GATE Photo and Signature Size, Pixels and Ratio

From the photograph and signature page of the GATE 2026 website run by IIT Guwahati (checked on 10 October 2026). Coverage of GATE 2027 registration reports the same limits; always confirm on the official site for your year.

• Photograph: good quality colour passport size photo (3.5 cm wide x 4.5 cm high), plain white background, no other objects or people, face covering 60 to 70 percent of the photo after cropping.
• Photograph format: JPEG or JPG, aspect ratio (width divided by height) between 0.66 and 0.89.
• Photograph pixels: at least 200 x 260 and at most 530 x 690. File size: 5 KB to 600 KB.
• Signature: black or dark blue ink only, covering 70 to 80 percent of the image after cropping.
• Signature format: JPEG or JPG, height to width ratio of 1 : R, where R is between 2.75 and 3.75.
• Signature pixels: at least 250 x 80 and at most 580 x 180. File size: 3 KB to 300 KB.

For the photo, a ratio of 0.66 to 0.89 means it must be a portrait shape, taller than it is wide, but not too thin. The passport shape of 3.5 x 4.5 cm has a ratio of about 0.78, right in the middle, so 350 x 450 pixels is an easy, safe size. A square photo (ratio 1.0) or a thin 9:16 phone shot fails.

For the signature, R between 2.75 and 3.75 means the image must be about three times as wide as it is tall. A size of 480 x 160 pixels (R = 3) is safe. A signature scanned with lots of white space above and below often fails because the image is too tall.

1. 1

   Start with a clear photo on white

   Stand in front of a plain white wall in even light. Convert iPhone HEIC photos with HEIC to JPG if needed.

2. 2

   Crop to a portrait with a big face

   In Crop Image, use Freeform and crop from a little above your hair to just below your shoulders, so your face fills 60 to 70 percent of the frame.

3. 3

   Resize to 350 x 450 pixels

   Open Resize Image, click the padlock between width and height to unlock the aspect ratio and enter 350 x 450. That gives a ratio of 0.78 and stays inside the pixel limits.

4. 4

   Check the size

   Open Compress Image with JPG output. At 85 to 90 percent quality the file lands comfortably inside 5 to 600 KB.

1. 1

   Sign on white paper

   Use a black or dark blue pen, sign in your usual style (not capital letters or initials only), and scan or photograph the paper in good light.

2. 2

   Crop tightly

   In Crop Image, use Freeform and crop close around the signature so the ink covers 70 to 80 percent of the image, roughly three times as wide as tall.

3. 3

   Resize to 480 x 160 pixels

   Unlock the padlock in Resize Image and enter 480 x 160. That is R = 3, safely between 2.75 and 3.75, and within 250 x 80 to 580 x 180.

4. 4

   Save as JPG

   Run it through Compress Image with JPG output; the result is usually well under 20 KB, inside the 3 to 300 KB range.

Defective photos and signatures can usually be re-uploaded during the correction window announced on the official GATE site. Check the ratio first: in most rejected files the KB size was fine but the shape was wrong.