What GATE requires
IIT Guwahati, for the GATE committee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotographGood quality colour passport-size photograph on a white background with no other objects or people. Face covering 60 to 70% of the frame after cropping, frontal view looking into the camera, forehead, eyes, nose and chin visible. | 3.5 × 4.5 cm (200–530 × 260–690 px) | 5–600 KB | JPEG |
| SignatureSigned in black or dark blue ink only, horizontally, filling the signature box, with no background or writing behind it. Not in capitals and not initials. If it does not match your signature at the examination you can be disqualified. | 250–580 × 80–180 px | 3–300 KB | JPEG |
What trips people up on GATE
GATE is the strictest specification of any exam here
Most exams give a file size and a pixel size. GATE gives a size range, a resolution range for each side independently, and an aspect ratio band, then checks all three. The photograph must be 200 to 530 pixels wide and 260 to 690 tall, with a width-to-height ratio between 0.66 and 0.89, at 5 to 600 KB. The signature must be 250 to 580 wide and 80 to 180 tall, ratio between 2.75 and 3.75, at 3 to 300 KB. This tool solves all of those at once and takes the largest size that satisfies every bound, so you get the best quality that still passes.
Face coverage is 60 to 70%, which is looser than other exams
GATE asks that your face cover 60 to 70% of the photograph after cropping. Other exams ask for 75 or 80%, so a photograph cropped for UPSC or NEET is often too tight for GATE. Frame a little wider here. White background, frontal view, with forehead, eyes, nose and chin visible and nothing covering the face.
The signature must be horizontal and inside the box
GATE publishes rejection samples, and the recurring reasons are worth knowing: ink other than black or dark blue, all capitals, initials rather than a signature, too small to read, extending outside the signature box, not signed horizontally, or with writing behind it. The wide 2.75 to 3.75 ratio exists because a signature is a long, short shape, so sign across the paper rather than down it.
This photograph follows you onto the admit card and score card
GATE states that the admit card and score card carry the same photograph you submit with the application, so it represents you through the whole process including at the centre. A photograph that fails the criteria can lead to the application being rejected, and the fee is not refunded.
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 5–600 KB range.
- Download. The file is saved with a sensible name, ready to upload to the application portal.