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How to compress a PDF for UPSC, SSC, RRB and bank exam forms (under 200 KB)

Most Indian recruitment portals cap document uploads at around 200 KB, some at 100 KB, and a few exams allow 1–2 MB. The limit exists because millions of candidates upload in the same last days before a deadline. A marksheet or caste certificate scanned on a phone is often several megabytes, so it has to be reduced without making the text unreadable. Always check the limit in the official notification for your exam.

Updated September 23, 20265 min read

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  1. Compress to under 200 KB, step by step
  2. Scan so the file starts small
  3. When a file will not go under the limit

Compress to under 200 KB, step by step

Work on one document at a time — each upload field has its own limit.

  1. If the document is a photo, turn it into a PDF page with JPG to PDF.
  2. Open Compress PDF, add the file and type 0.19 in the target size box for a 200 KB limit, or 0.09 for 100 KB. The box is in megabytes.
  3. Open the result and zoom in on your name, roll number and marks. Everything must be readable.
  4. Upload before the last day if you can — portals slow down sharply near the deadline.

A target of 0.19 is about 199,000 bytes, which is under 200 KB whether the portal counts a kilobyte as 1,000 or 1,024 bytes.

Scan so the file starts small

The smaller the scan you start from, the less the compressor has to take away.

  • Scan or photograph in even light, flat on a table, filling the frame with the page.
  • Use grayscale for certificates and marksheets unless the notification asks for colour; Grayscale PDF converts an existing colour scan.
  • 150 dpi is enough for a printed page; higher resolutions only add weight.
  • Crop away the table and background before converting — empty space costs bytes too.

When a file will not go under the limit

A multi-page document at 200 KB leaves very little per page. Keep only the pages the notification asks for with Remove Pages, then compress again.

If the result becomes too blurry to read, rescan at a slightly lower resolution in grayscale rather than forcing the compressor harder.

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Frequently asked questions

2 runs a day are free, and 3 a day in total once you sign in. If you are preparing many documents at once, a $3 day pass removes the limit for 24 hours.

No. They are compressed without being sent to us, and no copy is kept.

No. DocuGrip is not affiliated with any recruitment body. The limits above are typical as of September 2026; the official notification for your exam always takes precedence.

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