you apply

  • UPSC states no pixel size, cm size or DPI for the photo, and the form doesn't check the photo's pixels. The tool keeps your crop and fits the KB range; a pixel size quoted elsewhere for the UPSC photo isn't a UPSC rule.
  • The ESE 2027 notification (16 September 2026) still prints the old 20-300 KB for both files. The portal itself enforces 20-200 KB for the photo and 20-100 KB for the signature, which also meet the ESE text, so the tool uses those.
  • The 350-500 px rule for the signature is in the portal's instructions and the form's on-screen note, but the form's own check looks only at the file size, format and name. The tool keeps to it anyway.
  • The portal's instruction files have build codes in their web addresses that change when UPSC updates the site. If a link below stops working, open Instructions and FAQs > Instruction for filling the form > Photo & Signature on upsconline.nic.in.
  • Check again when the NDA & NA (I) 2027 and CDS (I) 2027 notices come out, usually in December.

Sources

Rules on this page and in the tool are as per the UPSC Instructions for Uploading the Photo & Signature (upsconline.nic.in) dated 4 February 2026; check the latest notice before you apply. We read the official sources below on 8 October 2026 (2026-27 Common Application Form on upsconline.nic.in: CSE 2026, CAPF (ACs) 2026, NDA & NA (II) 2026, CDS (II) 2026 and ESE 2027) and will check them again by 31 December 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the UPSC photo size in KB and pixels?

20–200 KB, as a JPG or JPEG named photo. UPSC states no pixel or cm size for the photo, and the form doesn't check its pixels, so a pixel size quoted elsewhere isn't a UPSC rule. What the portal does ask: your face covering at least 75% (3/4th) of the photo, a plain white background, and no signature on the photo.

What is the UPSC signature size?

One JPG or JPEG named signature with your signature three times, one below the other, in black ink on plain white unruled paper. The file must be 20–100 KB, and its width and its height must each be 350 to 500 pixels. The tool makes a square of up to 500 × 500 px, and never below 350 × 350 px.

Do I need my name and date on the UPSC photo in 2026?

No. The CSE 2025 notice, on the old OTR portal, asked for your name and the date the photo was taken on the photo, and a photo no more than 10 days old. None of the 2026-27 notices, the portal's Photo & Signature instructions or the form's notes keeps those rules; the portal only says the photograph is not to be signed.

The ESE 2027 notice says 300 KB. Which limit is right?

Use 20–200 KB for the photo and 20–100 KB for the signature. The ESE 2027 notice dated 16 September 2026 still prints the old 300 KB line, but the portal enforces the lower limits, and its FAQ says any deviation from the instructions stops the document from uploading. A file inside the portal limits also meets the ESE text.

Is the UPSC live photo the same as the photo I upload?

No, you need both. The uploaded photo is the file you make here; the live photo is taken inside the form with your webcam, or with your phone through a QR code. UPSC matches the two, and if they don't match you can't go further with the application.

Can I use the same photo and signature for CSE, CDS, NDA, CAPF and ESE?

Yes. All of them go through the one Common Application Form, and its Photo & Signature module takes your photo, live photo and signature for whichever exam you apply to. Read the notice for your exam anyway, in case a corrigendum changes something.

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