Government portal rejecting your documents? Get them under the size limit.
Compress PDFs, Merge Documents & Meet Every Portal's Strict Upload Limits
UPSC, SSC, IBPS, state PSC, and railway recruitment portals enforce very small file size limits -- often 100KB to 2MB per document. These limits exist for legacy infrastructure built to handle millions of applications simultaneously. Diwadi compresses your PDFs, marksheets, and certificates to the exact size required, entirely offline. Your educational records and identity documents stay on your computer.
Government Recruitment Portal File Size Limits
| Portal / Exam | Document Type | Size Limit | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPSC (IAS, IFS, IPS) | Each supporting document | 2 MB | PDF, JPG | Marksheets, certificates, ID proof — 2MB per file is among the more generous limits |
| SSC (CGL, CHSL, MTS) | Photo, Signature, Documents | 100 KB – 500 KB | JPG, PDF | Photo 20-50KB, signature 10-20KB, document scans 100-500KB depending on exam |
| State PSC Portals | Certificates, marksheets | 100 KB – 1 MB | PDF, JPG | Varies widely by state — MPSC, BPSC, UPPSC, TNPSC each have different limits |
| Railway Recruitment (RRB/RRC) | Photo, Signature, ID proof | 50 KB – 200 KB | JPG, PDF | Some of the strictest limits — photo often capped at 50KB, signature at 20KB |
| IBPS (PO, Clerk, SO) | Photo + Signature, Documents | Photo: 100 KB, PDF: 500 KB | JPG, PDF | Bank recruitment portals are slightly more generous but still require careful compression |
| Defence Recruitment (NDA, CDS, AFCAT) | All supporting documents | 100 KB – 500 KB | PDF, JPG | Medical certificates, educational records, ID proof — each with individual limits |
Documents Typically Required in Government Job Applications
Marksheets & Degree Certificates
10th, 12th, and graduation marksheets are mandatory for most competitive exams. Scanned copies from high-resolution scanners can easily be 5-15 MB per page — far above the 500KB portal limit.
Caste Certificate (SC/ST/OBC)
Caste certificates are required for reservation categories and are often multi-page scanned documents. The original government document may produce a 3-8 MB scan.
Identity Proof (Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID)
Both sides of an ID card scanned together often exceed 1 MB. Many portals cap ID proof at 200-500KB, requiring compression before upload.
Experience Letters & NOC
Candidates from government or private jobs need experience letters and No Objection Certificates. Official letterhead documents scan large due to logo and formatting.
Signature Scan
Your signature needs to be scanned on white paper and uploaded separately. Portal limits range from 10KB to 50KB — a tiny file that most people accidentally upload too large.
Why Do Government Portals Have Such Small File Size Limits?
Government recruitment portals in India were built decades ago and handle tens of millions of simultaneous applications during peak exam seasons. UPSC prelims alone receives over 6 lakh applications. SSC exams attract 20-30 lakh candidates. The infrastructure was designed for bandwidth and storage constraints that existed at the time of construction. Upgrading these portals while keeping them live and secure is expensive, politically complex, and low priority compared to exam conduct itself. So the size limits remain frozen in time — often set in the early 2000s when a 100KB document was considered normal. As a candidate, you have no choice but to adapt to the portal's requirements rather than the portal adapting to your documents.
- Legacy infrastructure built for 2000s-era internet speeds
- Simultaneous load from millions of applicants during application windows
- Storage cost management across thousands of exam cycles
- No immediate incentive to upgrade since exams still happen
When to Submit as Image vs PDF
Government portals often accept both JPG and PDF, but which format you should use depends on the document type.
Submit as Image (JPG) when:
- The portal explicitly requires JPG for photos and signatures
- The document is a single-page scan (one marksheet, one certificate)
- The portal has a separate field for 'photo' and 'document'
- File size limit is very small (under 100KB) — JPGs compress better than PDFs at small sizes
Submit as PDF when:
- The document has multiple pages (consolidated marksheet, multi-page certificates)
- The portal has a single 'upload document' field that accepts PDF
- You need to merge several related certificates into one upload
- The form explicitly says 'upload PDF' or lists PDF in accepted formats
Pro tip: When in doubt, check the official notification (advt.) PDF that accompanied the recruitment notice. It always specifies exact format and size requirements for each document type.
Your Identity Documents Deserve Offline Processing
Government job application documents are among the most sensitive files you handle. Your marksheets contain your full name, father's name, date of birth, roll numbers, and educational history. Your caste certificate reveals reserved category status. Your Aadhaar card contains your biometric ID number. Uploading these to a free online PDF compressor means sending them to an unknown server where data retention, security practices, and secondary use are all unknown. Diwadi compresses your PDFs entirely on your computer. Nothing is uploaded. Nothing is shared. The compressed file is saved locally in seconds.
How to Compress Documents for Government Portals with Diwadi
Download Diwadi on Your Mac or Windows PC
Install Diwadi. No account needed, no internet required for document processing. Works completely offline.
Open Your PDF or Scanned Document
Drag and drop your marksheet, certificate, or ID proof into Diwadi. It accepts PDFs, JPGs, PNGs, and scanned image files.
