SSC CGL / CHSL / GD Photo & Signature Size — 2026 Specs and Common Mistakes
SSC application portals reject thousands of photos every cycle. Here are the exact specs for CGL, CHSL, GD, MTS, and JE — plus the 5 mistakes to avoid.
The Staff Selection Commission has *consistent* photo and signature specs across most of its exams — but every cycle thousands of applications are rejected for trivial mistakes. Here's the canonical reference.
The exact specs
| Document | Dimensions | File size | Format | Background | |---|---|---|---|---| | Photo (CGL/CHSL/MTS/JE) | 200 × 230 px | 20-50 KB | JPG | Plain light | | Photo (GD Constable) | 200 × 240 px | 20-50 KB | JPG | Plain light | | Signature (all SSC exams) | 140 × 60 px | 10-20 KB | JPG | Plain white |
Always cross-check against the official notification PDF for the current cycle — specs can change.
Pre-built resizers
- SSC CGL Photo — 200×230 px, 20-50 KB - SSC CGL Signature — 140×60 px, 10-20 KB - SSC CHSL Photo — 200×240 px - SSC GD Photo — 200×240 px
5 common mistakes that cause rejection
1. Photo older than 6 months
SSC rules require a recent photo. Don't reuse a 2-year-old picture from your college ID.
2. White background instead of "plain light"
Counterintuitively, *too white* a background can also fail — they want a soft off-white or pale grey. Pure photo-studio white is fine; a paper-white wall photographed in sunlight is fine. A computer-edited "perfectly white" background can sometimes flag as edited.
3. Selfie crop
Your face should occupy 70-80% of the frame. A typical selfie has too much background and gets flagged as "face not clearly visible".
4. Signature too thick or too thin
The signature should be in black or dark blue ink on a plain white background. Thick markers blur after compression. Pencil signatures don't have enough contrast. Use a regular ballpoint pen, scan it, then crop tightly.
5. JPG saved as PNG
SSC portals reject .png files even if the dimensions are correct. Always save the final output as .jpg.
How to fix all five in one minute
1. Take a fresh photo against a plain wall (white, beige, light grey — all OK). 2. Crop tightly to head + shoulders. 3. Run it through our SSC photo resizer — it handles dimensions, KB, and JPG conversion automatically. 4. For signature: sign on white paper with black ballpoint, photograph or scan it, run it through the SSC signature resizer. 5. Upload both to the SSC portal.
That's it. 95% of rejections come from one of those five issues.