Almost every exam, bank and government application that wants a photo also wants a signature — as a separate image, within a tiny file-size limit. The good news: a signature is a simple high-contrast line image, so hitting even a 5KB limit while staying perfectly legible is easy once you scan it correctly. Here's how.
Start with a clean scan
Sign in black ink on plain white paper, then scan (at ~200 DPI or more) or photograph it in good, even light. Crop tightly around the signature so there's little empty space. High contrast — dark ink on white paper — is exactly what lets a signature compress to a few kilobytes without turning grey or breaking up.
Common limits by form
| Form | File size | Typical dimensions |
|---|---|---|
| UPSC / SSC / IBPS / SBI exams | 10–20 KB | ≈ 140×60 px |
| PAN card (NSDL/Protean) | under 20 KB | 354×157 px |
| PAN card (UTIITSL) | under 20 KB | 400×200 px |
| Strict bank / portal forms | 5–10 KB | varies |
Resize to the exact limit
Pick the tool that matches your form — Signature Resize to 20KB, to 10KB, or to 5KB — and it fits your signature on a clean white background and compresses it under the limit. Files are processed in your browser and never stored.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the usual signature size for online forms?
- Most exam and bank forms want a JPG signature of 10–20KB, often around 140×60 pixels, signed in black ink on white paper. PAN portals use larger pixel dimensions (354×157 for NSDL).
- How do I get my signature under 5KB without it breaking up?
- Scan a high-contrast signature (black ink, white paper), crop it tightly, then use a 5KB signature tool. The cleaner and higher-contrast the scan, the smaller it compresses while staying legible.
- Can I use the same signature image for every form?
- Often yes for exams that share specs, but PAN and some portals require different pixel dimensions, so keep a clean original and re-fit it to each form's exact size.