Which portal am I using?

Look at the website where you are filing. Protean (formerly NSDL) and UTIITSL both issue PAN cards, and the guidance we found describes different photo dimensions for each.

Why is this one square?

The dimensions published for this portal are square, unlike the printed card proportions. We have not found an official explanation for the difference.

ID & document photos · UTIITSL

PAN photo for the UTIITSL portal

The dimensions published for UTIITSL are square, unlike Protean. Check which portal your form belongs to. Your photo never leaves this device.

Print size: 1 × 1 in
Pixels: 213 × 213
Head height: 50–72 %
File size: max 30 KB

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JPG · PNG · HEIC

Fit your head to the oval

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Size 100%

Make your head fill the oval — hair near the top edge, chin near the bottom. It does not need to be exact. Anywhere between the solid and dashed outlines is within spec.

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Compress to an exact size

Every candidate is measured, not guessed

Target size (KB)

Minimum width (px)

The engine will not go below the minimum width, because under it the photo stops meeting the portal's own spec.

What UTIITSL requires

213 × 213 pixels at 300 DPI — square
JPEG, 30 KB maximum
Recent colour photograph, face centred and clearly visible
Plain white background

Source: https://www.pan.utiitsl.com/ · last checked 2026-08-13

We re-check these figures roughly every quarter, but UTIITSL can change them without notice and different portals sometimes ask for different limits. Confirm the numbers on the form you are filing before you submit.

Common questions

Which portal am I using?: Look at the website where you are filing. Protean (formerly NSDL) and UTIITSL both issue PAN cards, and the guidance we found describes different photo dimensions for each.
Why is this one square?: The dimensions published for this portal are square, unlike the printed card proportions. We have not found an official explanation for the difference.