What CTET requires
Central Board of Secondary Education specifies an exact size for each file you upload. A photo straight from a phone camera is typically 2 to 6 MB, which every one of these limits will reject, so each file has to be resized and recompressed first.
| Document | Dimensions | File size | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotographRecent photograph in the stated 3.5 by 4.5 cm proportions, clearly legible. | 3.5 × 4.5 cm (413 × 531 px) | 10–100 KB | JPEG |
| SignatureSignature in the stated 3.5 by 1.5 cm proportions, clearly legible. | 3.5 × 1.5 cm (413 × 177 px) | 3–30 KB | JPEG |
What trips people up on CTET
CBSE gives centimetres, not pixels, and states no DPI
The bulletin specifies the photograph as 3.5 cm wide by 4.5 cm tall and the signature as 3.5 cm by 1.5 cm, with no pixel figure and no scanning resolution anywhere in its 34 pages. So what CBSE fixes is the shape and the file size. The pixel sizes shown here are those print sizes at 300 DPI, a standard scan resolution, which is our derivation rather than a CBSE figure. What matters for acceptance is that the proportions match and the file size is in range.
The signature ceiling of 30 KB is the tightest here
30 KB is a small ceiling and 3 to 30 KB is a narrow window, while a phone photograph of a signature starts hundreds of times larger. That combination is exactly where compressing by eye overshoots in one direction or the other, so the size meter is worth watching settle rather than guessing.
One application covers Paper I, Paper II, or both
CTET Paper I is for teaching classes 1 to 5 and Paper II for classes 6 to 8, and a single application form lets you opt for one or both, with the fee changing accordingly. The photograph and signature you upload serve whichever you choose, so there is nothing extra to prepare if you sit both papers on the same day.
This photograph is checked against you at the centre, and the certificate lasts for life
The bulletin gives a specific reason for wanting a recent photograph: it will be matched with the actual candidate appearing in the examination, so an old or unrecognisable photograph creates a problem at the door rather than at upload time. It is also worth getting right because the CTET qualifying certificate is now valid for life for all categories, so this is not an exercise you have to repeat every few years.
How to use this tool
- Add your file. Drag in your photo, choose a file, paste it, or use your phone’s camera.
- Check the crop. The tool crops to the required shape automatically. Adjust it if you want a different framing.
- Let it hit the target. The size meter shows the file converging into the required 10–100 KB range.
- Download. The file is saved with a sensible name, ready to upload to the application portal.