Set the Portal's Size Limit as Your Target
Enter the maximum file size shown in the recruitment notification — for example, 500KB for SSC documents or 2MB for UPSC. Diwadi compresses to just under that limit while preserving readability.
Upload to the Recruitment Portal
Your compressed document is saved locally and ready to upload. Check the file size before uploading to confirm it meets the requirement. Your sensitive documents never left your computer.
Diwadi Tools for Government Application Documents
Compress PDF
Reduce any PDF to under a specified size limit. Works for marksheets, certificates, and multi-page documents.
Compress PDFCompress PDF to 1MB
Quickly compress any PDF to under 1MB — covers most government portal limits including UPSC.
Compress to 1MBImages to PDF
Convert scanned JPG images of your marksheets and certificates into a single PDF file.
Convert Images to PDFMerge PDF
Combine multiple certificate PDFs into one document when the portal requires a single upload.
Merge PDFsFrequently Asked Questions
Why does the SSC portal reject my PDF even though the size looks correct?
SSC portals often have multiple size requirements — a different limit for the photo (20-50KB), signature (10-20KB), and document uploads (100-500KB). Even if your main document is within size, the portal may reject the entire form if the photo or signature exceeds its specific limit. Check the official recruitment notification for the limit on each individual field, not just the document section.
How do I compress a marksheet PDF to under 500KB without making it unreadable?
The key is using balanced JPEG compression on the scanned images inside the PDF, not maximum compression. In Diwadi, set 500KB as your target size. Diwadi finds the optimal compression level that keeps the text on your marksheet clearly readable while meeting the file size limit. Preview the result and zoom in to verify roll numbers, marks, and subject names are still sharp before submitting.
Can I merge my 10th, 12th, and graduation marksheets into one PDF for upload?
Yes, if the portal has a single 'educational certificates' upload field. Use Diwadi's merge tool to combine all marksheet PDFs into one, then compress the merged PDF to the portal's total size limit. However, if the portal has separate fields for '10th marksheet', '12th marksheet', and 'graduation certificate', upload each separately and compress each individually.
The IBPS portal says my photo is too large. My photo is a JPG from a professional photographer — why is it too big?
Professional photographers typically provide high-resolution JPGs at 5-15 MB to preserve quality for printing. IBPS caps passport photos at 50-100KB depending on the exam. You need to resize the photo to 200x200px (or the portal's specified dimensions) and compress it to under 100KB. Diwadi handles both resize and compression in one step.
Is it safe to use an online PDF compressor for Aadhaar and caste certificates?
It carries real privacy risk. Online compressors upload your documents to their servers, and your Aadhaar number, caste status, date of birth, and personal details can be stored, logged, or accessed. For government identity documents, use a desktop tool that processes files locally. Diwadi never uploads your files — everything happens on your computer with no internet connection required.
How do I convert a multi-page scanned image (JPG per page) into a single PDF for a portal that requires PDF?
Scan each page and save as JPG. Open Diwadi's Images to PDF tool, drop all the JPG pages in order (page 1, 2, 3…), and convert to a single PDF. Then compress that PDF to the portal's size limit using Diwadi's compress tool. This workflow handles consolidated marksheets, multi-page caste certificates, and multi-page experience letters.
The railway recruitment portal rejected my signature — it says 'file too large' at 25KB. What's the limit?
Railway portals frequently cap signatures at 10-20KB, which is extremely small. Your signature needs to be scanned on white paper at around 150 DPI (not 300 or 600 DPI), then compressed as JPG. In Diwadi, set the target to 15KB to be safe. At 15KB, a signature image is still clearly readable but tiny enough for railway portals.
Can I use Diwadi to compress documents during the application window when portals are slow?
Yes, and this is actually the best time to use a desktop tool. Government portal application windows coincide with peak load — millions of candidates applying simultaneously causes extreme portal slowness. Diwadi works completely offline, so slow portal connectivity doesn't affect document compression. Prepare all your compressed documents in advance, then upload when you have a stable connection.
My caste certificate is in a regional language and scanned at high resolution. Compressing it makes the text blurry — what can I do?
Regional language scripts (Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, etc.) have more complex strokes than English and require higher image quality to remain readable. Compress to the minimum viable quality rather than the smallest possible size. In Diwadi, use the target size feature but then preview and zoom in to verify text readability. If the portal limit is 500KB, try compressing to 400KB first — often there's enough headroom to maintain readable quality without hitting the limit.
What's the difference between compressing a PDF and compressing the images inside a PDF?
A scanned document PDF is essentially a container holding JPEG images of each page. Compressing the PDF 'structure' offers minimal size reduction. Real compression happens when you compress the JPEG images inside the PDF. Diwadi compresses the image content within PDF pages, which is what actually reduces file size significantly — from 8 MB to 400 KB is achievable for a single-page marksheet scan without losing legibility.
Get Your Documents Under the Portal Limit — Offline and Private
Diwadi compresses your marksheets, certificates, and ID proof to meet any government portal's file size requirements. No uploads, no internet needed, no privacy risk to your most sensitive documents.