JPEG or PNG for Your PAN Card Upload?

For most everyday purposes, JPEG and PNG are interchangeable. For a PAN card upload, the difference matters, for two reasons: acceptance and size.

Acceptance: NSDL is stricter than UTI

NSDL's portal accepts JPEG only — a PNG will typically be rejected on format grounds even at the exact right dimensions. UTIITSL generally accepts either. See our NSDL vs UTI guide if you're unsure which applies. Either way, defaulting to JPEG means you can't get this wrong.

Size: JPEG compresses, PNG mostly doesn't

JPEG trades a little visual detail for a much smaller file — exactly what a 30-50KB limit demands. PNG is lossless, so its size is driven by image complexity rather than a quality setting. A PNG of a simple photo is often two to four times larger than an equivalent JPEG.

When PNG is usually the better choice (not here)

PNG earns its reputation with flat-colour graphics, transparency, or sharp text — logos, screenshots, icons. A photograph of a face or a scanned signature doesn't benefit from those properties.

The takeaway

Unless you have a specific reason to use PNG, use JPEG. The resizer always exports JPEG for exactly this reason.