How to prepare a photo and signature for an online form
Job and exam applications usually ask for two small files: a photo of you and a picture of your signature. Each has its own size rules. Doing it in this order saves repeated rejections.
1. Write down the rules first
Open the form's instructions and note, for each file: the type (usually JPG), the pixels or cm, and the smallest and largest size in KB. If they are not on the upload page, look in the advertisement or the "how to apply" document.
2. The photo
- Use a recent, front-facing photo on a plain light background, with even light on your face.
- Do not use a photo cut out of a group picture.
- If the form wants your name and the date under the photo, add them with name and date on a photo.
3. The signature
- Sign on plain white paper with a dark pen. Use the pen colour the form asks for, if it names one.
- Photograph it from straight above in good light, with no shadow across it.
- Crop close to the signature, so it fills the frame.
4. Make each file fit
Add each picture to Fit a form's rules and type in the numbers you noted. It crops to the shape, sets the pixels, and keeps the file between the smallest and largest size. A tick or a cross shows for each rule before you download.
5. If the form wants both in one image
Some forms take a single picture with the photo above the signature. Use photo and signature in one image.
Rules differ between forms and can change with each advertisement, so always follow the one you are applying to.
Tools for this
- Resize a picture to exact pixels and KB
- Make a photo between 20 KB and 50 KB
- Make a signature between 10 KB and 20 KB
More guides
- KB, pixels and DPI, explainedWhat each number on a form means, with a cm to pixels table.
- Why is my file too large?Why phone photos are heavy, and the safe way to shrink them.
- JPG, JPEG, PNG and HEICWhich file type a form wants, and what to do with iPhone photos.
- Passport photo at homeLight, distance and background, so the photo is not rejected.
- Scan documents with a phoneA sharp, flat, small scan without a scanner.
- Sign a PDF without printingDraw your signature and place it on the page.