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Common fix · Photos

Compress a signature to 20 KB

By Updated How we write these

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What you’ll end up with

A clear signature image between 10 and 20 KB, in the JPG format the form accepts.

SSC exam forms (India): JPEG, 10 – 20 KB, about 6.0 × 2.0 cm

Signature. Checked 2026-09-28. Every limit we track.

Exam, bank and government forms ask for a signature image in a narrow band — often 10 to 20 KB — and reject anything outside it. A phone photo of a signature is 2–4 MB, so it needs shrinking by a factor of about 200, without the ink turning into a grey smudge.

The secret is to crop tightly first: a signature on a whole sheet of paper spends almost all its bytes on white paper. Cropped to just the ink, it reaches 20 KB at a quality that still looks crisp.

What to do

  1. Photograph it well

    Sign in black or dark blue ink on plain white paper. Photograph it straight on, in daylight, with no shadow from your phone falling across it.

  2. Crop tight to the signature

    Leave only a small margin around the ink. If the form gives exact pixels, use those. SSC’s 2026 notice asks for about 6.0 × 2.0 cm — a wide, three-to-one rectangle.

    Crop the signature

  3. Compress it into the 10–20 KB band

    In Compress Image, choose Exam forms → SSC signature · 10–20 KB. It saves a JPG and aims inside the band, so it isn’t rejected for being too small either.

    Compress to 10–20 KB

  4. Check it before you upload

    Check the result against the form’s rules — KB, format and pixels — so it goes through the first time.

    Check the file

Worth knowing

  • Every exam notification can set its own numbers. The limits shown here come from the upload limits page; your form’s own instructions win if they differ.

Questions

Why does the form reject my signature for being too small?

Some forms set a minimum as well as a maximum — 10 KB, say — to stop unreadable images. Aim for the middle of the band; the signature preset does that for you.

What about UPSC’s three signatures?

UPSC wants your signature three times, one below the other, on plain white paper in black ink, scanned as a single JPG of 20–100 KB and 350–500 pixels. Crop around all three together, then use UPSC signature · 20–100 KB in Compress Image.

Should the signature background be white?

Yes: plain white paper photographed in good light. A grey or shadowed background looks messy and wastes bytes. Don’t make it transparent — JPG can’t hold transparency, and forms expect a white background.

How do I compress a photo for the same form?

For SSC you don’t: the 2026 notices take your photo live with the camera during the application, and only the signature is uploaded. Forms that still ask for a photo file usually want 20–50 KB — use Exam photo · 20–50 KB. Get a photo under 200 KB covers other portals.

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