Postcard Size Photo, Stamp and Passport Size in cm and Pixels

Forms in India ask for photos by name rather than by measurement: “two stamp size photos”, “one postcard size photo”, “passport size, white background”. The trouble is that these names aren’t defined in one place, and the postcard size photo in particular has nothing to do with the size of an actual postcard. This page gives the sizes in cm, inches and pixels, links the official notices that define them, and works out how many of each fit on a 4 x 6 print.

Quick answer: A postcard size photo is usually 4 x 6 inches (10.2 x 15.2 cm), which is 1200 x 1800 px at 300 DPI. A passport size photo for Passport Seva is 4.5 x 3.5 cm (413 x 531 px). Stamp size has no national standard; the Delhi State Election Commission uses 2 x 2.5 cm (236 x 295 px). If your form gives a size, use it.

Photo sizes in cm, inches and pixels

Sizes are width x height except where the source writes them the other way round, as Passport Seva does (4.5 cm length, 3.5 cm width). The pixel column uses 300 DPI, the usual resolution for photo prints; the formula is cm ÷ 2.54 × 300.

Postcard size photo: 4 x 6 inches, mostly

The phrase comes up in exam and recruitment notices. The NEET (UG) 2026 information bulletin tells candidates to keep 6 to 8 passport size and 4 to 6 “Post Card size (4”X6”)” colour photographs with a white background. A 2017 ESIC skill-test notice asked for a coloured postcard size (4” x 6”) headshot pasted on the admit card, and several DSSSB admit-card notices use the same 4 x 6.

Not every notice agrees. One DSSSB instruction sheet describes the postcard size photo as 5 x 7 inches showing the upper body, and asks for the upload as a JPEG of 480 x 672 pixels at 96 dpi, between 50 KB and 300 KB. Those numbers are consistent with each other (480 ÷ 96 = 5, 672 ÷ 96 = 7), but they are not 4 x 6. So read the notice you’re applying under, and don’t assume.

Don’t confuse it with the mail. India Post’s own postcard measures 14 x 9 cm. That’s narrower and shorter than a 4 x 6 inch print, and no notice I found means the postal card when it says postcard size photo.

Passport size photo: 4.5 x 3.5 cm

For an Indian passport, the Passport Seva FAQ says applicants who need photos carry two coloured photographs of 4.5 x 3.5 cm with a white background. The same FAQ says photos are not required at a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, because they’re captured there.

Other forms that say “passport size” usually mean the same print, but online portals set their own pixel and KB limits. NEET, for example, wants the uploaded passport photo as a JPG between 10 KB and 200 KB. For embassy rules, the 630 x 810 px digital spec and other countries, see passport photo size by country instead of repeating it here.

Stamp size photo: check the box on the form

Stamp size is the vaguest of the three. The Delhi State Election Commission spells it out as 2 cm wide and 2.5 cm high for candidate photos on the ballot. A DG Shipping form for seafarers’ CDC renewal asks for three stamp size photos of 3 cm x 2.5 cm. Many forms just print a small box marked “affix stamp size photograph” with no number.

If there’s a box, measure it with a ruler and use that. If there isn’t, 2 x 2.5 cm is the one size with a published definition behind it, so it’s the reasonable default.

How many photos fit on a 4 x 6 print

Photo shops usually print on 4 x 6 inch (102 x 152 mm) paper, so it helps to know what one sheet holds. These counts are plain geometry on an upright sheet, 102 mm across and 152 mm down, with all photos facing the same way:

Eight passport photos is the number worth remembering. Upright, the photos only fit six to a sheet (2 across, 3 down). Turn them sideways and four fit down the 152 mm side, with room left for gaps. When you print the sheet, pick “actual size” or 100% in the print dialog. “Fit to page” scales everything and the photos stop matching the box.

ResizeAny resizes and crops single photos; it doesn’t lay out a sheet of copies. Take one correctly sized file to a photo shop and ask for copies on a 4 x 6 sheet.

How to make each size from a phone photo

1. Open the preset: stamp size photo (2 x 2.5 cm at 300 DPI), postcard size photo (4 x 6 inches at 300 DPI) or passport size photo (35 x 45 mm). For passport size, type 300 in the DPI box, because that preset leaves DPI empty and the tool then converts mm to pixels at 96 DPI.
2. Crop before you resize. The crop window has fixed ratios: use 4:5 for 2 x 2.5 cm and 2:3 for 4 x 6 inches. For 3.5 x 4.5 cm there’s no matching button, so use freeform and drag until the live size reads close to 7:9 (700 x 900 px, say). If you skip this step, the photo gets squeezed or stretched to fit the new shape.
3. Download as JPG. ResizeAny writes the DPI into the file, so a print shop’s software reads it at the size you chose.
4. If the file is for an online form, check the KB limit. The 200 KB preset covers NEET-style limits, and how to reduce an image to 50 KB explains tighter ones.

The photo never leaves your browser. For the maths behind DPI and print sizes, see image size for printing, and for larger frames like 5 x 7 and 8 x 10, photo frame sizes in pixels. The full list of document presets is in ID cards and documents.