# PAN Card Photo > Resize photo for PAN card application **Canonical:** https://trydocsy.com/resize-for-pan-card **Last updated:** 2026-09-29 **Privacy:** Runs in your browser; the file is never uploaded. --- Online PAN applications in India ask for a scanned photograph that fits the size and KB limits shown on the upload screen. Two agencies handle these applications for the Income Tax Department: UTI Infrastructure Technology And Services Limited (UTIITSL) and Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL e-Gov). This browser-based tool turns your picture into a 213×213 pixel square JPEG on your own device. That square size is TryDocsy’s preset, not a size either agency publishes, so read the section on official limits before you upload anything. The resizer center-crops your image to a 1:1 square and runs a compression loop aimed at 20 KB or less. It cannot clean up shadows or repaint a coloured wall, and the crop removes whatever sits outside the central square, so start from a well-lit photo taken against a plain light wall with your face in the middle of the frame. ## How it works 1. **Step 1 — Upload Photo** — Click “Upload Photo” or drop your file into the upload zone. A JPG, PNG or WEBP photo loads in any up-to-date browser. A HEIC picture straight from an iPhone only opens in Safari; on other browsers save it as JPG before you start. 2. **Review Specifications** — Examine the specifications card displaying 213×213 Pixels, 200 DPI Resolution, JPG format, and the 10–20 KB File Size target range. 3. **Resize Photo** — Click “Resize Photo”. While processing, the button displays “Processing...” as it draws the image to canvas and runs a binary search on JPEG quality. 4. **Step 2 — Download Result** — Check the status label. The file always lands between 10 KB and 20 KB and shows “Ready to use”. If the photo can’t get under 20 KB even at JPEG quality 0.1, you get an error instead of a file, never an oversized download. Click “Download” to save the file. ## When you'd use it - **Checking a photo against the PAN upload screen** — Producing a small JPEG quickly, then comparing its size and shape with the limits printed on the UTIITSL or Protean page you are actually using before you submit. - **New PAN applications on the post-April 2026 forms** — Protean says that from 1 April 2026 new applications from Indian citizens use Form F093, replacing Form 49A. Whichever form you file, the photo still has to meet the portal’s own size rules. - **Changing the photo on an existing PAN** — Preparing a fresh picture when you file a change or correction request because your old PAN photo no longer looks like you. - **Compressing an oversized phone photo** — Shrinking a multi-megabyte camera image to tens of kilobytes so it clears an upload box that rejects large files. ## What the PAN agencies publish about photo uploads Protean’s own pages do not all give the same numbers. Its article on updating a PAN photo (proteantech.in) lists the photograph as 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm, 200 DPI, JPEG, maximum 50 KB, and asks for a recent colour photo with a clear, light-coloured background, face clearly visible and a neutral expression. Its guidelines page for DSC-based PAN applications lists the photograph as 3.5×2.5 cms, 200 DPI, colour, JPEG, maximum 20 KB, and the signature as 2×4.5 cms with a maximum of 10 KB. We could not find a public UTIITSL page or PDF that states pixel dimensions, DPI or a KB limit for the applicant photo, so this guide gives no UTIITSL numbers. The limits that count are the ones shown on the upload screen of the service you are using on the day you apply. ## Tool preset vs official portal limits TryDocsy’s preset is a 213×213 pixel square, 10–20 KB, labelled 200 DPI. Because Protean caps the photo at 20 KB on its DSC guidelines page and 50 KB on its update article, setting this preset’s ceiling to 20 KB ensures the output clears both limits safely. However, Protean describes a 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm photo, which is a vertical rectangle rather than a square. Before uploading, look at the processed dimensions and size shown under the preview and compare them with the limit on your portal. If your portal asks for a rectangular 3.5 × 2.5 cm photo, use a general image resizer or cropper set to that shape instead of this square preset. ## Center-cropping mechanics and file-size padding The tool converts your image by applying a center crop to a 1:1 square canvas of 213×213 pixels. If your source photo is rectangular (such as a 4:3 or 16:9 picture), the excess width or height is sliced off from opposite edges. If your face is off-center in the original photograph, an ear or hair may be trimmed off. Crop your photo yourself to center your head and shoulders before uploading. The canvas context paints white (#ffffff) across the 213×213 canvas before drawing your picture, but this only shows through transparent pixels in files like PNG. It does not replace or whiten the background of an opaque smartphone photo, nor does it remove shadows. Since Protean asks for a light-coloured background, take the picture in front of an evenly lit pale wall. During processing the resizer narrows in on the highest JPEG quality, from 1.0 down to a minimum of 0.1, that keeps the 213×213 square at 20 KB or less. Results under 10 KB receive trailing zero bytes up to 10 KB, landing inside the 10–20 KB window. If a noisy photo is still over 20 KB at quality 0.1, you get an error and no PAN photo file; a closer crop on your face and a plain wall behind you usually fix it. ## Frequently asked questions **Q: What photo size does Protean list for online PAN applications?** A: Its PAN photo update article lists 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm, 200 DPI, JPEG, up to 50 KB. Its DSC application guidelines list the same 3.5×2.5 cm and 200 DPI but a 20 KB maximum. Follow whatever your upload screen shows. **Q: Does UTIITSL publish a pixel size or KB limit for the PAN photo?** A: We did not find one on a public UTIITSL page or PDF, so we don’t quote a figure. Check the limit displayed on the UTIITSL upload step itself. **Q: Is the 213x213 pixel square an official PAN size?** A: No official page we could open states 213×213 pixels. It is simply this tool’s preset. Protean describes a 3.5 × 2.5 cm rectangle, so a square may not be what your portal expects. **Q: How does the tool keep the file between 10 KB and 20 KB?** A: The resizer searches for a JPEG quality setting that brings the file to 20 KB or below. If the output falls under 10 KB, it automatically appends padding bytes up to 10 KB so the file satisfies minimum upload requirements. **Q: Does this tool remove shadows or change my background to white?** A: No. The white canvas layer only shows through transparent pixels in files like PNG. It does not erase shadows or alter the existing background of an ordinary photo. Take your picture against a plain, light-coloured wall. **Q: What if my PAN photo can't be compressed under 20 KB?** A: That error means the JPEG stays above 20 KB even at quality 0.1, so no file was produced (files below 10 KB are padded up to 10 KB automatically). Crop tighter around your face, use a plainer background, or start from a cleaner, smaller source photo and try again. **Q: Is my personal PAN photo uploaded to any external server?** A: No. Cropping, canvas drawing and JPEG compression all run in your own browser, and the photo is not sent to TryDocsy or anyone else. ## Related tools - [50x20 mm Signature](https://trydocsy.com/signature-to-50mmx20mm) - [6x2 cm Signature](https://trydocsy.com/resize-image-to-6cmx2cm) - [Photo & Signature Joiner](https://trydocsy.com/image/photo-signature-joiner) - [Resize Image](https://trydocsy.com/image/resize) - [Crop Image](https://trydocsy.com/image/crop) - [PAN Card Crop & Print](https://trydocsy.com/pan-card-crop-print) --- ## About TryDocsy TryDocsy is a free website of PDF, image and file-conversion tools that run entirely in your web browser, so your files are processed on your own device and never uploaded. It also includes photo and signature resizers preset to Indian government-exam specifications. - Website: https://trydocsy.com - Privacy Policy: https://trydocsy.com/privacy - Terms of Service: https://trydocsy.com/terms - Contact: https://trydocsy.com/contact