How to compress a photo to 20 KB for an exam form

A phone photo is usually 3 to 10 MB. Most exam application forms in India want it between 20 KB and 50 KB, at an exact pixel size, as a JPG. Getting it wrong in either direction is a common reason for an upload being refused: too large, too small, or the wrong shape.

This guide shows how to get all four things right — file size, minimum size, pixel size and format — in one step, for the photo and for the signature, thumb impression and declaration that bank forms also ask for.

1. Check what your form asks for

Open the official notification for your exam and find the section on uploading the photograph and signature (often called “How to apply” or “Guidelines for scanning”). Note down four things:

• File size: both the maximum and the minimum, for example 20 KB to 50 KB.
• Pixel size: width × height, for example 200 × 230 pixels. Some forms give only centimetres.
• Format: almost always JPG (also written JPEG).
• Photo rules: background colour, how recent the photo must be, and whether glasses or a cap are allowed.

Requirements for common exams

2. Start with a good photo

Compression keeps whatever is in the photo, so the result is only as good as what you start with.

• Stand in front of a plain white or light wall, facing a window for even daylight on your face.
• Hold the phone upright (portrait). Passport-style photos are taller than they are wide.
• Keep your head and the tops of your shoulders in frame, with a little space above your head.
• No filters or beauty modes. Many forms reject edited photos.
• Use the original from your camera or gallery, not a copy that came through WhatsApp. That copy has already been compressed once and will look worse at 20 KB.

3. Compress it to the right size

1. Open Compress Image.
2. Under Target size, tap the form’s maximum (for example 50 KB), or type it into the box.
3. Tap More options. Set Minimum KB if the form gives a minimum, and enter the Width (px) and Height (px) it asks for. Leave the format on JPG and DPI on 200 unless the form says otherwise.
4. Choose your photo. iPhone HEIC photos work too and are saved as JPG.
5. Tap Compress. Check the new file size shown, and compare it with the original to make sure your face is clear.
6. Download the photo and upload it to the form.

When you enter both width and height, the photo is trimmed evenly from the edges to that shape — it is never stretched. If your photo has a lot of space on one side, crop it roughly first so your face stays in the centre.

Settings for a bank exam form

For the common IBPS-style requirements, these are the values to enter:

The minimum is set slightly above the form’s figure on purpose. Some portals count 1 KB as 1,024 bytes, and the small margin means the file passes either way.

4. Your signature, thumb impression and declaration

These are compressed the same way. Getting a clean original matters most. For the signature in detail, with settings for SSC, RRB and UPSC too, see how to resize a signature to 10–20 KB.

• Signature: sign on plain white paper with a black ink pen, a little larger than usual. Photograph it from directly above in good light, so the phone casts no shadow on the page.
• Thumb impression: press your left thumb on a blue or black ink pad and then on white paper. Photograph it close up, from directly above.
• Handwritten declaration: copy the exact wording from the notification in your own handwriting on white paper, in the language the notification asks for (English for IBPS). Photograph the whole page, keeping the edges straight.

Signatures and thumb impressions are mostly white paper, so they reach small sizes easily and stay sharp. If the paper looks grey in the photo, retake it in better light. The tool compresses what it is given; it does not whiten the background.

If the portal rejects your file

• “File size is too small” or below the minimum. Set Minimum KB under More options, a little above the form’s figure. If the tool says the photo can’t reach the minimum, start again from the original camera photo rather than an already-compressed copy.
• The tool says the photo is still over the limit. The photo has too many pixels for that KB size. Enter the form’s width and height (or a smaller pixel size if the form allows any) and compress again.
• “Invalid dimensions.” Enter the exact width and height in pixels. If the form allows a range, any size inside it is fine.
• “Invalid file type.” Make sure the format under More options is JPG. Do not upload an iPhone HEIC photo directly; run it through the tool first and it comes out as JPG.
• The photo looks blurry. Crop closer to your face before compressing, and use the original photo. At 200 × 230 pixels, 20–50 KB is enough for a clear face.
• There is no upload button for the photo. Some forms, including SSC’s, now take the photo live with your phone or computer camera. Follow the on-screen steps; there is nothing to compress.

Why it matters where you resize it

Your photo, signature and thumb impression together are most of what someone would need to impersonate you on paper. Many online resizers upload them to a server to process them, and you can’t see what happens to them there.

Velprio’s Compress Image does the work in your browser, on your own phone or computer, so the files are never sent anywhere. You don’t have to take our word for it: the Security page explains how to check it in your own browser.

Need to send the documents as one PDF instead? Image to PDF combines your photos into a single file, also without uploading them.