Per the official IBPS calendar, the IBPS PO 2026 prelims are on 22–23 August, with registration opening on the notification a few weeks before. The application window is short, the server is busy, and the most common reason people lose time is a photo or signature the portal won't accept. The fix is to prepare both now, while there's no deadline pressure. Here's the full checklist.
The IBPS PO photo & signature spec
- Photo: JPEG, 20–50 KB, roughly 200×230 px, plain light background, recent and clear.
- Signature: JPEG, 10–20 KB, black ink on white paper, scanned cleanly.
- Format: JPG/JPEG only — a PNG or an iPhone HEIC file is rejected at upload.
These are a band, not just a maximum — a file under 20 KB is rejected too. Always confirm the exact numbers on the live notification; you can cross-check them any time on the IBPS requirements page, which links the official source.
The checklist, in order
- 1. Take the photo now. Plain wall, even light, neutral face, both ears visible, no cap or tinted glasses.
- 2. Size the photo. Run it through the IBPS PO resizer — it lands the file in the 20–50 KB band at the right dimensions and outputs JPG, all in your browser.
- 3. Sign on white paper in black ink, fairly large, and photograph or scan it in good light.
- 4. Clean and size the signature. The same resizer has a signature tab that removes the paper background, trims the edges, and compresses it to 10–20 KB.
- 5. Save both files somewhere you'll find them on application day — and you're ready to upload in minutes.
Do it once, reuse it everywhere
The IBPS PO spec is shared across IBPS Clerk, SO and RRB, and is close to the SBI and SSC bands. A clean 20–50 KB photo and 10–20 KB signature will serve most banking and SSC applications this cycle — so the work you do for IBPS PO pays off across several forms. If you're applying to more than one, the Exam Application Kit prepares a photo + signature for any chosen exam in one guided flow.
Don't miss the window
IBPS PO is just one of several exams opening this season. The exam calendar lists the upcoming notification and exam dates from the official SSC, UPSC and IBPS calendars — and you can add them to your own phone's calendar so a reminder lands before each window opens.
For the reasons applications get bounced even when the file looks right, see why exam photos and signatures get rejected.