How to Scan Photo & Signature at 200 DPI (IBPS Guide)
29 Oct 2026 · 6 min read · JobCareerUpdates Blog
Almost every rejected upload in a bank or government form traces back to the same two settings, and both are set before you press "scan": scanner resolution at a minimum of 200 DPI, colour set to True Colour, saved as JPG or JPEG. That sentence is IBPS's official scanning rule, quoted word for word, and it is the spine of this guide. Below it you will find the exact document sizes IBPS asks for, the step-by-step scanning procedure, and the mistakes that turn a good scan into a rejection.
The scanner settings, exactly as IBPS states them
| Setting | IBPS rule |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Minimum 200 DPI (dots per inch) |
| Colour | True Colour |
| File format | JPG or JPEG |
| Crop | Crop to the edge of the photo/signature in the scanner, then use the upload editor to crop to the final size |
| If the file is too big | Adjust the scanner settings (DPI, number of colours) during scanning — do not just squeeze the finished file |
One caution before you go further: these are IBPS's numbers. They are the cleanest official scanning guide published by any major recruiter, which is why this guide uses them — but your own form's note always wins. If your portal says 300 DPI or a different KB band, follow that portal, not this page.
IBPS document sizes: photo, signature, thumb, declaration
| Document | Size (IBPS) | Rules that matter |
|---|---|---|
| Photograph | 4.5 × 3.5 cm, 200 × 230 px (preferred), 20–50 KB | Recent passport-style colour picture, light coloured (preferably white) background, look straight at the camera, no caps/hats/dark glasses |
| Signature | 140 × 60 px (preferred), 10–20 KB | Black ink on white paper, not in capital letters |
| Left thumb impression | 240 × 240 px in 200 DPI (3 × 3 cm), 20–50 KB | White paper, black or blue ink; right thumb if no left thumb |
| Handwritten declaration | 800 × 400 px in 200 DPI (10 × 5 cm), 50–100 KB | Your own handwriting, English, black ink on white paper, not in capitals; exact declaration text as the form gives it |
IBPS also asks for a live photograph in addition to the scanned one — captured by webcam or by scanning a QR code with your phone during the application. That live capture is separate from the scanned photo above: the scanned file follows the table, and the live capture follows the on-screen prompts (light background, face straight at the camera, no coloured glasses or cap, no shadow on the face).
How to scan, step by step
- Set the scanner first. Resolution: minimum 200 DPI. Colour: True Colour. Format: JPG or JPEG. Do this before the first scan, not after — settings applied afterwards cannot put back detail the scanner never captured.
- Place the document flat and clean. No folded corners, no shadow across the signature strokes, no other paper in the frame. For signatures, sign on plain white paper with a dark pen before you scan — a faint pen makes a faint scan, and no setting fixes that.
- Crop to the edge in the scanner. Cut away the empty bed around the photo or signature, then use the upload editor to crop to the final size the form asks for. A scan that is mostly empty scanner bed wastes KB and shrinks your actual document.
- Check the file, then the numbers. Open the scan and zoom in: face clear, signature strokes unbroken, declaration readable. Then check pixels and KB against your form's table. If the file is over the ceiling, re-scan with adjusted DPI or colour settings rather than compressing a bad scan harder.
- Upload each file in its own slot. Photo in the photo slot, signature in the signature slot. IBPS states plainly that a photo in the wrong slot (or vice versa) means you will not be allowed to appear for the exam — and a preview check before submission catches it.
- Preview before you submit. IBPS's guide repeats this twice: preview the uploaded image, and if it is unclear or smudged, re-upload for clarity before submitting. After submission, that chance is gone.
Once your scans are right, sizing them is the easy part: our photo resizer takes a scan to the exact pixels your form asks for, and our exact-KB compressor lands a file on a precise KB target. Scan right first, resize second — the other order never works.
Why scans get rejected
Under 200 DPI. A 72 or 150 DPI scan looks fine on screen and fails the portal's check. Set the minimum before scanning.
Grayscale or black-and-white mode. The rule is True Colour. A photo scanned in mono loses the colour information the check expects.
Uncropped scanner bed. The document floats in a sea of white bed, the face or signature ends up tiny after the portal crops it, and the file reads as unclear.
Capitals in signature or declaration. IBPS rejects both outright. Sign and write in your normal handwriting, not block capitals.
Wrong file in the wrong slot. The portal checks the slot, not just the file. Preview the form before submitting and confirm each image sits where it belongs.
Smudged or faint scans re-uploaded unchanged. If the preview looks unclear, re-scan in better light with better settings. Uploading the same faint file again changes nothing.
Sources & verification: Scanner settings ("minimum of 200 dpi", "True Colour", JPG/JPEG, crop-to-edge procedure, adjust-settings advice) and all four document sizes are from IBPS's official "Guidelines for Scanning and Upload of Documents" (ibpsonline.ibps.in), read 29 October 2026. The live-photograph requirement (webcam or mobile QR capture, in addition to the scanned photo) is from the same document. These are IBPS's figures — your own form's note governs if it differs. Re-check trigger: any IBPS guideline revision.
Skip the reading — make the file now, free:
Open the Photo Resizer →Frequently asked questions
What DPI should I scan my photo and signature at?
At least 200 DPI. IBPS's official scanning guidelines say, word for word: "Set the scanner resolution to a minimum of 200 dpi (dots per inch)". Set the colour to True Colour, and save the file as JPG or JPEG.
What size should the scanned photo be?
For IBPS forms: 4.5 cm × 3.5 cm, 200 × 230 pixels (preferred), between 20 KB and 50 KB, in colour against a light coloured, preferably white, background. Your own form's note governs if it differs — IBPS's numbers are IBPS's, not every portal's.
What size should the scanned signature be?
For IBPS forms: 140 × 60 pixels (preferred), between 10 KB and 20 KB. Sign on white paper with a black ink pen, and never in capital letters — IBPS rejects signatures and declarations written in capitals.
What about the thumb impression and handwritten declaration?
For IBPS forms: left thumb impression 240 × 240 pixels in 200 DPI (that is 3 cm × 3 cm), 20–50 KB, on white paper with black or blue ink. Handwritten declaration 800 × 400 pixels in 200 DPI (10 cm × 5 cm), 50–100 KB, written by you in English with black ink on white paper, not in capitals.
My scanner offers 150, 300, or 600 DPI — which do I pick?
Pick 300 DPI (or 600 if the file stays in range). The rule is a minimum of 200 DPI, so anything at or above 200 passes the resolution test — but higher DPI also means a bigger file, so check the KB ceiling afterwards and adjust the scanner's colour or DPI settings if you overshoot.
What if my scan is over the KB limit?
IBPS's own advice: adjust the scanner settings — DPI resolution, number of colours — during scanning, rather than crushing a finished scan. A scan made at the right settings lands in range cleanly; a scan squeezed afterwards often turns faint or blurry, and unclear files get rejected.