CAT photo and signature size — 80 KB each, and a 6-month rule
For CAT, both files must be under 80 KB, and the photo can't be older than 6 months — but the current bulletin doesn't list the spec, so checking the source is essential.
CAT specification
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Photograph size | Passport size photograph within 30 mm x 45 mm |
| Photograph resolution | Minimum 150 pixels per inch |
| Photograph file size | Maximum 80 KB (no minimum stated) |
| Photograph age | Not more than 6 months old |
| Signature size | 80 mm x 35 mm, minimum 150 pixels per inch |
| Signature file size | Maximum 80 KB |
| Format | .jpg / .jpeg for both files |
| Background | White |
| Admit card use | The uploaded photograph must be affixed on the admit card on test day, so keep prints |
Source: CAT Registration Guide (iimcat.ac.in) (CAT 2019 registration guide; current cycle CAT 2026). checked on 2026-09-06. The fetched CAT 2026 Information Bulletin carries no photo or signature spec at all, so the verified numbers come from the 2019 registration guide. Third-party pages quoting 1200 x 1200 px are unverified.
Read the source note on this page
CAT is the one entry on FileKB where the current-cycle document does not help. We fetched the CAT 2026 information bulletin and it carries no photograph or signature specification whatsoever. The numbers here therefore come from the official CAT registration guide published on iimcat.ac.in — an IIM document, but an older one. That is stated in the source block rather than buried, because a spec table without a date is worth very little.
What the guide actually asks for
A passport photograph within 30 mm x 45 mm, at least 150 pixels per inch, on a white background, no more than six months old, saved as .jpg under 80 KB. The signature is a wide strip: 80 mm x 35 mm at the same resolution, also under 80 KB. Both files share one ceiling, which is unusual — most portals give the signature a much tighter budget than the photograph.
Third-party numbers to distrust
Aggregator pages quote 1200 x 1200 px for the CAT photo. That figure is not in the official guide, and we could not confirm it on iimcat.ac.in. If your form rejects a compliant file, check the on-screen error text before trusting a coaching-site table — and keep prints of the photo, because IIMs ask you to affix it on the admit card at the centre.
How it works
- Get a passport photo taken within the last six months on a white background.
- Crop it to 30 x 45 mm proportions at 150 px per inch or better.
- Export as .jpg under 80 KB — around 60 KB leaves headroom.
- Sign inside an 80 x 35 mm box and scan the strip at 150 px per inch.
- Export the signature as .jpg under 80 KB.
- Print copies of the same photo to affix on the admit card on test day.