Document photo requirements — passport, PAN, voter ID, licence, visa
Passport, PAN, voter ID, licence, visa and GST — the photo rules for each document, taken from the official form, with a clear note wherever no upload is required at all.
Identity
| Page | Specification |
|---|---|
| Indian passport photo | 630×810 px |
| PAN card photo | 3.5×2.5 cm · ≤20 KB |
| Voter ID photo (Form 6) | 3.5×4.5 cm |
| Aadhaar photo | Does not exist — the online update service covers address and documents only · Biometric update at an Aadhaar centre, in person |
Transport and travel
| Page | Specification |
|---|---|
| Driving licence photo | 420×525 px · 10–20 KB |
| Visa photo (US DS-160 & Indian e-Visa) | 600×600 px · ≤240 KB |
Business
| Page | Specification |
|---|---|
| GST registration photo | ≤100 KB |
Identity documents are where copied specifications do the most damage, because an application rejected at a passport office or an income tax facilitation centre costs a trip rather than an email. Every page in this section quotes the form or portal instruction it came from.
The passport photograph follows the international civil aviation standard the Ministry of External Affairs applies: a plain light background, the face centred and covering a defined share of the frame, no borders. The permanent account number application is filled through the two authorised facilitators, and their instructions state the photograph size and paste position on the physical form as well as the digital upload rules.
The voter registration route deserves attention because the online form and the paper form differ. Form 6 accepts a passport-size photograph upload with a modest size cap, and the electoral registration office may still ask for a printed copy.
Two pages exist mainly to correct a widespread misconception. The Aadhaar page says clearly that no photograph upload exists at all: the photograph is captured live at an enrolment or update centre, and every website offering an "Aadhaar photo size" is selling a service that the authority does not provide. The driving licence page explains what the Parivahan Sarathi portal actually asks for, including a typographic error in the portal's own instructions that has confused applicants for years.
The visa page covers the Indian electronic visa specification — square, at least three hundred and fifty pixels a side, within a stated kilobyte range — and links to the separate United States requirement, which is a different shape and size. The goods and services tax page covers the registration photograph rules from the department's own manual.
Pages for informal photographs — resumes, professional networking profiles, school forms, insurance paperwork — were removed, because no authority publishes a rule for them and the honest answer is a well cropped photograph at a sensible size.