SSC Photo Resize With Name and Date: Is It Still Needed?

If you are searching for an SSC photo resize with name and date, here is the short answer: older SSC notices asked for the date the photo was taken to be printed on the photograph, but recent SSC exams (CGL, CHSL, GD, MTS and others) capture your photo live inside the application, so most candidates no longer upload a labelled photo at all. If your notice still asks for a photo file, make it a JPG of 20–50 KB at about 3.5 cm x 4.5 cm, and add the name and date only if that notice asks for it.

This guide explains where the name and date rule came from, what applies now, and how to prepare a photo either way.

Where the "name and date on photo" rule came from

Around 2020, SSC notices for exams such as JE, CHSL and Stenographer said the photograph should not be more than three months old from the date of the notice, and that the date of taking the photograph should be printed on it. Applications without that date were liable to be rejected. That is why so many candidates still search for a photo resizer "with name and date", and why studio photographers in India often add a white strip with the name and date at the bottom.

The rule was mainly about the date. Many studios add the name as well, and that is harmless where the notice does not forbid it, but SSC notices from that period focused on the date. If you are applying to an old-style SSC form or a state body that copied SSC's wording, read the photograph clause line by line.

What SSC asks for now: the live photo

In recent cycles SSC has moved to taking the candidate's photo live through a webcam or phone camera during the application. The CGL 2026 form worked this way. You cannot upload an old or edited photo, and there is no name or date to add, because the system records when the photo was taken.

For the live photo:

• Sit facing a plain, light-coloured wall with the light in front of you, not behind.
• Remove caps, masks and dark glasses.
• Keep your face straight and centred in the frame, and hold the camera steady at eye level.
• If the form rejects the capture, move somewhere brighter and try again.

You will still upload a signature (a JPG of 10–20 KB), which you can make with the SSC signature resizer. Our SSC signature size guide covers the cm and KB details.

When you still need an SSC photo file

A photo file can still come up: a step in a particular SSC notice, a state selection board that follows SSC-style rules, document verification, or a form for a post you apply to after selection. The numbers that keep appearing are:

SSC photo resize in cm, height and width

"3.5 x 4.5 cm" means 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high. Portals check the KB size and the format much more strictly than the exact pixels, which is why pixel values quoted by guides vary. Our SSC photo resizer uses a 280 x 340 px portrait in the right proportion and compresses it to 20–50 KB. If your notice gives specific pixels, type them into the width and height fields.

SSC photo resize to 20 KB

People often mix this up. 20 KB is the minimum for the photo and the maximum for the signature. A photo saved at 18 KB fails a 20–50 KB rule. If a guide tells you to "compress the SSC photo to 20 KB", aim for 25–40 KB instead. For a signature, compress image to 20 KB is the right target.

How to add name and date to a photo (if your notice asks)

Our tools do not write text onto photos, so do this step first with an editor you already have, then resize.

On Windows (Paint)

1. Open the photo in Paint.
2. Drag the small handle at the bottom edge of the canvas downwards to add a white strip under the photo, about a fifth of the photo's height.
3. Choose the Text tool (the "A" icon), click inside the white strip and type your name on one line and the date (for example 20-10-2026) on the next, in black.
4. Save as JPEG.

On a phone

Most gallery apps have an edit option with a Text tool (on iPhone it is under Markup). You can type the name and date at the bottom of the photo in black on a white area. If your editor cannot add a white strip, a simple trick is to stand a little further from the camera when taking the photo so there is plain white wall below your shoulders, then put the text there.

Then resize without cutting off the strip

Open the SSC photo resizer and set Fit to "Fit inside with white border". The default "crop to fill" would trim the edges to match the shape and could cut off your text. With the white border option the whole photo, including the strip, is kept. Check that the date is still readable in the preview, since small text blurs quickly at 20–50 KB.

SSC GD, CGL and CHSL: is the photo rule different?

All of them go through the same SSC registration and application system on ssc.gov.in, so the photo method is usually the same across exams in a given year. Our SSC photo and signature guide has the full comparison. What changes between exams is eligibility and timeline, not the photo format, though SSC has changed upload rules mid-year before.

Common mistakes

• Adding a name and date when the form captures a live photo. There is nothing to upload, so there is nothing to label.
• Using a studio photo older than the notice allows. Older SSC wording said three months; check yours.
• Text cut off by cropping. Use the white-border fit, or crop by hand first.
• A photo under 20 KB. It looks fine but fails the minimum.
• Uploading HEIC or PNG. Convert it to JPG first.
• A different look on exam day. Keep glasses and appearance broadly similar to the photo, because it may be compared with you at the centre.

A quick checklist

Before you submit, confirm: the notice's photo method (live or file), the file is a JPG between 20 and 50 KB, the shape is portrait, the background is plain, and the name and date are present only if the notice asks. Keep a few printed passport photos too, since admit cards and document verification often ask for them.

Questions