RRB NTPC photo size — 35x45 mm, 20-50 KB, studio photo only
Railways is the only recruiter here that tells you where to get the photo taken — a professional studio — and then lists a dozen ways your upload can be rejected.
RRB NTPC specification
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Photograph size | 35 mm x 45 mm colour photograph, taken in a professional studio, latest |
| Photograph file size | 20-50 KB, JPG / JPEG |
| Scanning resolution | 100 DPI |
| Face coverage | Face should cover at least 50% of the frame; forehead, eyes, nose and chin clearly visible |
| Signature box | Sign inside a 50 mm x 20 mm box; 140 x 60 px preferred at 100 DPI |
| Signature file size | 10-40 KB, JPG / JPEG |
| Signature style | Black ink pen on white paper, in running letters — not block letters |
| Background | White or light colour |
| Print copies | Keep 12 copies of the same photograph |
| Rejection list | Black and white, cap, goggles, full body, side view, selfie, photo taken by mobile, group photo, photostat or morphed images are rejected |
| PwBD candidates | Upload the passport photograph, not the full-body photo from the disability certificate |
Source: Centralised Employment Notice CEN 05/2024 — NTPC (Graduate), RRB (CEN 05/2024, published 13-09-2024). checked on 2026-09-06. A newer cycle (CEN 07/2025, NTPC Undergraduate, published 28-10-2025) exists but no direct PDF was reachable, so its numbers are not shown here. Note the asymmetric signature window: 10-40 KB against 20-50 KB for the photo.
Railways publishes a rejection list, so use it
Most recruiters tell you the target size. The CEN 05/2024 notification goes further and lists what gets thrown out: black and white prints, caps, goggles, full-body shots, side views, selfies, photos taken by mobile, group photos, photostats and morphed images. Read that list before you scan anything, because a 40 KB JPEG of a selfie still fails.
The pixel figure inside the CEN is odd
The notification asks for a 35 mm x 45 mm portrait photo and also prints "320 x 240 px" — a landscape shape that cannot describe a portrait print. Rather than force your photo into a sideways box, the preset on this page targets only the 20-50 KB range at 100 DPI and leaves the crop in portrait proportions. That mismatch is recorded in the source note on this page instead of being quietly corrected.
Signature window is wider than you expect
RRB allows 10-40 KB for the signature against 20-50 KB for the photo. The instruction that matters more than the KB is the handwriting style: running letters only, black pen, white paper, and your own signature. Keep twelve prints of the photograph, since the same image is matched at the computer-based test, the aptitude test, the typing test, document verification and the medical examination.
How it works
- Get a colour passport photo taken at a studio — mobile selfies are on the RRB rejection list.
- Scan or photograph the print at 100 DPI, keeping the 35 x 45 mm proportions.
- Export as JPEG between 20 and 50 KB with the preset below.
- Sign inside a 50 x 20 mm box in running letters with a black pen.
- Crop the signature to the ink and export 10-40 KB as JPEG.
- Order 12 prints of the same photo for the later stages of the recruitment.