Most upload failures are about size, and the size rules are covered in our main resizing guide. This checklist is for the other case: you have resized the file, the numbers look right, and the form still says "invalid file" or simply does nothing. Work through the causes in order. Each one takes a minute to check.

1. The form counts kilobytes differently from your computer

A file of 20,300 bytes is "20.3 KB" if a kilobyte is 1,000 bytes and "19.8 KB" if it is 1,024 bytes. Windows uses 1,024; many upload scripts use 1,000. If your limit is 10–20 KB and your file sits right on an edge, one definition passes and the other fails. Aim for the middle of the range. A file that is under the maximum counted in thousands and over the minimum counted in 1,024s passes either way, and that is the rule ExamFitr's editor uses when it shows the green badge.

2. The pixels are right, but not the ones the form checks

Some forms only check KB. Others also check width and height, sometimes with a range rather than one size. TNPSC's own resize notice, for example, gives the photo as 300–400 px wide and 250–400 px high, and BPSC's user manual gives the signature box as 150–220 px wide and 250–320 px high, which is taller than it is wide. If you squeeze a normal wide signature strip into a portrait box by guessing, it will fail the check. Open the TNPSC or BPSC page, or your own exam's page, and use the exact numbers.

3. The file is not really a JPEG

Renaming photo.png to photo.jpg changes the name, not the contents. Validators that read the file header still see a PNG. The same happens with iPhone HEIC photos that were renamed, and with WebP images saved from a browser. Re-save the file as a real JPEG. If it came from an iPhone, see our HEIC guide.

Two less obvious JPEG problems come from scanners and editing apps:

  • CMYK JPEGs. Some scanner software saves JPEGs in the CMYK colour model used for printing. Browsers show them, but some server-side checks reject them or show them with strange colours. Re-saving through a browser-based tool produces a normal RGB JPEG.
  • Rotation stored in metadata. Phones often save a photo sideways and add a tag that says "rotate when displaying". Your gallery obeys the tag; an older portal may not, and shows your face on its side. Re-saving bakes the rotation into the pixels.

4. The file name

Long names with spaces, brackets, Hindi or other non-Latin characters, or two extensions (photo.jpg.jpg, which Windows hides when "file name extensions" are turned off) trip some upload scripts. UPSC's instructions go further and ask for the files to be named photo and signature. When in doubt, rename to something short like photo.jpg and sign.jpg.

5. The right file in the wrong box

It sounds silly, but it is common with four-file forms. Banking forms that follow the IBPS format ask for a photo, a signature, a left-thumb impression and a handwritten declaration, each with different pixels and KB. The signature (140 × 60 px, 10–20 KB) will not pass in the thumb box (240 × 240 px, 20–50 KB). See the banking page for all four.

6. The browser or the connection

  • Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a laptop if you can. Mobile browsers sometimes open the camera instead of the file picker, or hand the form a cloud placeholder instead of the real file.
  • If the upload button does nothing, an ad blocker or privacy extension may be blocking the form's script. Try a private window with extensions off.
  • Long forms time out. If you spent twenty minutes on the earlier pages, the session may have expired; save, log in again and retry the upload first.
  • On a slow connection, wait for the progress indicator to finish before you press "Next". Pressing it early can leave the slot empty.

7. Live photo forms: camera permission

SSC, BPSC and NBEMS forms take a live photo through your webcam or phone camera. If the browser was ever told "Block" for the camera on that site, the capture box stays black. Click the camera icon or the padlock in the address bar, allow the camera, and reload. Read what live capture is and what you still upload.

8. The file is too small

Compression can overshoot. If the form has a minimum, a file under it is refused just like an oversize one, and the error message is often the same vague "invalid size". Small signatures are the usual victims. Our minimum-KB guide shows which exams set a minimum and how to meet it.

Still failing?

Check the portal's own help or FAQ page for the current notification; requirements change between cycles. If you think the size on one of our exam pages is out of date, use the "Report a wrong size" link on that page and tell us what the notice says.