ID & document photos

What photo size and background does a PAN card application need?

Short answer

Online PAN applications (NSDL/Protean and UTIITSL) ask for a recent colour photo on a plain white background, 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm, uploaded as JPEG within a small size limit that is commonly around 50 KB. Check the limit shown on the portal, as it changes.

The background requirement is the easy part: remove the background on bgclear, apply White, download. The size limit is the part people trip on — the HD PNG is far larger than 50 KB, so crop to 3.5×2.5 cm and save as JPEG at a lower quality in your phone's photo app or any compressor.

Keep the face large in the frame (70–80%), no cap or sunglasses, and use the same source photo for your signature-free forms. Full walkthrough: PAN card photo background · हिन्दी.

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Related questions

How do I make a passport photo background white for free?

Take a straight, well-lit photo against any plain wall, upload it to bgclear, let the AI remove the background, choose White in the editor and download. Then crop to the required size (2×2 in for Passport Seva, 35×45 mm for most Indian forms). Free, no signup, no watermark.

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How do I make my signature background transparent?

Sign with a dark pen on plain white paper, photograph it straight-on without shadows, upload to bgclear and download the transparent PNG — only the ink remains. For forms that want JPG, apply White in the editor first; for PDFs and documents, use the transparent PNG.

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What background colour does a passport photo need?

Almost every country requires a plain, light background — India's Passport Seva asks for a plain white or light-coloured background, and the US asks for white or off-white. A photographed wall with shadows or colour cast is the usual reason for rejection; a digitally applied flat white passes.

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