Passport Seva photo upload: 630 × 810 px, JPEG, and why you only get 12 tries

The Passport Seva portal is the one government form where you really do not want to guess. It validates the photo you upload against a fixed pixel size and a face-position check, it gives you twelve attempts across photo and signature combined, and when those run out the application is dead — you start over with a new Application Reference Number. Applicants who “just try a few sizes” burn through the budget in ten minutes.

So this guide is written to get you through on attempt one. There are only a handful of rules, but every one of them is enforced by software, not by a sympathetic human.

The digital photo specification

Rule	Value
Pixel size	630 × 810 exactly — not 629, not 631
Format	JPEG / JPG only
File size	10–250 KB
Background	Plain white, evenly lit, no shadows or pattern
Face height	About 80–85 % of the 810 px height, chin to crown
Expression	Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera
Glasses	Not permitted (rule in force since September 2025)
Editing	No filters, no skin smoothing, no background replacement
File name	Something simple: photo.jpg

Two things to notice. First, 630 × 810 is a 7 : 9 ratio — the same proportion as the 35 × 45 mm printed photo you’ll carry to the Passport Seva Kendra, so a photo made for print can be scaled to the digital spec without cropping anything off. Second, the file size window is wide (10–250 KB), which means the size check almost never fails on its own; the pixel check and the face-position check are what reject people.

Take the photo for the check, not for the mirror

Because the portal measures where your face sits in the frame, framing is the decision that matters most.

• Stand about a metre from a plain white wall so no shadow falls on it. Face a window or a soft light so your face is lit evenly from the front.
• Have someone else take it from about 1.5 m away at eye level. A selfie at arm’s length distorts the face and rarely leaves enough room above the head.
• Leave headroom. You’ll crop to 7 : 9 afterwards, and the face needs to occupy 80–85 % of the height — which means a small margin above the hair and the crop ending around the collarbone. Too tight (face cropped at the forehead) and too loose (lots of chest) both fail the position check.
• Neutral face, mouth closed, eyes open, no glasses, no hair over the eyes. Head coverings for religious reasons are allowed if the full face from chin to forehead is visible.
• No filters. Phone cameras often apply smoothing by default; turn off “beauty” or “portrait enhancement” modes before shooting. Retouched skin can fail the automated quality check and, more seriously, can be treated as a tampered photo at the appointment.

Make the file: three steps, no uploads

1. Crop and resize to 630 × 810

Open the Passport Photo Resizer and choose the India Passport Seva upload (630 × 810 px) preset. Position the crop so the top of your hair sits a little below the top edge and the frame ends around your collarbone — that puts the face in the 80–85 % zone. Export. The tool writes a JPEG at exactly 630 × 810, so the pixel check is settled here.

2. Confirm the file size

A 630 × 810 JPEG at good quality is typically 60–150 KB, which is already inside the 10–250 KB window. Check the size the resizer reports. If it’s over 250 KB (rare, but possible with a very detailed photo saved at maximum quality), pass it through Compress Image to 200 KB; it keeps the 630 × 810 dimensions and only reduces JPEG quality until it fits.

3. Save the JPEG and name it plainly

The portal accepts .jpg/.jpeg only. The resizer already outputs JPEG, so iPhone HEIC originals and PNG screenshots are converted for you. Name the file photo.jpg — spaces, brackets and non-Latin characters in filenames have caused upload errors on this portal.

All of this runs in your browser; the photo is processed on your own device and never sent anywhere. For an identity document, that’s the right default.

The signature

The signature upload is simpler but shares the same 12-attempt pool, so prepare it before you open the portal.

• Sign with a blue or black ballpoint on plain white paper, in your usual hand.
• Photograph straight down or scan, then crop tightly to the ink with a few millimetres of white around it. A signature floating in a large white rectangle displays tiny and can be flagged.
• Save as JPEG under 100 KB. If your scan is larger, Compress Image to 100 KB will take care of it; signatures compress well, so quality loss is negligible.
• Keep it upright — the portal shows it exactly as uploaded.

How the upload step actually works

You won’t see an upload button until you’ve filled and submitted the application form; the option to upload photo and signature appears afterwards, against your ARN. Use a desktop browser — Chrome or Edge — because the upload page checks for mobile devices and frequently refuses them. Upload the photo first, confirm the preview looks correct (face centred, nothing cut off), then the signature.

Every failed validation consumes one of the twelve attempts. If a file is rejected, don’t re-upload the same file hoping for a different result; read the error, fix that specific thing, and try once. Common messages and their fixes:

• Image dimensions invalid → you didn’t use the 630 × 810 preset, or re-saved the file in an app that changed the size.
• Face not detected / not properly positioned → too much or too little headroom, or the face is turned. Re-crop with the face at 80–85 % of the height.
• Background not white → shadows or an off-white wall. Reshoot with the light in front of you.
• Invalid file type → PNG/HEIC/WebP. Run it through the resizer, which outputs JPEG.

What to bring to the PSK

The digital upload does not replace the physical photo requirement. Carry a couple of 35 × 45 mm prints of the same image (white background, same rules) to your appointment; the officer may use one or may take a fresh photo on the spot. Same clothes as the upload photo isn’t required, but glasses off is.

One-page checklist

• JPEG, 630 × 810 px, 10–250 KB, named photo.jpg.
• White background, no shadows, face 80–85 % of height, neutral expression, no glasses, no filters.
• Signature: JPEG under 100 KB, blue/black ink, tight crop, upright.
• Upload from a desktop browser after submitting the form.
• You have 12 attempts total — fix the error before each retry, never resubmit the same file.