CTET photo size — 3.5x4.5 cm at 10-100 KB, signature only 3-30 KB
CTET's signature limit is the tightest of all — just 3 to 30 KB — and uploading a signature is mandatory, not optional.
CTET specification
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Photograph size | 3.5 cm (width) x 4.5 cm (height) |
| Photograph file size | 10-100 KB, JPG / JPEG |
| Signature size | 3.5 cm (length) x 1.5 cm (height) |
| Signature file size | 3-30 KB, JPG / JPEG |
| Signature upload | Mandatory — the scanned signature must be uploaded |
| Photograph age | Latest photograph, because it is matched with you at the centre |
| Photograph dimensions in pixels | Not published — CBSE gives centimetres only |
| Thumb impression | No thumb impression specification |
Source: Information Bulletin — CTET February 2026, CBSE (CTET February 2026, bulletin posted November 2025). checked on 2026-09-06.
A teaching exam with the tightest signature budget
The CTET February 2026 bulletin sets the signature at 3 to 30 KB inside a 3.5 x 1.5 cm strip. Nothing else on FileKB goes that low — banks allow 20 KB, railways 40 KB, NTA 100 KB. If your signature file keeps coming out at 45 KB, the cause is almost always a scan that includes half the sheet of paper instead of just the ink.
Centimetres, not pixels
CBSE describes both files physically: 3.5 x 4.5 cm for the photograph and 3.5 x 1.5 cm for the signature. No pixel dimensions or DPI figures appear anywhere in the bulletin, so treat px tables on other sites as their own arithmetic rather than an official rule. Scanning at 200 px per inch keeps the file honest and the shape correct.
Upload the signature — it is not optional
The bulletin states plainly that uploading the scanned signature is mandatory, and that a latest photograph is needed because it is matched with the candidate at the centre. Those two lines together explain most CTET application problems: an incomplete form because the signature was skipped, or a verification query because the photo was years old.
How it works
- Take a recent photograph and crop it to a 3.5 x 4.5 cm portrait shape.
- Export as JPG between 10 and 100 KB.
- Sign inside a 3.5 x 1.5 cm box with a dark pen on white paper.
- Crop tight to the ink so no wide white margin remains.
- Export the signature between 3 and 30 KB.
- Upload both files, then check the preview before paying the fee.