Indian Document Photo Sizes — Passport, PAN, Aadhaar, and More

Every Indian government form, exam portal, and KYC flow asks for a passport-size photo, and somehow every one of them wants the photo at a slightly different pixel size, file size, or aspect ratio. Upload a photo that is a few kilobytes too large and the portal rejects it. Upload one that is too small and it gets pixellated. Use the wrong background and the application gets returned.

This guide collects the actual photo specifications for the most commonly requested Indian documents — passport, PAN, Aadhaar, voter ID, driving licence, and the major competitive exams — and walks through how to hit each one in under a minute using our free Image Resizer.

A standing caveat: portals occasionally tweak their specs without notice. Always cross-check against the official instruction page for the form you are filling. The values below are the current published specs at the time of writing.

What “passport size” actually means

The traditional Indian passport-size photo is 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm (35 mm × 45 mm) printed on glossy photo paper. At a standard 300 DPI print resolution, that maps to roughly 413 × 531 pixels. This is the dimension every neighbourhood photo studio prints by default when you ask for “passport size”.

Online forms have moved on from physical prints to digital uploads, and each portal now publishes its own pixel and file-size specs. The 35 × 45 mm aspect ratio is still common, but the exact pixel count and KB ceiling vary.

Passport application (Passport Seva, MEA)

The Indian passport application via passportindia.gov.in uses a digital photo upload at the time of online form submission, plus two physical passport-size prints carried to the appointment.

For the online upload:

• Format: JPEG
• Dimensions: minimum 350 × 350 pixels, maximum 1000 × 1000 pixels (square)
• File size: 10 KB to 1 MB
• Background: plain white
• Composition: full face, front view, eyes open, no smiling teeth, no sunglasses, no cap, no shadows
• Recent — taken within the last 6 months

For the physical prints (carried to the appointment):

• Size: 35 × 45 mm, glossy or matte
• Same composition and background rules
• Two copies

If you only have a phone selfie, resize it to anywhere between 500 × 500 and 800 × 800 pixels and aim for around 100 KB. That sits comfortably inside the portal’s accepted range.

PAN card application (Protean / NSDL / UTIITSL)

PAN applications come in two flavours: paperless via Aadhaar e-KYC (where the photo is pulled from the Aadhaar database — you upload nothing), and physical application or e-PAN with photo upload.

For the physical/upload route:

• Format: JPEG
• Dimensions: 213 × 213 pixels (recommended) at 200 DPI — printed at 25 mm × 35 mm
• File size: maximum 50 KB
• Background: plain white preferred
• The applicant signs across the photo when affixing it to a physical form

The PAN photo is smaller than the passport size — 25 × 35 mm versus 35 × 45 mm. Many people use the same photo for both, which works as long as you resize correctly. The PAN photo at 213 × 213 pixels is approximately a 1:1 crop of the upper face from a passport-size photo.

Aadhaar enrolment and updates

For fresh Aadhaar enrolment, the photograph is captured at the enrolment centre. You do not upload one.

For Aadhaar updates, photo changes can only be made in person at an enrolment centre — there is no online photo update flow.

For Bal Aadhaar (child Aadhaar, under 5 years), and for forms downstream of Aadhaar that require a digital photograph:

• Format: JPEG
• Dimensions: typically 3.5 × 4.5 cm scaled to 413 × 531 pixels
• File size: maximum 100 KB
• Background: white or off-white
• Color photo, front-facing, recent

The UIDAI’s published photo standards are deliberately conservative — small file size, modest resolution — because the database serves over a billion records.

Voter ID (EPIC)

Voter ID registration via the Election Commission’s National Voters’ Service Portal (NVSP) and the new Voter Helpline app accepts a digital photo upload as part of Form 6.

• Format: JPG / JPEG
• Dimensions: minimum 200 × 230 pixels
• File size: maximum 2 MB
• Background: plain white or light coloured
• Color preferred, recent

Voter ID is more lenient than passport or PAN on dimensions and file size. A 600 × 800 px photo at ~150 KB sails through.

Driving licence (Parivahan)

Most state RTOs capture the licence photo in person at the testing centre. A small number of online learner’s-licence flows ask for an upload at the time of slot booking.

• Format: JPEG
• Dimensions: 300 × 300 pixels to 640 × 480 pixels (varies by state)
• File size: 5 KB to 200 KB
• Background: white or light
• Recent, clear, no headwear

State portals (Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi) all run on the central Parivahan stack but each shows slightly different bounds at the upload step. When in doubt, target 600 × 600 pixels at ~80 KB.

Competitive exam forms (SSC, UPSC, IBPS, RRB, NEET, JEE)

This is where photo specs get strict and varied. Every commission and conducting body publishes its own bounds and the upload box typically rejects anything outside the range without a clear error message.

