SSC photo and signature size: the rules and how to get them right

Updated 20 October 2026 · 2 min read

Every SSC season, thousands of forms get stuck because of the photo or signature. The good news: the rules are simple once you know them. Always read the photo section of your own notification too — SSC can change details for each exam.

1. Photo: taken live, not uploaded

In the SSC One-Time Registration (OTR) and application, the photograph is now captured live with your webcam or phone through the SSC website or app. An old photo from your gallery is not accepted.

  • Sit facing a plain, light wall with good light on your face.
  • No cap, mask or glasses while the photo is taken.
  • Keep the camera at eye level and your whole face inside the frame shown on screen.
  • No webcam? The upload page shows a QR code to take the photo with the official mobile app.

Because the photo is live, you usually don’t need to resize it. If another exam asks you to upload a photo instead, use Resize photo to 50KB and Make background white.

2. Signature: 10KB to 20KB, about 4 cm × 2 cm

  • File size: between 10KB and 20KB (JPG/JPEG). Not smaller, not bigger.
  • Shape: about 4.0 cm wide × 2.0 cm tall.
  • Sign with a black or blue pen on plain white paper. It must be clear — blurred or tiny signatures are rejected.

Easiest way: sign, take a photo from straight above, and open our Signature resize tool. Keep “Make the paper pure white” on, choose 10KB – 20KB, and download. If your file comes out too small (for example 4KB), the tool safely brings it up to 10KB without changing how it looks.

3. Common rejections and fixes

  • “File size should be between 10KB and 20KB” → use the 10KB – 20KB option in the signature tool.
  • Grey or shadowy paper → the “pure white” switch removes the grey.
  • Photo rejected for glasses or poor light → retake near a window, without glasses, against a plain wall.
  • Wrong date of birth / age doubts → check your exact age on the cut-off date with our Age calculator.

4. Practise for the typing test too

CHSL needs 35 WPM in English or 30 WPM in Hindi; CGL (DEST) needs 8,000 key depressions per hour. Practise free with our 10-minute SSC typing test.

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