PAN card applications on NSDL and UTIITSL portals require a JPEG photo under 300 KB. The physical form uses a unique 3.5×2.5 cm landscape-orientation photo — different from passport photos. Use PhotoFit to compress your photo to under 200 KB for a safe online PAN application upload. Free, no upload required, instant.
| Print size | 3.5×2.5 cm (width × height — landscape orientation) |
| File size (online) | Under 300 KB (NSDL/UTIITSL portals) |
| Format | JPEG / JPG |
| Background | White or light plain background |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, no spectacles |
| Photo on physical form | 2 copies required (affix and sign across) |
| Portals | onlineservices.nsdl.com / myutiitsl.com |
For online PAN application on NSDL (onlineservices.nsdl.com) or UTIITSL (myutiitsl.com), upload a JPEG photo under 300 KB with a white background. The physical PAN application form requires a 3.5×2.5 cm photo (landscape) pasted in the designated box and signed across. Online portals accept standard passport photos resized and compressed appropriately.
PAN card photos are wider than they are tall — 3.5 cm wide and 2.5 cm tall. This is unlike passport photos (which are taller than wide). This landscape orientation is specific to the Income Tax PAN card format. When uploading online, any clear face photo under 300 KB works, but the printed form must use the exact 3.5×2.5 cm landscape orientation.
For the online portal, yes — a standard passport photo under 300 KB works fine since NSDL/UTIITSL resize and crop internally. For the physical form, however, you must paste the exact 3.5×2.5 cm landscape size. A passport photo is 3.5×4.5 cm (portrait) and will not fit correctly in the PAN form box without trimming.
Check: (1) File format — must be JPEG, not PNG. (2) File size — must be under 300 KB. (3) Background — should be white or very light. (4) Face must be clearly visible. (5) No spectacles (NSDL specifically discourages spectacles in PAN photos). Use PhotoFit to compress to 200 KB and try again.