What are the BCS application photo and signature rules, and why does an upload get rejected?

The BCS application asks for two small files: a photo and a signature. Both have exact sizes, and the form is strict about them. Here are the rules, where they come from, and the reasons an upload most often fails, with the fix for each.

The rules

Every BCS has its own circular. The numbers above are the ones reported for the 49th BCS. They match the official Teletalk help page, which is a good sign, but read the circular for the BCS you are applying to before you upload.

The report we read gives sizes only. It does not list rules about background colour or dress, so follow your circular for those.

What the rules mean in practice

• Exactly 300 × 300. Not 299, not 320. A square.
• Up to 100 KB. To be safe whichever way the form counts a kilobyte, keep the file at 100,000 bytes or less.
• JPG. A real JPG, not a PNG with its name changed.
• Signature 300 × 80. A long strip, nearly four times as wide as it is tall.

Common reasons an upload is rejected

1. The pixels are wrong

The file is small enough, but it is 720 × 960 or 1200 × 1600, because the app you used only made the file lighter. The form checks the pixels as well as the KB. Fix: resize to exactly 300 × 300 for the photo and 300 × 80 for the signature.

2. It is over the limit by the form's count

Some systems count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes and others as 1,024. A file your computer shows as 98 KB can be 100,352 bytes, which is over 100 KB if the form counts in thousands. Fix: keep the photo at 100,000 bytes or less and the signature at 60,000 bytes or less. Resize Image does this and shows the exact byte count.

3. It is not a real JPG

Screenshots are usually PNG. Pictures saved from websites can be WebP. Renaming a file to .jpg changes the name, not the file. Fix: save it again as a real JPG.

4. It turns sideways

A phone stores a small note in each photo saying which way is up, instead of turning the picture itself. A form that ignores the note shows your photo lying on its side. Fix: use a tool that reads that note and saves the photo upright. If the photo is sideways in your own gallery, rotate it there first.

5. The signature is grey, faint or squashed

A phone photo of white paper comes out grey, often with a shadow. A signature forced into 300 × 80 by stretching looks squashed. The upload may go through, but the signature on your application looks poor. Fix: whiten the paper, darken the ink, and fit the signature into the strip with white edges instead of stretching it. The details are in signature 300×80 under 60 KB.

6. "File too small", when a form sets a minimum

The BCS sizes above have a maximum only. Some other forms also set a minimum, and a small, clean file can fall below it. If you ever see this, open More options in Resize Image and type the minimum in Smallest size. It first raises the quality and, if the picture is still too small, adds blank data inside the JPG to reach the minimum, without changing the picture. It tells you when it has done this.

Doing both files

The photo and the signature have different sizes, so do them one at a time.

1. Open Resize Image and choose your photo, with Picture on Photo. Type 100 in the File size box, 300 in Width and 300 in Height, and check the crop in the preview. If your head is cut off, open More options and set Keep this part to Top.
2. Check the list of checks by the preview: size under 100 KB, 300 × 300 pixels as asked, saved as JPG. Tap Actual size to see the face sharp. Tap Resize picture and download it. If you want it named photo.jpg, type that in File name under More options first.
3. Now choose your signature photo and, under Picture, choose Signature; Background switches to White. Type 60 in the File size box, 300 in Width and 80 in Height. The paper is made white and the signature trimmed and fitted to 300 × 80. Download signature.jpg.
4. Upload both. Keep the two files; the next form that uses these sizes takes the same ones.

Nothing is uploaded while you do this. Both pictures are resized on your own phone or computer.

Things no resizer can check

The tool checks size, pixels, format and file name. It cannot judge whether the photo is recent, whether the background and dress follow the circular, or whether your face is clear. Look at the photo at actual size, the way someone checking your application would, before you press upload.

For the photo on its own in more detail, see the 300×300 Teletalk photo guide.