RRB, NDA, IBPS & Bank PO photo–signature size
Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), NDA (via UPSC) and bank recruitment (IBPS, SBI and other PSU banks) forms each run their own separate application portal, unlike SSC and UPSC's shared OTR system — which means the photo and signature specification genuinely does vary a little between the three, even though all three fall in a broadly similar range. This page collects the working numbers for each so you're not hunting across three different notification PDFs.
Quick reference table
| Exam / Board | Photo | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| RRB (Railways) | ~200×230px, 20–50KB (confirm current notification) | ~160×60px, 10–20KB |
| NDA (via UPSC) | 200×230px, 20–200KB | 140×60px, 20–100KB |
| IBPS / Bank PO | 200×230px, 20–50KB | 140×60px, 10–50KB |
NDA applications go through UPSC's own OTR system, so its numbers match the UPSC specification exactly. RRB and IBPS run independent portals, and RRB in particular is known for adjusting its exact KB ceiling between different recruitment cycles (CEN notifications), so treat the RRB row as a close working default rather than a fixed number.
Why RRB is the one to double-check every time
Unlike UPSC/SSC's stable OTR-based specification, each RRB Centralised Employment Notification (CEN) — for NTPC, Group D, ALP, JE and others — is published somewhat independently, and the photo/signature size band stated in the PDF has genuinely differed by a few KB from one CEN to the next in past cycles. The safe habit is to open the current CEN notification's "how to apply" section, note its exact numbers, and type them into a general-purpose resize tool rather than assuming last year's cycle's figures still apply.
IBPS and IBPS's own signature quirk
Bank recruitment forms (IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO/Clerk and similar) typically ask applicants to sign inside a printed box on a declaration sheet at the exam centre in addition to the online upload — so the online signature upload and your physical exam-day signature should look reasonably consistent, since some banks do cross-check them.
Tools for each
RRB: RRB Photo Resizer and RRB Signature Resize. IBPS/Bank PO: IBPS Photo & Signature Resize. NDA: the UPSC Photo Resize and UPSC Signature Resize tools, since NDA uses the same OTR specification.
A habit that saves a re-upload across all three portals
Since these three exam families have subtly different pixel and KB targets, a habit that saves real time is preparing a clean, well-lit, plain-background source photo once, and then re-running it through each portal's own resize tool separately rather than trying to reuse one exported file across all three. The resize step itself takes only seconds per portal, but starting from the same good-quality source photo each time keeps the final results consistent in how you look across different applications, which matters if you end up applying to more than one of these exam families in the same year.
Keep the original, uncompressed source photo saved somewhere safe (not just the small compressed exports) so you can re-run it through a different portal's tool later without needing an entirely new photo session.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these three changes its size requirement most often?
RRB — its CEN notifications are published independently for each recruitment drive, and the exact KB ceiling has varied slightly between past cycles, unlike UPSC/SSC's stable shared OTR specification.
Can I use my UPSC-sized photo for an NDA form?
Yes — NDA applications are processed through UPSC's own OTR portal, so the same specification and even the same saved photo/signature apply.
Do IBPS and SBI use the same photo specification?
They're generally close since both are large-scale bank recruitment processes, but always check the specific bank's current notification rather than assuming an exact match.
Can I reuse the exact same exported file across RRB, NDA and IBPS?
It's safer to keep the original source photo and re-run the resize tool for each portal separately, since the exact pixel/KB targets differ between them.