PAN card photo and signature size: Protean and UTIITSL
Online PAN applications through Protean (NSDL) and UTIITSL have different upload limits, and Protean’s depend on how you sign the application:
| Route | Photo | Signature | Other documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protean, online with DSC | Colour JPEG, 200 DPI, 3.5 × 2.5 cm, max 20 KB | Colour JPEG, 200 DPI, 2 × 4.5 cm, max 10 KB | Black and white, 200 DPI, PDF/A or JPEG, max 300 KB per page |
| Protean, e-Sign with scanned images | Max 50 KB | Max 50 KB | Check the form |
| UTIITSL, online | JPEG, JPG or PNG, under 30 KB | JPEG, JPG or PNG, under 60 KB | PDF, under 5 MB |
| UploadWell presets | JPG, 197 × 276 px at 200 DPI, max 20 KB | JPG, 354 × 157 px at 200 DPI, max 10 KB | Not part of these presets |
Sources: Protean’s page for the online application with DSC (undated), Protean’s article on scanning and uploading documents, and the upload checks on UTIITSL’s online form, as checked in November 2026.
The preset fits every online limit above. A JPG of 20 KB or less is inside Protean’s 20 KB and 50 KB limits and UTIITSL’s 30 KB limit, and UTIITSL’s form doesn’t check pixels or DPI, so Protean’s size works there too. Check the instructions on the route you use before you upload. UploadWell is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Protean, UTIITSL or the Income Tax Department.
Which PAN form and route are you using?
Since 1 April 2026, new individual PAN applications use Form 93 in place of Form 49A, and Protean’s pages now say “Form 93 / Form 94”. The photo you need depends on the route you choose:
- Protean with Aadhaar e-KYC: Protean’s article says this route uses the photo from your Aadhaar record, so there is no photo to upload.
- Protean with e-Sign and scanned images: the photo and the signature can each be up to 50 KB.
- Protean with a digital signature certificate (DSC): the tightest limits, a 20 KB photo and a 10 KB signature, both colour JPEGs at 200 DPI.
- UTIITSL: a photo under 30 KB and a signature under 60 KB, as JPEG, JPG or PNG. The form checks the file type and size, not pixels or DPI.
If you are not sure which route you will end up on, make the photo with this preset: at 20 KB or less it fits all of them. The instructions shown on your application are the rule that counts.
How to make your PAN card photo here
- Take the photo in good light. Stand in front of a plain white or light wall, face a window or stand in open shade, and ask someone to hold the phone at eye level.
- Crop it roughly in your gallery. Keep your head and the top of your shoulders in the frame with your face in the centre. Crop to fill trims the edges evenly, so a centred face stays centred.
- Add the photo on this page. The settings are already 2.5 × 3.5 cm at 200 DPI, Crop to fill, JPG and a 20 KB maximum. Leave them as they are unless your form gives different numbers.
- Download the JPG. The result shows the pixel size, the file size and a note with the print size, so you can check all three before you leave the page.
- Upload it in the photograph field and check the preview before you submit.
If the wall behind you isn’t plain, the Background Remover can put a white background behind you first. Then make the signature with the PAN card signature resizer, which is set to 4.5 × 2 cm at 200 DPI and 10 KB.
Photos for paper PAN forms
Paper forms take printed photos, and the two agencies give different sizes. UTIITSL’s guidelines ask for two photos of 4.5 × 3.5 cm. Protean’s FAQ gives 3.5 × 2.5 cm with a white background. Use the size in the guidelines for the form you are filling in.
For a 4.5 × 3.5 cm print, the Indian passport photo page makes a 35 × 45 mm photo and a print sheet you can take to a photo shop. For a 3.5 × 2.5 cm print, use this page with Limit file size switched off and the resolution set to 300 DPI, so the print has more detail.
Centimetres, DPI and pixels
Protean gives its sizes height first: the photo is 3.5 cm tall and 2.5 cm wide, and the signature 2 cm tall and 4.5 cm wide. To turn centimetres into pixels, divide by 2.54 and multiply by the DPI, then round:
| Upload | Width × height | At 200 DPI |
|---|---|---|
| PAN photo | 2.5 × 3.5 cm | 197 × 276 px |
| PAN signature | 4.5 × 2 cm | 354 × 157 px |
Many websites repeat a figure of 213 × 213 pixels at 300 DPI for the PAN photo. It isn’t one of the checks on UTIITSL’s own form, which looks only at the file type and size, and it isn’t Protean’s 3.5 × 2.5 cm at 200 DPI either. This preset follows Protean’s centimetres and DPI.