AFCAT Photo and Signature Resizer, Compressor & Converter

What AFCAT is

AFCAT is the Indian Air Force's own admission test for officers, run by the Air Force rather than by any civilian recruitment board. It covers the Flying Branch, Ground Duty in the Technical and Non-Technical branches, and the NCC special entry, all as Group A Gazetted Short Service Commission posts for men and women. The test is held twice a year, with examinations in February and August and advertisements released in June and December on the Air Force career portals. Successful candidates are called to one of the Air Force Selection Boards for further testing before medicals and the final merit list.

The specification carries one feature specific to air force paperwork: a thumb impression, to be produced as its own image in the same 100 by 120 pixel box as the portrait and also published in a 3.5 by 1.5 centimetre frame. What makes this page unusual is that every file window is open at both ends: the photograph must weigh between 100 and 200 KB and the signature between 80 and 150 KB. Having a floor as well as a ceiling means you cannot simply compress hard and move on, because a file cropped too thin underneath the minimum number will fail on the other side of the check.

The board publishes its notices at afcat.cdac.in/AFCAT. The numbers on this page come from the recorded specification, and the notice on that site is the authority whenever the two differ.

This page sets out the numbers AFCAT actually asks for. It is not a general guide to cropping or to the tool interface, because those instructions do not change from one exam to the next and they are written up separately.

What the AFCAT form asks you to upload

3 images go into this form. That is the detail most candidates miss, because the photograph and signature are the obvious ones and the remaining uploads are easy to overlook until the portal rejects the submission. They are:

• A photograph at 100 x 120 px, no heavier than 200 KB and no lighter than 100 KB.
• A signature at 100 x 80 px, no heavier than 150 KB and no lighter than 80 KB.
• A left thumb impression at 100 x 120 px, up to 100 KB.

The AFCAT numbers, and why they matter

AFCAT publishes its sizes in both units, which means the record is offering two ways to express the same kind of requirement. Pick the row that matches how your own advertisement is worded: centimetres when the notification states a physical frame, pixels when it states a resolution. They are alternatives published for different notifications, not a sequence to apply in turn.

The AFCAT table lists DPI values of 200 and 96 against what is otherwise the same frame. Both entries describe identical dimensions, so the decision is resolution quality rather than size. Take the higher value unless the notification names the lower one.

Worth knowing that AFCAT works in both directions. The photograph must be no larger than 200 KB and no smaller than 100 KB, and the signature no larger than 150 KB with 80 KB as its floor. Overshooting the ceiling is the usual mistake; undershooting the floor is the one that surprises people who compress hard.

The AFCAT record offers 3 photograph options and 3 signature options: 100 x 120 px; 3.5 x 4.5 cm. These come from different notifications and different recruitment streams rather than from one form, so there is no single right answer to which to use. Take the size from the advertisement you are actually applying under, and if it names a size that is not listed here, enter it by hand in the width and height fields.

The AFCAT form asks for one document image beyond the photograph and signature: 100 x 120 px at up to 100 KB; 3.5 x 1.5 cm at up to 100 KB; 3.5 x 1.5 cm at up to 100 KB. Each is validated separately, so a correct portrait does not offset a document that falls outside its own specification.

If the AFCAT application refuses your file

• If AFCAT refuses a file, start with the weight on the result card against the 200 KB, then look at the picture. At this ceiling, an uncropped phone photo straight off the camera will not fit, so crop before you compress rather than after.
• The signature is judged on its own 100 x 80 px box and is not rescued by a correct photograph. If it is rejected, the usual cause is loose cropping: a signature scanned with a wide white margin carries more weight than the 150 KB allowance and fails even though the writing itself looks right.
• Two identical rejections usually mean the specification moved rather than the file. Compare the table above against the current notification before you generate a third attempt.

Images from the original page

Frequently Asked Questions

How to position a face inside the crop frame, and how far to push compression before quality suffers, is the same lesson for every exam, so it sits in a single shared guide.