How to compress a PDF to 100 KB for government forms
Government and exam portals usually cap each document at 100 KB, 200 KB or 500 KB. If your scanned marksheet is 2 MB, the upload simply fails. Here is the quickest way to get under the limit while keeping the document readable.
1. Start from a clean scan
Scan or photograph the page flat, in good light, and crop away the table or background. A tight crop is the single biggest size saving.
2. Use a compressor that targets a size
Open Compress PDF to 100 KB, add your file and download. It tries lossless compression first, then picks the highest quality that still fits under 100 KB.
3. Too many pages? Remove the extras
A 10-page PDF has to squeeze each page into 10 KB. If the portal only needs the first page, use Delete pages first.
4. Check before you upload
Open the result and zoom in on your name, roll number and marks. If anything is blurry, try 200 KB if the portal allows it, or split the file into parts.
Common limits
| Document | Typical limit | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Certificates, marksheets | 100–200 KB | 100 KB · 200 KB |
| Caste / income certificate | 50–100 KB | 50 KB |
| Experience letters, NOC | 500 KB | 500 KB |