How to prepare and reduce your GATE certificate PDF
For GATE 2027, SC/ST and PwD candidates provide their certificate as a PDF — named CATEGORY.pdf or PWD_CERT.pdf — via DigiLocker. Large scans can fail; here's how to keep them light and legible.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026 · Conducted by IIT organising institute (GOAPS) · Applies to India (national)
GATE document size limits
| Document | Format | Size |
|---|---|---|
| SC / ST certificate | PDF named CATEGORY.pdf | Keep it small; no fixed size published |
| PwD certificate | PDF named PWD_CERT.pdf | Keep it small; no fixed size published |
| Photograph | JPG | Up to 600KB, max 530 × 690 px |
| Signature | JPG | Up to 300KB |
Limits can change between cycles. Confirm in the current notice on gate2027.iitm.ac.in before you upload.
Compress your GATE PDF
Preset to 500KB for GATE. Runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Step by step
- 1Scan the certificate, or convert a photo with JPG to PDF.
- 2Compress it with the compressor above — 500KB keeps it sharp and quick to upload.
- 3Rename the file exactly as instructed (CATEGORY.pdf or PWD_CERT.pdf).
- 4Upload to the GATE folder in DigiLocker or the GOAPS field, as the current guidelines say.
Why compress if there's no fixed limit?
Multi-megabyte phone scans are slow to upload and can time out or be rejected by a field limit that isn't stated in the brochure. A 300–500KB PDF is fully readable and uploads instantly.
Common reasons uploads get rejected
- Wrong file name — the guidelines name the files exactly.
- A sideways scan. Rotate it first.
- Uploading a 5MB phone photo directly.
Filling the GATE form on your phone?
FramePDF makes PDFs smaller and combines pages offline on Android — so you can fix a certificate straight from Downloads, even on patchy mobile data.
- Make a PDF smaller in one tap
- Combine front and back into one PDF
- Rotate or remove pages before you upload
