PPSC Photo Size in KB: 25 KB or 60 KB?
By Shah Zaib · Published · Updated
In short: make your PPSC photo a JPG under 25 KB. PPSC's 2022 online application procedure says the photo and the CNIC front image must be less than 25 KB, while its 2024 photograph guidelines allow up to 60 KB. A file under 25 KB meets both. The photo and signature resizer makes one in your browser.
The size is the easy part. The 2024 guidelines also set rules for the photo itself, and PPSC says a photo or CNIC picture that breaks them means you will not be allowed to appear in the exam. So a photo the portal accepts can still stop you on the test day.
What PPSC asks for
Both documents are on PPSC's own website. This is what each one says about the uploads:
| Rule | 2022 application procedure | 2024 photograph guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Photo file size | Less than 25 KB | Not more than 60 KB |
| Photo format | Not stated | JPG |
| Photo size | Not stated | At least 3.5 x 4.5 cm (width x height) |
| Background | Not stated | White, in a coloured photo |
| CNIC image | Front side, less than 25 KB | Front side, JPG, not more than 60 KB, at least 8.6 x 5.4 cm |
What the documents say
Every figure above, in PPSC's own words. Each link opens the PDF at the page the words are on.
Upload your latest photograph and CNIC (Front) Image. Please note that maximum size of the image should be less than 25KB size.
PPSC: Online application procedure (2022), page 1It should be minimum 4.5 cm high by 3.5 cm wide. File format should be .JPG and size should not be more than 60KB.
PPSC: Photograph guidelines (2024), page 1Colored photograph with white background and clear contrast … Must show your full head, clear face and shoulders (Covered face, Caps, glasses etc. and are not acceptable)
PPSC: Photograph guidelines (2024), page 1CNIC front side image should be uploaded and picture should be properly scanned, clear and legible. It should be minimum 54mm (5.4cm) high by 86mm (8.6cm) wide. File format should be .JPG and size should not be more than 60KB.
PPSC: Photograph guidelines (2024), page 1
Photo rules in the 2024 guidelines
- Recent, passport size and professionally taken.
- In colour, with a white background and clear contrast.
- Your full head, a clear face and your shoulders. A covered face, a cap or glasses are not accepted.
- Only you, with no other objects, and not cut out of a larger picture such as a group photo.
- Looking straight at the camera with a neutral expression.
Make a PPSC photo under 25 KB
- Start from a recent passport size photo with a white background: the studio's digital copy, or a clear scan or phone photo of the print taken in daylight.
- Open the photo and signature resizer and pick the PPSC photo preset. It sets 350 x 450 px and a 25 KB limit.
- Drop your photo on the box. Keep Crop to fill, which trims the edges to the passport shape and keeps your face in the middle.
- Check that the result line shows a size under 25 KB, then press Download photo.
Why 350 x 450 px? PPSC gives the size in centimetres, and a digital file has only pixels. 3.5 x 4.5 cm is a 7 by 9 shape, and 350 x 450 px keeps that shape.
The CNIC front image
Both documents ask for the front side of your CNIC only. The 2024 guidelines want it properly scanned, clear and legible, at least 8.6 x 5.4 cm, the shape of the card itself.
- Scan the front of the card, or photograph it flat on a plain dark surface in daylight, with no glare.
- Crop right up to the edges of the card in your phone's editor.
- Open the image compressor, choose Exact KB size and type 24, a little under the 25 KB limit so rounding never pushes it over.
- Download it and zoom in once to check that your name and CNIC number are still easy to read.
Why PPSC photos get rejected
- A selfie against a home wall. The guidelines ask for a professionally taken photo, and a cream or grey wall is not a white background.
- Glasses or a cap left on. The guidelines rule both out, even if the face is clear.
- A face cut out of a family or group photo. The guidelines rule this out by name.
- A file between 25 and 60 KB. It meets the 2024 guidelines but not the 2022 procedure, so it depends on which one the portal applies.
Applying to FPSC as well? Read the FPSC photo size guide. For NTS or a university, the guide on compressing a photo to 20 KB or 50 KB shows how to get under any KB limit, and what to do when a photo will not get small enough.
Checked against both PPSC documents on 15 October 2026. PPSC can change its rules at any time, so read the advert for the post you apply to.