Compress PDF for SSC application
Drop PDFs here, or click to browse
Your files never leave your browser
SSC's one-time registration model changes the compression problem compared with other exams. You upload your photograph and signature once during registration, and they are then reused across CGL, CHSL, MTS, and the rest — which means a file that was accepted but looks poor will follow you through every application you make for years. It is worth getting the source files right rather than compressing a bad scan until it squeaks under the limit. Practically: photograph your signature in bright, even light on plain white paper rather than scanning a photocopy, and use a recent passport-style photograph with a plain background instead of cropping one out of a group picture. Both compress far better because there is less noise and detail for the encoder to preserve. For document PDFs attached later in the process, this tool optimises the file's internal structure in your browser. It helps most on digitally-generated PDFs; if your file is a scan, the size is dominated by page images that browser-side optimisation cannot re-encode, and rescanning at a lower DPI is the more effective fix.
SSC's One Time Registration model
SSC moved to a One Time Registration (OTR) system, which changes the file-preparation problem in a useful way: your photograph and signature are uploaded once to your profile and reused across CGL, CHSL, MTS, GD and every other SSC exam you apply for. That makes it worth preparing those two files properly once. The photograph must be recent and taken against a light plain background, and SSC has periodically tightened the recency requirement — candidates have been rejected for reusing a photo from an earlier OTR cycle. The signature must be in running handwriting on plain white paper, not block capitals, which is a rejection reason that catches people out every single cycle.
Getting the size right without ruining the scan
Photograph and signature caps for SSC sit in the tens of kilobytes, which is small enough that how you produce the file matters more than how you compress it. Photograph the signature in good daylight rather than scanning it, crop to just the ink with a small white margin, and convert to greyscale — a signature has no colour information worth keeping and greyscale alone typically cuts the file by more than half. For the photograph, crop to head and shoulders before compressing; a full-body photo scaled down wastes most of its bytes on background and leaves the face too small to satisfy the reviewer.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the photo and signature size limits for SSC?
- SSC states them on the OTR upload page and in each exam's notice, and the values have changed between cycles. Check the figure shown on the upload form you are actually filling — that is the one being enforced.
- Do I need to re-upload my photo for every SSC exam?
- No, that is the point of One Time Registration — your photograph and signature carry across applications. You do need to refresh them when SSC tightens the recency requirement, so check the notice for each new cycle.
- Why was my SSC signature rejected?
- Almost always because it was written in block capitals rather than running handwriting, or signed in a colour other than black or blue on non-white paper. Size is rarely the cause. Re-sign on plain white paper in your normal running hand.
- Can I use the same photo for SSC and IBPS?
- Often yes, if it meets both sets of requirements and is recent enough for both. Check the pixel dimensions separately though — the two bodies specify different aspect ratios, and a photo cropped for one may be rejected by the other.
- My photo is under the size limit but still rejected. Why?
- Check the pixel dimensions and aspect ratio, not just the kilobytes. A heavily compressed image can be small in bytes yet wrong in dimensions, and portals validate both independently.
- Should I compress a document PDF for SSC document verification?
- Only to meet the stated cap. Document verification staff need to read your certificates, and an over-compressed scan that cannot be read is treated as a document not supplied.