UPSC photo sign size — with name and date printed on the photo
UPSC is the one exam where the photo itself must carry your name and the date it was taken — get that wrong and the form is rejected no matter how perfect the KB size is.
UPSC Civil Services specification
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Name and date on photograph | Mandatory — candidate's name and the date on which the photograph was taken must be clearly mentioned on the photograph |
| Photograph age | Not more than 10 days old, counted from the application start date |
| Photograph file size | 20-200 KB on the upload-instructions sheet; the CSE 2025 notice allows 20-300 KB |
| Photograph format | .jpg, file to be named photo |
| Face coverage | Face must occupy about three-quarters of the frame (at least 75% of the area) |
| Background | Plain white; dark backgrounds, uniform and coloured glasses are not accepted |
| Signature file size | 20-100 KB on the upload-instructions sheet; 20-300 KB in the notice |
| Signature dimensions | Between 350 pixels and 500 pixels |
| Signature ink | Black pen on clean white paper; file to be named signature |
| Do not sign the photograph | The photograph itself must not be signed |
| Supporting documents | PDF, 50 KB to 300 KB |
Source: Civil Services Examination, 2025 — Examination Notice (UPSC) (CSE 2025, notice dated 22-01-2025). checked on 2026-09-06. The notice caps both files at 300 KB with a 20 KB floor; the upsconline uploading-instructions sheet says photo 20-200 KB and signature 20-100 KB. Neither document gives photo dimensions in px or cm.
The caption is the hard part, not the KB
For every other exam on FileKB the question is "how many KB?". For UPSC the question is "does the photograph carry your name and the date it was taken?" The CSE 2025 notice makes that caption mandatory and adds a recency rule that catches people out: the photo must be not more than 10 days old, counted from the day the application window opens. A studio print from last year fails even if it is beautifully compressed.
Two official documents, two KB ranges
The notice says neither file may exceed 300 KB or fall below 20 KB. The uploading-instructions sheet on upsconline says photo 20-200 KB and signature 20-100 KB, and also names the files: photo and signature. We have recorded that conflict rather than hiding it, and the preset on this page aims at the narrower window, which validates against either rule.
Small details that quietly fail
The signature must be black pen on clean white paper and sit "between 350 pixels to 500 pixels". The photograph must never be signed. Face coverage is specified as three-quarters of the frame, so a full-length shot with a small head will be marked poor quality. Supporting documents go up separately as PDFs of 50-300 KB, which is a tighter budget than most scanners produce at default settings.
How it works
- Take a fresh front-facing photo against a plain white wall, face filling about three-quarters of the frame.
- Open the name-and-date tool below and type your name exactly as in the application, plus the date the photo was taken.
- Keep the caption inside the photo area in dark text so it stays legible after compression.
- Export at 20-200 KB as .jpg and rename the file photo.
- Sign on clean white paper with a black pen, scan it, and export the signature between 20 and 100 KB as signature.jpg.
- Upload both files in the One Time Registration profile and reopen the preview to confirm the caption is readable.