Passport size photo size: cm, inches, pixels and KB for Indian forms

In India a passport size photo is 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high (35×45 mm), about 1.38×1.77 inches. At 300 dpi that's 413×531 pixels. Government forms write it as "4.5 cm × 3.5 cm", height first: the passport application booklet and the voter ID Form 6 guidelines both use that wording. Online portals often set their own pixel and KB limits, so check the table for your form below. You can make a passport size photo online from a good selfie in SelfieDoc: the service fits the size, background and head position to the requirements.

Passport size photo size in every unit

The pixel figures are a simple calculation: pixels = mm ÷ 25.4 × dpi. They describe the same 35×45 mm photo printed at different resolutions. A portal that asks for a fixed pixel size wants exactly that size, whatever the dpi.

Passport size photo size by document in India

Here's what each form actually asks for. Paper forms mostly use 3.5×4.5 cm; online portals add pixels or a KB range.

Checked: October 2026 against the official sources listed at the end of each linked article.

Two things stand out. First, PAN is the odd one out online: its upload is a narrower 3.5×2.5 cm. Second, the US visa photo is square. Don't hand a 2×2 inch print to an Indian form, or a 3.5×4.5 cm print to the US consulate.

Which pixel size should you use?

Use the number the form gives you. Indian portals fall into three groups:

1. Fixed pixels. The passport upload from abroad asks for 630×810 pixels; Sarathi asks for at least 420×525. Resize to exactly those numbers.
2. Centimetres plus dpi. Protean's PAN upload gives 3.5×2.5 cm at 200 dpi, which works out to about 197×276 pixels.
3. KB range only. JEE Main asks for a JPG of 10–200 KB and doesn't fix pixels. Any clear passport-size crop that fits the range works.

If no form is involved and you just need a print, use 413×531 pixels at 300 dpi, a common print resolution for photo labs.

Passport size vs 2×2 inch: don't mix them up

Many people abroad, and some websites, use "passport size" for the American 2×2 inch photo. In India it means 3.5×4.5 cm. The difference is easy to see:

A square photo trimmed down to 35×45 mm usually loses the chin or the top of the head, so start from the right format.

How many passport size photos fit on a 4×6 sheet?

Eight. A 4×6 inch sheet is about 102×152 mm. Turned landscape, it fits four 35 mm photos across (140 mm) and two 45 mm photos down (90 mm), with room left for cutting margins.

To print it yourself:

1. Make one 3.5×4.5 cm photo and place eight copies on a 4×6 inch canvas, four across and two down.
2. Print on glossy or matte photo paper. The Indian passport booklet says a computer print is not accepted on the passport form, so use a photo lab or a proper photo printer.
3. In the print dialog choose 100% or Actual size. "Fit to page" shrinks the photos and they stop being 3.5×4.5 cm.
4. Measure one photo with a ruler before cutting.

Passport size photo kaise banaye: three ways

At a photo studio. The quickest option. Say which form it's for, because the background, the head size and the digital file differ: a JEE upload, a Sarathi upload and a PAN upload are three different files.

At home with a phone. Stand half a metre in front of a plain white wall, face a window in daylight and ask someone to take the photo at eye level from about 1.5 metres. Crop to a 7:9 rectangle with head and shoulders, then resize for your form.

Online from a selfie. SelfieDoc crops the photo to 3.5×4.5 cm, places the head and checks size and background, and gives you a file plus a print-ready sheet. Your facial features stay as they are. For portals with exact pixel or KB limits, check the file against the form before uploading.

Common mistakes with passport size photos

• Using 2×2 inches for an Indian form. Wrong shape.
• Printing with "fit to page". The photo comes out smaller than 3.5×4.5 cm.
• One file for every portal. Passport, PAN, Sarathi and JEE all have different pixel or KB rules.
• A blue or grey background where the form says white.
• Signing across the photo where the form doesn't ask for it. PAN Form 93 wants a signature across the left photo; voter ID wants the photo unsigned.
• An old photo. Sarathi limits it to six months; NTA and ECI ask for a recent one.

Sources

• Passport application instruction booklet, Passport Seva (MEA) and ICAO photo guidelines, Passport Seva.
• Form No. 93, PAN application (Protean) and Protean DSC instructions.
• Sarathi Parivahan: Photo and Signature Scan & Upload Process.
• ECI guidelines for Form 6.
• JEE (Main) 2026 Information Bulletin, NTA.
• German Missions in India: Schengen visa checklist.
• US Department of State: photo requirements for visas.