The Complete Upload Size-Limit Table
Confirm the receiving site's requirements before compressing. This page collects common caps for visas, government portals, exams, email and social platforms, with suggested targets leaving headroom — usually 80% of the cap. These are not acceptance guarantees. The official upload field has the final word; compare its byte limit with the tool's KiB target, where 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes and 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes.
Visa documents: common caps at visa centers
A visa application means uploading a stack of documents, and many portals cap each PDF at 1–2MB. The table below summarizes common ranges — defer to the official note on your application page, since the same country can differ by visa class and by visa center (e.g. VFS Global vs. TLScontact).
| Authority / platform | Common per-file cap | Compress to |
|---|---|---|
| US DS-160 photo upload | Photo ≤240KB (and ≥600×600px) | ≤200KB |
| UK visa (UKVI / TLScontact) | Per file ≤6MB (some stricter) | ≤3MB |
| Schengen (VFS Global, many states) | Often ≤1–2MB each | ≤1MB |
| Canada IRCC online | Per file commonly ≤4MB | ≤3MB |
| Australia ImmiAccount | Per file ≤5MB (total capped too) | ≤4MB |
| India / some Asian visa centers | Often ≤1MB each | ≤800KB |
Government & agency portals
Filing through tax, benefits, business-registration and property portals, you'll often hit a ≤500KB cap when uploading licenses, contracts and certificate scans — and oversized files are rejected outright at submission. Standards vary by jurisdiction; the table shows common ranges.
| Category | Common per-file cap | Compress to |
|---|---|---|
| Business license / registration docs | PDF/JPG ≤500KB | ≤400KB |
| Benefits / social-security documents | Commonly ≤500KB–1MB | ≤500KB |
| Tax-filing attachments | Commonly ≤1MB | ≤800KB |
| Property / notarized scans | Commonly ≤2MB | ≤1.5MB |
| License / permit application photos | ID photo often ≤100KB | ≤80KB |
Exam registration: photo and form caps
Exam-registration systems are often strict about photo and form size — the photo field can be ≤30KB–50KB, frequently with a fixed pixel size (e.g. 295×413) as well.
| Field | Common cap | Other rules | Compress to |
|---|---|---|---|
| ID photo (single) | ≤30KB–100KB | Often fixed px like 295×413 | Near cap, stay legible |
| Form / certificate PDF | ≤200KB–500KB | Usually JPG / PDF only | ≤200KB |
| Diploma / qualification scan | ≤500KB | No special characters in name | ≤400KB |
Email & social platforms: attachment / send limits
Email counts the whole message (all attachments plus body), while social platforms count a single document. Estimate by the recipient's platform, not just yours — receiving gateways often add a stricter limit of their own.
| Platform | Limit | What happens over | Compress to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Whole message ≤25MB | Auto-converts to a Drive link | ≤20MB |
| Outlook / Microsoft 365 | About ≤20MB | Rejected / 'too large' | ≤15MB |
| WhatsApp (document) | Single file ~≤100MB | Won't send | 5–10MB for speed |
| Telegram | Up to 2GB per file | Rarely a blocker | Optional, for speed |
| Slack (free workspace) | Per file ≤1GB | Blocked over plan limit | Optional |
Rule of thumb: what fraction of the cap is safest?
Once you've seen the numbers, one rule covers most cases: aim for about 80% of the cap, leaving room for the body, margin, and the recipient's stricter gateway. Pair it with 'clarity-first, tighten in steps' — compress to a slightly looser target first, confirm it looks right, then go smaller only if needed.
- Target = cap × 0.8 is a headroom suggestion, not an acceptance guarantee: for a 1MB cap, ~800KB may leave room, but check the actual byte limit and output.
- Clarity first: IDs, stamps and amounts must stay legible — bigger is better than blurry.
- Tighten in steps: try a looser target first, confirm clarity, then go smaller.
- Page count affects size: where submission rules allow, remove unnecessary pages before compressing a long document, then inspect the output.
Frequently asked questions
How many KB do visa documents actually need to be?
Most visa centers (VFS Global, Schengen states) cap files at 1–2MB, so aim for ≤1MB with headroom. But some fields are stricter — the US DS-160 photo is ≤240KB. Defer to the official note on your application page; this table is a common-range reference.
A government portal says 'file too large' — what's the usual limit?
Government and filing portals commonly cap files at 500KB, sometimes 1–2MB, with ID-photo fields around ≤100KB. Standards vary, so aim for ~80% of the cap (e.g. ~400KB for a 500KB limit) and defer to the submission page.
Why aim for 80% of the cap instead of exactly the limit?
Headroom may help account for message overhead or a stricter receiving gateway, but cannot guarantee acceptance. Check the actual byte limit, output size and every page; reducing a target can cost clarity with image compression.
Will the numbers in this table go out of date?
Yes. The tables retain their historical 2026-06 labels and were not reverified in this copy update. Check current official guidance and the actual upload field; the table does not guarantee today's limit or acceptance.
Updated · compress cat team