PAN Card Photo and Signature Size for Online Forms

Protean publishes two sets of limits (checked on 10 October 2026). The instructions for applications signed with a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) give these:

• Photograph: colour JPEG, 200 DPI, 3.5 cm high x 2.5 cm wide, maximum 20 KB.
• Signature: colour JPEG, 200 DPI, 2 cm high x 4.5 cm wide, maximum 10 KB.
• Supporting documents: black and white, 200 DPI, PDF/A or JPEG, maximum 300 KB per page.
• Protean's guide for applications signed with Aadhaar eSign allows up to 50 KB for each of the photo and signature, with supporting documents as a PDF of up to 300 KB.

Rather than working out which limit applies to you, prepare files that fit the strictest one: a photograph under 20 KB and a signature under 10 KB. Those pass the DSC route and the eSign route alike.

At 200 DPI, 3.5 x 2.5 cm is about 276 pixels high by 197 pixels wide, and 2 x 4.5 cm is about 157 pixels high by 354 pixels wide. Images that small compress easily under the limits.

1. 1

   Crop to a passport shape

   Open Crop Image, choose Freeform and draw a tall frame around your head and shoulders, roughly 5 wide by 7 tall, against a plain light background.

2. 2

   Resize to 197 x 276 pixels

   Open Resize Image, click the padlock between width and height to unlock the aspect ratio, and enter 197 x 276. Because the crop was already close to that shape, nothing looks stretched.

3. 3

   Get it under 20 KB

   Open Compress to 20 KB. It finds the highest JPG quality that stays under 20 KB; at 197 x 276 pixels that is usually around 70 to 85 percent, and the face stays sharp.

1. 1

   Sign on plain white paper

   Use a dark pen and sign inside an area about 4.5 cm wide and 2 cm high, the same shape as the box on the form.

2. 2

   Crop and resize to 354 x 157 pixels

   Crop around the signature with a little white margin in Crop Image, then unlock the padlock in Resize Image and set 354 x 157.

3. 3

   Get it under 10 KB

   Compress it with Compress Image. A clean signature on white paper is easy to bring under 10 KB without losing the strokes.

Proof of identity, address and date of birth go up as PDFs of up to 300 KB. Scan or photograph each document, crop it, resize it to about 1200 pixels wide and compress it to around 150 to 250 KB, then convert it with JPG to PDF. Protean asks for black and white scans for the DSC route; a clear greyscale image also keeps the file small.

If you apply using Aadhaar based e-KYC, the form may take your photo from Aadhaar records and ask for fewer uploads. Follow what the form actually asks for.

PAN applications involve your Aadhaar, date of birth and signature, which are exactly the files you should not hand to random online converters. Crop, Resize, Compress Image and JPG to PDF run in your browser, so nothing leaves your device until you upload it to the official PAN site.