NSDL (onlineservices.nsdl.com) requires your PAN card passport photo to be a JPEG file under 50 KB and your signature to be a JPEG file under 20 KB, both with a white background. These sizes match what UTI requires — both agencies follow Income Tax Department specifications.
NSDL PAN Card Photo and Signature Size: Quick Reference
| Document | File Format | Max Size | Dimensions | Background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passport photo | JPEG / JPG | 50 KB | 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm | White |
| Signature | JPEG / JPG | 20 KB | — | White |
| Proof of identity / address (supporting doc) | 300 KB | — | — |
Passport Photo Requirements in Detail
The photo must show your face clearly against a plain white background. Coloured backgrounds, studio gradients, or outdoor backgrounds are not accepted. The photo must be taken recently — NSDL recommends within the last 6 months.
Spectacles are not permitted in the photo as of the 2024 PAN application guidelines. Head coverings are accepted only for religious reasons, provided they do not obscure your face.
The photo must be in colour. Black-and-white photos are rejected. Colour mode must be RGB — not CMYK. A photo taken on any smartphone is always RGB. CMYK only happens if you edit the photo in Photoshop or Illustrator and save it incorrectly.
Signature Requirements in Detail
Your signature must be on plain white paper using black or dark blue ink. Sign with a ballpoint pen, not a gel pen — gel ink tends to bleed at the edges and can produce an oversized, blocky signature image after scanning.
The background of the scanned or photographed signature must be white. Ruled paper lines, cream-tinted paper, and coloured paper all cause rejection. If your normal writing paper is off-white, use a fresh A4 printing sheet instead.
Photograph the signature in natural light with your phone camera directly above the sheet. Avoid shadows across the signature. The file must then be compressed to under 20 KB in JPEG format — a direct photo from your camera will be several hundred KB, so compression is always required.
How to Resize Your Photo and Signature for NSDL
Use the free NSDL PAN card photo resizer at pancardphotoresizer.in. The tool runs entirely in your browser — your photo is never uploaded to any server.
For the passport photo:
- Open pancardphotoresizer.in and select NSDL.
- Upload your photo (JPG, PNG accepted — the tool converts to JPEG automatically).
- Use the crop overlay to set the 3.5 × 4.5 cm portrait ratio with your face centred.
- Download the file. It will be under 50 KB and ready to upload to NSDL.
For the signature:
- Switch to the Signature tab on the same tool.
- Upload a photo of your signature on white paper.
- Download the compressed JPEG — the tool targets under 20 KB.
What Happens If You Upload the Wrong Size
NSDL’s portal validates files in a specific order: format first, then dimensions, then file size. This ordering matters because it explains why the error message you see is often misleading.
If your photo is a PNG file renamed to .jpg, the portal will show a format error — not a size error. If your photo is the right format but wrong orientation (landscape), it will show a dimension or generic upload error — not a size error. Only if the format and dimensions are both correct will you see a “file too large” error specifically about KB size.
The practical implication: when the NSDL portal rejects your upload, do not only compress the file. Check format and orientation first. The PAN card photo resizer corrects all three in one step — it converts to JPEG, enforces portrait orientation, and compresses to the right KB — which is why running the file through the tool always solves the upload issue regardless of the root cause.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NSDL PAN card photo size in pixels?
NSDL specifies the physical dimension as 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm (passport size), not a pixel count. The required pixel dimensions depend on the DPI of your photo. A 200 DPI photo at that size is approximately 276 × 354 pixels. You do not need to target a specific pixel count — the portal checks the file size in KB and the aspect ratio, not the raw pixel dimensions.
Can I use the same photo for both NSDL and UTI?
Yes. Both NSDL (onlineservices.nsdl.com) and UTI (utiitsl.com) use identical photo and signature requirements — JPEG, under 50 KB for the photo, under 20 KB for the signature, white background, passport dimensions. A file that passes NSDL will pass UTI without any changes.
My NSDL application says “image too large” — what do I do?
Upload your current photo to pancardphotoresizer.in, select NSDL, crop and download. The output will be under 50 KB. If the error persists after uploading the resized file, check that the file is actually a JPEG (not PNG renamed to .jpg) and that it is in portrait orientation.
Is a scanned photo acceptable for NSDL PAN card?
Yes, a scanned photo is acceptable provided it meets the format and size requirements: JPEG, under 50 KB, white background, passport proportions. Scan at 200–300 DPI, then compress using the resizer tool before uploading. Flatbed scanner output is often 1–5 MB and must always be compressed.
Does the NSDL photo need a specific DPI?
No. NSDL’s upload requirements specify format (JPEG), maximum file size (50 KB), and physical print dimensions (3.5 × 4.5 cm) — not DPI. DPI is a print-time setting embedded in the file metadata. The portal ignores it. What matters is that the file is under 50 KB and the crop is close to passport proportions.
Resize each upload with the matching free tool: the photo resizer for the 50 KB photograph, the signature resizer for the 20 KB signature, and the document resizer for supporting documents.
