BharatNotes Photograph: 350×350 px, 20–300 KB, JPG/JPEG, white background, face filling 75% of frame. Signature: 350×350 px, 20–100 KB, JPG/JPEG — three vertical signatures on a plain white sheet in black ink. UPSC accepts ONLY JPG/JPEG (no PNG, no PDF).
Photograph specifications
| Parameter | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 350 × 350 pixels |
| File size | 20 KB – 300 KB |
| Format | JPG / JPEG only |
| Background | Plain white or off-white |
| Face coverage | ~75% of frame |
| Age of photo | Recent (within 3 months — name + date written on it preferred) |
| What to avoid | Caps, sunglasses, masks, heavy shadows, group photos cropped |
Recent CSE 2026 spec note: UPSC's 2026 portal enforces 20–300 KB for the standard application photo; the OTR upload allows a slightly larger size up to 1000×1000 px (still 20–300 KB). The newer guideline introduced for CSE 2026 expects the candidate's name and date of photograph to appear at the bottom of the printed photograph — many studios know this convention.
Pro tip: Get the photo taken at a studio that does "government exam photo" packages — they shoot in front of a white screen and provide soft prints in correct dimensions. Cost: ₹100–200.
Signature specifications
| Parameter | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 350 × 350 pixels (some tools accept up to 500 px) |
| File size | 20 KB – 100 KB |
| Format | JPG / JPEG only |
| Background | Plain white sheet |
| Pen | Black ink only (gel or ballpoint) |
| Style | Three signatures stacked vertically (one below the other) with clear spacing |
Why three signatures? UPSC verifies your signature at the exam hall, at DAF stage, and at LBSNAA joining. If you sign differently each time, the scanner flags you. They want a sample of variation within your own hand. The triple-signature also helps the OMR optical scanner during Prelims attendance verification.
How to actually capture and resize
- Photograph — get studio prints; ask for a JPG soft copy as well, sized 350×350
- Signature — take a plain white A4 sheet, draw a faint pencil rectangle (8 cm × 8 cm), sign 3 times inside it with black gel pen, scan at 300 DPI
- Resize to UPSC dimensions — use any standard tool (Photoshop, GIMP, online resizers like resizer.exammint.in or fatafatresize.in); save as JPG at 80–90% quality so size stays in range
- Test the upload — UPSC portal rejects files even 1 KB out of range, often with a vague "Upload failed" error
File-spec rejection examples
| Issue | What happens |
|---|---|
File is signature.png renamed to .jpg | Header still says PNG; UPSC rejects |
| Photo is 351×349 px | Dimension mismatch; rejected |
| Photo is 19 KB or 305 KB | Size out of range; rejected |
| Signature in blue ink | Visually accepted but flagged at hall verification |
| Selfie photo with phone filter | Auto-rejected by quality check |
Worked scenario — a candidate fixing photo errors at 11 PM
Vikram tries to upload his Prelims photo at 11 PM on closing day. The portal rejects three times:
- Attempt 1: His phone photo is 4032×3024 px, 4.8 MB. Rejected (dimension + size).
- Attempt 2: He crops to square in WhatsApp and re-uploads. Now 1080×1080 px, 250 KB. Still rejected (dimension).
- Attempt 3: Uses padhai.ai resizer to 350×350, 180 KB JPG. Accepted.
Lesson: do this on Day 1, not midnight Day 20.
What NOT to do
- Don't upload PNG and rename to .jpg — the file header still says PNG; system rejects
- Don't use Instagram or selfie photos with filters
- Don't sign in capital letters / block letters — UPSC wants your natural signature
- Don't crop a group photo — even if you're alone in the cropped frame, lighting gives it away
- Don't use the same photograph from 5 years ago — face must look like you on exam day
Signature consistency rule
The signature you upload here is the signature you must use on every UPSC document forever — Prelims attendance sheet, Mains answer booklets, DAF, interview, joining at LBSNAA. Pick one signature style and stick to it. Many candidates have faced verification headaches because they signed casually on the Prelims OMR but more formally on the Mains booklet.
Topper insight — Ishita Kishore (AIR 1, CSE 2022)
Ishita, who came from a Delhi University commerce background, emphasised in her Vajirao & Reddy mock interview that she practiced her exam signature on a separate notebook before applying — "so that the muscle memory matched the JPG I uploaded." Small detail, but it eliminated one verification flag.
Mentor's final reminder
UPSC does not auto-resize. The portal will simply reject anything out of spec, often with a vague "Upload failed" message at midnight on the last day. Get this right on Day 1 and forget about it.
