GATE photo and signature spec — the widest limits, and a grid rule
GATE gives you more room than any other exam — 5 to 600 KB — but adds rules nobody else has: aspect-ratio bands, a cropping grid, and a signature that must fill 70-80% of its frame.
GATE specification
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Photograph size | 3.5 cm (w) x 4.5 cm (h) passport size |
| Photograph dimensions | Minimum 200 x 260 px, maximum 530 x 690 px |
| Photograph aspect ratio | 0.66 to 0.89 (width divided by height) |
| Photograph file size | 5-600 KB, JPEG / JPG |
| Face coverage | Face should be 60-70% of the photo and fill grids A2, A3, B2, B3, C2 and C3 of the official cropping guide |
| Signature dimensions | Minimum 250 x 80 px, maximum 580 x 180 px |
| Signature aspect ratio | Height to width of 1:R where R is between 2.75 and 3.75 |
| Signature file size | 3-300 KB, JPEG / JPG |
| Signature ink | Black or dark blue ink only; the signature must cover 70-80% of the cropped image |
| Background | White, plain, with no other objects or persons in the frame |
| Spectacles | Allowed if there is no glare; otherwise remove them for the photo |
Source: Photograph & Signature — GATE 2026, IIT Guwahati (GATE 2026). checked on 2026-09-06.
Ranges instead of a single target
Most portals give one number and reject everything else. The GATE 2026 photograph and signature page instead publishes bands: the photograph anywhere between 200 x 260 and 530 x 690 px at 5 to 600 KB, the signature anywhere between 250 x 80 and 580 x 180 px at 3 to 300 KB. If you have been fighting a 20 KB limit elsewhere, GATE is a relief — quality is not your enemy here.
But the shape rules are strict
The freedom comes with geometry. The photograph must have a width-to-height ratio between 0.66 and 0.89, and your face should occupy 60-70% of the image, positioned inside the centre cells of the cropping grid GATE publishes. The signature has its own ratio band, written as 1:R with R between 2.75 and 3.75, plus a fill rule: the ink should cover 70-80% of the cropped strip. In practice that rules out both a square photo crop and a small autograph floating in white space.
What this means for your file
Pick a comfortable middle: about 350 x 450 px for the photo and 400 x 130 px for the signature, exported as JPEG well inside the KB bands. Use black or dark blue ink, keep the background plain white with nobody else in frame, and remember GATE warns that a signature mismatch at the exam can lead to disqualification — so sign the way you normally do.
How it works
- Start from a passport-style photo on a plain white background with no one else in the frame.
- Crop portrait so the width-to-height ratio lands between 0.66 and 0.89.
- Resize inside the 200 x 260 to 530 x 690 px band and export 5-600 KB as JPEG.
- Sign with a black or dark blue pen and crop tight so the ink fills 70-80% of the strip.
- Resize the signature inside 250 x 80 to 580 x 180 px and export 3-300 KB.
- Compare your crop against the grid diagram on the GATE page before uploading.