SSC (Staff Selection Commission) — for CGL, CHSL, MTS, and CPO:

• Photo: JPEG, 3.5 × 4.5 cm at 20 KB to 50 KB, white background
• Signature: JPEG, 4 × 2 cm at 10 KB to 20 KB, on white paper

UPSC (Civil Services, CDS, NDA, IES, CMS):

• Photo: JPG, 3 KB to 40 KB, dimensions roughly 350 × 350 px, white background
• Signature: JPG, 1 KB to 40 KB, dimensions roughly 350 × 350 px

IBPS (PO, Clerk, SO, RRB):

• Photo: JPEG, 20 KB to 50 KB, 200 × 230 px recommended
• Signature: JPEG, 10 KB to 20 KB, 140 × 60 px

Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) — Group D, NTPC, ALP:

• Photo: JPEG, 20 KB to 50 KB, recent passport-size, 35 × 45 mm
• Signature: JPEG, 10 KB to 20 KB

NEET / JEE Main / JEE Advanced:

• Photo: JPG/JPEG, 10 KB to 200 KB, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, white/light background
• Signature: JPG/JPEG, 4 KB to 30 KB

Always read the current year’s information bulletin — the bounds shift slightly year to year and a 1 KB overshoot will fail the upload.

Indian visa photo (for foreign nationals applying to India)

Worth listing for completeness — applicants for Indian visas via the e-Visa or VFS Global portals need:

• Format: JPEG
• Dimensions: 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), square
• File size: 10 KB to 1 MB
• Background: plain white (this is strict — off-white fails)
• Face occupying 50% to 69% of the frame

Square photo, not rectangular. Crop accordingly.

How to resize for any of these in under a minute

The Image Resizer on TheToolBus handles every spec above without signup, without watermarking, and without uploading your photo to any server — everything runs in your browser.

The flow:

1. Open the Image Resizer.
2. Drop your photo onto the upload area (or click to choose).
3. Enter the target pixel dimensions for the document you are applying for (use the table below for the most common values).
4. Lock or unlock the aspect ratio. For passport-size photos at 35 × 45 mm, keep aspect lock on and enter the long side; for square-only formats like Indian visa, set both dimensions equal.
5. Pick the output format — JPEG for almost every Indian government form.
6. The tool resizes in real time. Adjust the quality slider down if you need to hit a small file-size ceiling like SSC’s 20–50 KB window.
7. Download.

Because the resize happens client-side, the original photo never leaves your device. That matters for ID photos — you do not want a high-resolution face shot ending up on someone’s server.

Quick reference table

Document	Pixel size	File size	Format	Background
Passport (online upload)	350×350 to 1000×1000	10 KB – 1 MB	JPEG	White
Passport (physical print)	413×531 (35×45 mm)	—	Print	White
PAN card	213×213 (25×35 mm)	≤50 KB	JPEG	White
Aadhaar (downstream forms)	413×531 (35×45 mm)	≤100 KB	JPEG	White
Voter ID	≥200×230	≤2 MB	JPEG	Light/white
Driving licence	600×600	5–200 KB	JPEG	Light/white
SSC photo	413×531 (35×45 mm)	20–50 KB	JPEG	White
SSC signature	4×2 cm	10–20 KB	JPEG	White
UPSC photo	~350×350	3–40 KB	JPG	White
IBPS photo	200×230	20–50 KB	JPEG	White
RRB photo	35×45 mm	20–50 KB	JPEG	White
NEET/JEE photo	413×531 (35×45 mm)	10–200 KB	JPG	White/light
Indian visa (foreigner)	51×51 mm (square)	10 KB – 1 MB	JPEG	White

Tips for getting accepted on the first try

• Take the photo in daylight near a white wall. Phone front cameras struggle with indoor tungsten lighting and the resulting yellow cast trips automated background checks.
• No accessories. Glasses without glare are usually fine; cosmetic accessories, hats, scarves, and heavy filters are not.
• Neutral expression. Mouth closed or barely open. No teeth-baring smile for passport, PAN, or Aadhaar photos.
• Crop tight to the shoulders. Most form rejections come from too much background space. The face should occupy 50–70% of the frame vertically.
• Match the file size by adjusting JPEG quality, not by re-cropping. Our Image Resizer has a quality slider that adjusts JPEG compression in real time so you can land inside a tight KB window without distorting the photo.
• Keep the original. Resize a copy. You will probably need the same photo at three different sizes across forms, exam portals, and KYC flows.

When you also need the signature scanned

Most competitive exam portals ask for both a photo and a signature image, with separate KB and dimension bounds. Sign on plain white A4 with a black or blue ballpoint pen, take a clear photo or scan, and resize:

• Crop tight to the signature.
• Resize to the specified dimensions (typically around 140 × 60 px or 4 × 2 cm).
• Save as JPEG.
• Use the quality slider to hit the file-size window — signatures compress aggressively, so quality 60–70 usually lands you well under 20 KB.

The Image Resizer handles signatures the same way it handles photos. Drop the file in, set the dimensions and quality, download.

When something gets rejected anyway

Three rejection causes to check before everything else:

1. Wrong file type. PNG instead of JPEG is the most common. Re-export.
2. Background is too light grey instead of white. Set the output to slightly higher exposure, or take a fresh photo against a brighter wall.
3. Dimensions are correct in mm but wrong in pixels because the upload portal reads pixels, not physical size. Use the pixel column from the table above, not the mm one.

If a portal lets you preview the upload before submitting, use it. Most rejections happen at the verification stage — a week later — when re-submission means starting the form over.

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Need to resize a photo right now? Open the Image Resizer — free, no signup, no upload, no watermark.