PAN Card Photo and Signature Size: Resize Free

For an online PAN application or correction through Protean (formerly NSDL), the photo is 3.5 cm high × 2.5 cm wide and the signature 2 cm high × 4.5 cm wide, both as JPG files at 200 DPI. At 200 DPI that's about 197 × 276 pixels for the photo and 354 × 157 pixels for the signature. You can resize both with the free image resizer, then check the KB. Nothing is uploaded to us.

The KB limit is where people get stuck, because Protean's own pages don't all agree. Here is what each says, so you can aim for a size that passes either way.

PAN card photo and signature size: what the official pages say

As per Protean's PAN instructions, checked in October 2026:

	Photograph	Signature
Size on paper	3.5 cm (H) × 2.5 cm (W)	2 cm (H) × 4.5 cm (W)
Pixels at 200 DPI	about 197 × 276 (W × H)	about 354 × 157 (W × H)
Format	JPG	JPG
Colour	Colour	Colour
File size, PAN reprint/update page	up to 50 KB	up to 50 KB
File size, online application (DSC) guidelines	up to 20 KB	up to 10 KB

Protean's "PAN Reprint / PAN Update" page says 50 KB for each file, with the DPI "lesser than 200". Its older guidelines for applying with a digital signature say 20 KB for the photo and 10 KB for the signature. Supporting documents are a separate upload: up to 300 KB per page.

The safe move is to meet the stricter numbers: photo under 20 KB, signature under 10 KB, at the pixel sizes above. A file that passes the tighter rule passes the looser one too.

UTIITSL applications work differently. As per UTIITSL's online PAN guidelines page, you print the form and affix "two (same) photographs of 4.5cms X 3.5cms size", then sign across the photo and in the box on page 2. That's a printed passport-style photo, not an upload. If your route on UTIITSL does ask for scans, use the limits shown on that screen.

Rules change, so follow the instructions on the screen where you upload over anything here.

Step 1: Crop the photo to the PAN shape

A PAN photo is 2.5 wide by 3.5 high, a ratio of 5:7, narrower than the 35 × 45 mm passport shape, so skip the cropper's Passport preset.

1. Open the free image cropper and choose your photo.
2. Leave the shape on Free.
3. Under the picture, type a Width (px) and a Height (px) in the ratio 5:7, such as 500 and 700 for a phone photo. Then drag the box so your face and the top of your shoulders sit in the middle.
4. Save as JPG and click Crop image.

Use a photo with a plain light background, facing the camera, with your full face visible. If yours has a busy background, retaking it against a plain wall is the easy fix.

Step 2: Resize to the PAN pixel size

1. Open the free image resizer and choose the cropped photo.
2. Leave Resize by on Pixels and keep Lock proportions on.
3. Type 197 in Width (px). The height follows at about 276 if your crop was 5:7.
4. Under Save as, pick JPG, then click Resize image.
5. Check the size shown next to the download button, then click Download image.

The resizer saves JPG at high quality, so even a photo this small can come out above 20 KB if the background is busy or the light is uneven. If it's over the limit, go to the next step.

Step 3: Bring the KB under the limit

Open the free image compressor, drop in the resized photo, choose JPG, and start with the quality slider at 80%. The new size appears next to the image. Lower the quality in steps of 10 until the photo is under 20 KB (or under 50 KB if your screen says 50). At this small pixel size, 60-80% quality still looks clean. Our guide on compressing an image to 20 KB goes deeper.

The signature, step by step

1. Sign in black ink on plain white paper, and photograph it flat in daylight with no shadow from your phone.
2. Crop tightly around the ink in the free image cropper, keeping the shape wide: 4.5 by 2 is a ratio of 9:4, such as 900 × 400 px.
3. Resize to 354 wide in the resizer. The height follows at about 157.
4. Save as JPG. A clean signature at this size is often under 10 KB already. If not, compress it at 70%.

Our guide on resizing a signature for online forms has more tips on getting a crisp, clean signature.

A note on DPI

The PAN pages talk about 200 DPI. The pixel numbers above are worked out from the centimetres at 200 DPI (centimetres ÷ 2.54 × 200): a 197 × 276 pixel photo printed at 200 DPI comes out at 2.5 × 3.5 cm.

Our resizer sets the pixel size and doesn't write a DPI value into the file. If a portal ever complains about DPI specifically, our guide to changing an image's DPI explains what to do, and what DPI is covers the background.

Common reasons a PAN upload is refused

• Wrong format. The portal wants .jpg. A PNG won't go through; save it as JPG in the resizer. An iPhone HEIC photo may not open in the resizer, so set the iPhone camera to Most Compatible (JPG) before taking it, or convert it with our HEIC to JPG converter, a pro tool you can try free with a free account on 1 photo.
• Too many KB. Usually a full-size phone photo. Resize first, then compress. For more causes, see exam form photo mistakes.

Resize your PAN photo now

Crop, then set the width to 197 px (photo) or 354 px (signature) in the free image resizer, save as JPG, and check the KB. It's free, needs no sign-up, and your photo never leaves your device.