OCI photo size and signature
The OCI portal takes a square JPEG photo from 200 x 200 to 900 x 900 pixels, up to 200 KB, on a plain light background that must not be white. This tool opens at 200 x 200 and keeps it under 200 KB. Type a larger square, up to 900, for a sharper photo.
Jump to the toolYour workspace PIXELS · PREVIEW · DOWNLOADPrivate by default
Processed on your deviceNo watermark. No signup.
What the authority specifies
- Photo size
- 200 x 200 to 900 x 900 pixels
- Background
- plain light colour, not white
- File size
- up to 200 KB
- Read strictly
- At most 200,000 bytes, which your computer shows as 195.3 KB
- Source
- ociservices.gov.in
- Read at the source on
Each size on this page was read at the issuing authority's own website, not copied from another converter or from a search result.
The page it came from and the date it was read are printed above, so you can check the same source in one click.
Why this size?
The OCI card is applied for on the Ministry of Home Affairs' own OCI portal, not through Passport Seva, and its photo rules are its own.
The portal wants a square digital file and a background that is light but not white, which is exactly where a photo made for an Indian passport fails.
Where the pixel figure comes from
Passport offices publish millimetres, not pixels, because the photograph is printed. Turning millimetres into pixels needs a resolution, and most authorities do not name one.
This one publishes pixels directly, because the photo is uploaded rather than printed, so no resolution was needed and the pixel figure above is the authority's own.
That matters if you are uploading rather than printing.
An online form usually states its own pixel size or file size limit, and where an authority publishes one this page uses that instead of converting anything.
Check before you submit
Requirements change, and the only version that counts is the one on the authority's own page on the day you apply.
Every size here links to the page it came from and shows the date it was read. If that date looks old, spend a minute at the source before you print anything.
What happens to your photo?
Your selected photo is processed in your browser, without an image upload to a server. The page may download code and codecs needed for editing.
Save your result before closing the tab; unsaved edits are kept in memory rather than in an online account.
Common questions
Can the OCI photo have a white background?
No. The portal asks for a "plain light color background (not white)".
That is the opposite of the Indian passport, whose booklet asks for plain white, so a passport photo cannot simply be reused. Any plain light colour other than white meets the sentence.
What size is the OCI signature?
The portal states only its format and weight: a JPEG of at most 200 KB, the same limit as the photo. It gives no pixel size and no shape.
Scan or photograph the signature, crop close to the ink, and keep the file under 200 KB.
Is 51 x 51 mm the same as 2 x 2 inches?
Almost. The portal asks for a square of not less than 51 x 51 mm, and 2 inches is 50.8 mm.
At 300 DPI, 51 mm is 602 pixels, inside the 200 to 900 pixel range the same answer gives, so a 602 x 602 file satisfies both sentences.
Is 200 KB 200,000 bytes?
The portal does not say. The tool keeps the file at or under 200,000 bytes, the stricter reading, which your computer shows as 195.3 KB.
How much of the photo should my face fill?
The portal asks for 80 percent coverage of the face, a front view of the head and shoulders with the full face in the middle, and no border.
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