ShrinkPDF

Compress a PDF to 300 KB.

300 KB is the limit UPSC, the Indian e-Visa and PAN portals put on a scanned ID. Drop the scan and take it back under the line.

ShrinkPDF
Drop PDFs here
or a link to a PDF
QualityImages 72 dpi, for email
Files never leave your device

What fits in 300 KB

300 KB is the most common limit for a single scanned identity document, and that is what it fits: a passport page, an Aadhaar card, a PAN card, a driving licence, front and back. At the Smaller level a scanned A4 page comes out at roughly 30 to 90 KB, so three pages of dense text fit and more of a form, and a card cropped to its edges is well under. At Balanced (150 dpi) a page is 80 to 250 KB, which leaves room for one crisp page, and that is the better upload for a document a human will inspect.

Portals in this group usually set a minimum too. UPSC asks for at least 20 KB, the Indian e-Visa for at least 10 KB. A text-only PDF can fall under that; add the scanned original rather than a typed copy.

Where the 300 KB limit shows up

  • UPSC: the photo ID uploaded with the One Time Registration "should be in 'PDF' format only" and "not exceed 300 KB and must not less than 20 KB". Photo and signature are JPEGs with the same range.
  • Indian e-Visa: the passport bio page and any business or medical supporting document go up as PDF, "Minimum 10 KB, Maximum 300 KB". The photograph is a JPEG up to 1 MB.
  • Protean (NSDL) PAN application: proof of identity, address and date of birth as PDF, "Maximum 300 KB per page".

Steps

  1. Drop the PDF into the tool above. Several documents at once is fine; each is compressed on its own.
  2. Read the size next to the file name. Under 300 KB and over the portal's minimum: download.
  3. Over: switch the level to Smaller if it is not there already, or see below.

If it is still over 300 KB

  • Send one document per file. A passport bio page and a visa page in one PDF is two images; the portal usually wants only one.
  • Rescan at 150 dpi. Scanner defaults of 300 or 600 dpi produce images the tool then throws pixels away from. Scanning at 150 dpi in the first place gives a cleaner result than downsampling a 600 dpi scan.
  • Crop to the card. A card photographed on a table is mostly table. Crop in the scanner app before exporting to PDF.
  • Colour only where it matters. A passport page is worth keeping in colour; a marksheet is not. Greyscale scans are around a third smaller.

Frequently asked

Which level should I pick for a passport scan?

Try Balanced first. If the result is under 300 KB, it is the better upload: the photo and the machine-readable zone stay sharp. Fall back to Smaller when it is over.

The result is under the minimum size. What now?

The portal wants to see a real scan, and a 10 KB PDF is a sign of a typed page or an empty one. Compress at the Balanced level instead, which keeps more of the image, or rescan.

Why is my result larger than the original?

It is not. When compression would not make the file smaller, the tool reports it as unchanged and does not offer a download. That happens with PDFs whose images are already at or below 72 dpi.

Is the document uploaded anywhere?

No. Compression runs inside your browser with an engine downloaded to it. The scan of your passport stays on your device.

Nearby limits: 200 KB, 500 KB. All sizes: compress a PDF to a target size.

Ready? Drop your PDF into the tool at the top of this page.

Compressed on your device, never uploaded. No sign-up.

Add to Chrome

Size limits on this page were checked on .