Exam photo and signature size chart (2026)
Every exam portal checks your photo and signature against its own pixel and file-size limits, and a mismatch is one of the most common reasons an application gets stuck. Here are the specs SnapFit's presets use, side by side — followed by the mistakes that get photos rejected and how to take one at home that passes first time.
| Exam | Photo | Photo file | Signature | Signature file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEET, JEE Main & CUET | 200×230 px | 10–200 KB | 200×100 px | 4–30 KB |
| UGC NET | 200×230 px | 10–100 KB | 200×100 px | 4–30 KB |
| MPSC & UPPSC | 200×230 px | 10–50 KB | 200×100 px | 10–50 KB |
| SSC, IBPS & CTET | 200×230 px | 20–50 KB | 200×80 px | 10–20 KB |
| GATE | 240×320 px | 5–200 KB | 200×100 px | 4–200 KB |
| CAT | 100×130 px | 10–50 KB | 150×75 px | 10–50 KB |
| UPSC CSE | 350×350 px | 20–300 KB | 200×100 px | 10–100 KB |
| BPSC | 215×265 px | 10–50 KB | 200×100 px | 10–50 KB |
| TNPSC | 150×200 px | 10–40 KB | 200×80 px | 10–40 KB |
| RRB & NTPC | 130×160 px | 15–40 KB | 140×60 px | 10–40 KB |
| NDA, CDS & AFCAT | 200×240 px | 10–50 KB | 200×100 px | 10–50 KB |
| Passport | 413×531 px | 20–100 KB | — | — |
| US Visa | 600×600 px | 100–240 KB | — | — |
All photos and signatures are uploaded as JPEG (.jpg). Click an exam for its full guide and a one-click preset.
How to read this chart
Pixels (px) are the image's width × height. KB is the file size after it is saved as a JPEG. Portals usually check both, so a photo with the right dimensions can still be rejected for being too large — or too small, because most forms also set a minimum file size. A photo of 5 KB on a form that asks for 10–50 KB fails just as surely as one of 80 KB.
Several exams share one spec. NEET, JEE Main and CUET (all conducted by NTA) use the same limits, and so do SSC, IBPS, SBI, RBI, LIC and CTET — which is why they share a preset in SnapFit.
Why exam photos get rejected
- Wrong dimensions or file size. The most common problem and the easiest to fix. A photo straight from a phone is typically 3000+ px wide and several MB, far beyond any exam limit.
- Background that isn't plain and light. Patterned walls, doors, curtains or a dark shadow behind the head. Most exams want plain white or a very light colour.
- Face too small or cut off. Notifications typically ask for the face to fill most of the frame — roughly 70–80% — with the full face, both ears and the top of the shoulders visible. A full-body or half-body shot cropped down will look tiny.
- Caps, dark glasses or face coverings. These are not accepted; religious headwear is generally allowed as long as the face is fully visible. If you wear spectacles, avoid glare on the lenses.
- Blurry, dark or filtered photos. Beauty filters, portrait-mode blur, low light and heavy compression artefacts can all lead to rejection — or to trouble at the exam centre when staff compare the photo with your face.
- An old photo. Several exams require a recent photograph; UPSC, for example, has in recent cycles asked for a photo no more than 10 days old with your name and the date printed on it. Your notification has the current rule.
- Photo and signature mixed up. Uploading the signature in the photo field (or the reverse) happens more often than you'd think when the two files have similar names. Name them clearly before you start.
How to take an exam photo at home
- Stand about a metre in front of a plain white or light wall, facing a window so daylight falls evenly on your face. Avoid a single overhead bulb — it throws shadows under the eyes.
- Ask someone to take the photo at eye level with the phone's rear camera, held straight rather than tilted. The rear camera is sharper than the selfie camera and avoids the stretched look of an arm's-length shot.
- Look straight at the lens with a neutral expression and mouth closed. Keep your head and the top of your shoulders in frame, and turn off beauty mode and filters.
- Take a few shots and keep the sharpest one. Then open SnapFit, pick your exam, and it crops to the exact pixels, cleans the background to white and compresses within the KB range — all on your device.
Signature tips
- Sign on plain white paper with a black or dark-blue pen. A slightly thicker nib scans much more cleanly than a fine ballpoint.
- Sign in your normal running hand. Some exams — IBPS among them — do not accept a signature written in capital letters.
- Photograph it straight-on in good light, then crop close around the signature so it fills the frame.
- Use the same signature you will sign at the exam centre; invigilators compare the two.
The signature resizer has the per-exam signature sizes and a one-click mode for each.
Always check the official notification
Requirements can change from one exam cycle to the next. The numbers above are the ones SnapFit's presets use, and they're updated as new notifications come out — but the notification for your exam is the final word. If a number here doesn't match your notification, let us know and we'll fix the preset.