NTS Photo Size: Passport Size, Up to 5 MB
By Shah Zaib · Published
In short: NTS wants a passport size profile photo with a blue or white background. Each image you upload to the NTS candidate portal can be up to 5 MB, so the file size is rarely the problem: the background and the shape are. The photo and signature resizer makes a passport-shaped photo in your browser.
These rules come from the NTS candidate portal manual, which the sign-in page of portal.nts.org.pk still links. The manual dates from 2022. Each test is announced with its own advert, and an advert can ask for more.
What NTS asks for
| Rule | What the manual says |
|---|---|
| File size | Up to 5 MB for every image |
| Photo size | Passport size, with no pixel or centimetre size given |
| Background | Blue or white |
| Format | Not stated. JPG is the safe choice |
| Other uploads | The front of your CNIC, on the same profile page |
| When | Before you apply. Only a complete profile can apply |
What the manual says
Every rule above, in NTS's own words. Each link opens the PDF at the page the words are on. The CNIC line is the label of the second upload box in the manual's screenshot of the profile page.
The profile photo should be of passport size with blue or white back ground. The max. size allowed for all images is 5 MB.
NTS: Candidate portal manual (2022), page 3UPLOAD CNIC FRONT PHOTO
NTS: Candidate portal manual (2022), page 3ONLY Candidates with complete profiles are allowed to APPLY.
NTS: Candidate portal manual (2022), page 4
Make an NTS photo
- Start from a passport size photo taken against a plain white or blue wall: the studio's digital copy, or a clear scan of the print. The resizer does not change the background, so get that right first.
- Open the photo and signature resizer and pick the NTS photo preset. It sets 350 x 450 px, the passport shape, with no KB limit.
- Drop your photo on the box. Crop to fill trims the edges to the passport shape and keeps your face in the middle.
- Press Download photo and upload the file on the "Update Profile" page of the NTS portal. The file is a JPEG.
Will it be under 5 MB? Always. Even with no compression at all, 350 x 450 px is 0.47 MB of pixels, and a JPEG is smaller than that.
The CNIC front image
The same profile page has a second box for the front of your CNIC, under the same 5 MB limit. The manual gives no size for it, so keep the whole card in the picture and make sure your name and number are easy to read. A phone photo of the card works if you take it flat, in daylight, with no glare. If you also need a printed copy of both sides, the ID card copy tool puts them on one A4 page.
Why NTS photos get rejected
- A coloured or busy background. The manual allows blue or white only. A room, a patterned wall or a grey backdrop does not meet it.
- A full phone photo. It is not passport shaped, and from a high megapixel camera it can be over 5 MB. Cropping it with the preset fixes both.
- A PNG, HEIC or screenshot. The manual does not list formats, so save the photo again as a JPEG, which every form takes. Renaming the file does not change its format.
- An incomplete profile. NTS lets you apply only once the profile, photo included, is complete.
Applying to FPSC or PPSC too? Their limits are in KB and far lower: read the FPSC photo size guide and the PPSC photo size guide.
Checked against the NTS candidate portal manual on 15 October 2026. NTS can change its rules at any time, so read the advert for the test you apply to.