Compress PDF to 200 KB
Fit a scanned certificate under an exam or scholarship form's limit.
or drop files anywhere on this page
Your files stay in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
About Compress PDF to 200 KB
Scholarship portals and exam registrations often cap a scanned certificate at a few hundred kilobytes. This page is Compress PDF with its Target size set to 200 KB: it finds the sharpest version of your PDF that comes in under 200,000 bytes, in this browser tab, without uploading it anywhere.
Some of those forms also set a minimum, and a file squeezed far below the limit can be turned away as too small. Target size works from the gentlest setting down and stops at the first one that fits, so the result lands just under your limit rather than far beneath it.
How it works
- Add the scanned certificate, mark sheet or ID as a PDF. Several files are fine; each is fitted under the size on its own.
- Check the limit in your form's notice. Target size starts at 200 KB; pick 300 KB from the list if the form allows that, or Custom size for any other figure.
- Click Compress to 200 KB.
- Read the note under the file name: it says which setting was used, or why the file could not fit.
- Download it, then upload it to the form. The result keeps its file name, so it is easy to find.
Limits this size is for
These are the limits the bodies themselves state, read on 25 September 2026. They change between years and between documents on the same form, so check the notice for yours.
- National Scholarship Portal, DEPwD schemes: each document as PDF or JPEG, no more than 200 KB (scheme FAQ).
- NEET UG 2026: category, Class X and other certificates as PDF between 50 KB and 300 KB (NTA Information Bulletin, 23 February 2026).
- CUET UG 2026: a disability or UDID certificate as PDF between 50 KB and 300 KB (NTA Information Bulletin).
- UPSC One Time Registration: the photo ID as PDF, no more than 300 KB and no less than 20 KB (UPSC OTR FAQ).
What fits in 200 KB, and in 300 KB
The same five test files every size page uses, run through Target size. A single scanned page fits with room to spare, and so does a phone photo of a page.
| Test file | Under 200 KB | Under 300 KB |
|---|---|---|
| One scanned page (543 KB) | 194 KB, 200 ppi, JPEG 65% | 249 KB, 200 ppi, JPEG 80% |
| Phone photo of a page (2.83 MB) | 193 KB, 200 ppi, JPEG 65% | 193 KB, 200 ppi, JPEG 65% |
| Two-page typed document (49 KB) | Already under | Already under |
| Seven-page report with two photos (3.60 MB) | 175 KB, 100 ppi, JPEG 30% | 292 KB, 144 ppi, JPEG 45% |
| Ten scanned pages (4.87 MB) | Did not fit: 256 KB at the smallest | 256 KB, 72 ppi, JPEG 30% |
Why landing just under the limit matters
NEET asks for certificates between 50 KB and 300 KB, and UPSC will not take a photo ID under 20 KB. Our one-page scan could be squeezed to 30 KB, which is under NEET's minimum and softer to read. Target size gave 194 KB at 200 KB and 249 KB at 300 KB instead: the sharpest version each limit allows.
The phone photo shows the other side of the same rule. It came out at 193 KB for both limits, because the next gentler setting made 302 KB, just over 300 KB. When a result looks further under the limit than you expected, that is the reason: the next step up did not fit.
Frequently asked questions
Pick 300 KB from the Target size list. The result lands just under the top of the range, as sharp as the limit allows. Only a file that was under 50 KB to begin with would be too small, and compressing cannot make a file bigger.
Often. In our tests each scanned page took about 26 KB at the strongest setting, so up to about seven scanned pages fit in 200 KB. Ten pages needed 256 KB.
The notices do not say. Target size aims for 200,000 bytes or fewer, which is under 200 KB either way, and this site shows sizes in thousands of bytes so the number on the result matches.
No. Compressing happens in this browser tab, and the file goes nowhere until you upload it to the form yourself.
Target size never goes below 72 ppi at JPEG 30%, about where ordinary text in a scan stops being readable, and it only goes that low when nothing gentler fits. Our one-page scan kept 200 ppi at JPEG 65% under 200 KB, which reads clearly on screen.
Yes. Add all of them and each is fitted under the size on its own, then downloaded separately or together. The note under each file name says which setting it got.
You get the smallest version it could make, with a note saying why, and buttons for Split PDF and Delete pages. A form that takes one page per upload is often easiest: split the PDF and upload each page where it is asked for.
Other sizes
Related tools
This tool ran entirely in your browser and nothing was uploaded. Your Recent files list keeps a copy of local files under 5 MB until you clear it. How your files are handled.