How to Compress Image Under 100KB or 50KB for Govt Sites in India

By EasyImageCR • 2025-11-09 • ⏱️ 4 min read
Compressing a passport photo for an Indian government website

If you've ever applied for a PAN card, passport, driver's license, or any government exam in India, you know the frustration. You have a perfect passport photo, you upload it, and you get an error: "File size must be less than 50 KB."

Your photo is probably 2MB (2,000 KB). How are you supposed to make it 40 times smaller without making it look like a blurry mess? This guide will show you the exact, simple, and safe way to do it.

Why Do Government Sites Have These Limits?

It seems ancient, but there's a reason. These portals process millions of applications. Storing millions of 2MB photos would cost a massive amount in server space and bandwidth. They force users to upload tiny files to keep the system fast and efficient. They don't need a high-resolution print-quality photo, just a clear one for an ID card.

The Two-Step Mistake (And the One-Step Solution)

Most people try to solve this in two steps and fail:

  1. They use a random online tool to "compress" the 2MB photo. This just lowers the quality, making it blurry, but the file is still too big (e.g., 300 KB).
  2. They then try to "resize" the blurry 300 KB photo, making it even worse.

The secret is to do both at once: Resize the dimensions *and* add compression simultaneously to hit an exact file size target.

The Standard Indian Passport Photo Size

While requirements can vary, a very common dimension for Indian government portals is 3.5cm x 4.5cm. At a standard 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch), this translates to:

~ 413 pixels wide x 531 pixels high

Even if you resize to these dimensions, your file might *still* be over 100 KB if it's a high-quality JPG or PNG. The final step is compression.

✅ The Best & Safest Method: Target Size Compression

You don't need to guess the quality percentage. You can use a tool that directly targets your desired file size. This is the entire purpose of the "Target Size" mode on EasyImageCR.in.

Most importantly, you're uploading sensitive documents like photos and signatures. You should never upload them to a random server. EasyImageCR.in runs 100% in your browser—your files never leave your computer, giving you total privacy.

Step-by-Step Guide:

  1. Open EasyImageCR.in on your phone or computer.
  2. Drag or upload your passport photo.
  3. (Optional but recommended) In the "Width" box, type 413 and ensure "Maintain Ratio" is checked. This resizes it to the standard passport dimensions.
  4. In the "Compression Mode" dropdown, select Target Size (KB).
  5. In the "Target Size (KB)" box, type 50 (or 100, depending on the requirement).
  6. The format will likely be JPEG (or WEBP, if supported), as this is required for target compression.
  7. Click Resize & Download.

That's it. The downloaded image will be crystal clear, correctly proportioned, and guaranteed to be just under the 50 KB (or 100 KB) limit. You can use the exact same process for your signature as well, which often has a limit of 20 KB.

Stop fighting with upload forms and get your application submitted on the first try.


⬅ Back to Blogs