CNIC size in inches, cm, mm, pixels and Word

A CNIC is 85.6 mm wide and 54 mm high, which is 8.56 by 5.4 cm or 3.37 by 2.13 inches. That is the same size as a bank card, because both follow the ISO/IEC 7810 standard, which calls this size ID-1. The smart card, the NICOP and the POC are all this size. This page gives the measurement in every unit people search for, the pixel sizes that match it when you scan or photograph the card, and the exact settings that make a copy print at the real size from Microsoft Word.

CNIC size in cm, mm and inches

The standard states the size to two decimal places: 85.60 by 53.98 mm. Everybody rounds it, which is why you will see 85.6 × 54, 86 × 54 and 3.375 × 2.125 inches in different places. They all describe the same card. PPSC’s own Photograph Guidelines, for example, ask for a CNIC scan at least 54 mm high and 86 mm wide. The corners are rounded with a radius of about 3 mm.

CNIC size in pixels

A card has no fixed size in pixels. Pixels only become a physical size when you decide how many of them fit in an inch, which is the dpi (dots per inch) of a scan or a print. The table gives the pixel size of a CNIC at the dpi values scanners and forms commonly use. Multiply the inches by the dpi to get these numbers yourself: 3.37 inches at 300 dpi is 1011 pixels.

For an online form the pixel size and the file size pull in opposite directions. PPSC asks for the front of the CNIC under 25 KB and ASF under 30 KB, and a 1011 × 638 pixel JPG rarely fits in that. A card photographed so that it fills the frame, cropped to the edges and resized to about 674 × 425 pixels usually passes the limit with the name and number still readable. The resizer on each form page does this; choose the CNIC option and it keeps the whole card.

A phone photo of the card is much larger than any of these, often 3000 pixels wide or more. That is fine as a starting point. The important thing is that the card fills the picture: if the table around it takes up half the frame, half the pixels are wasted, and when the file is squeezed to 25 KB the small print goes first.

How to set the CNIC size in Microsoft Word

Word is the usual way to make a photocopy-style page of the card. The size comes out right only if the picture is set to the card’s measurement after it has been cropped to the card’s edges. These steps are for Word on a computer.

1. Crop the picture first. Open the photo of the card in your phone’s gallery or in Word, choose Crop, and pull the edges in until only the card is left. If you set the size before cropping, the background around the card is scaled too, and the card itself prints smaller than real size.
2. Insert the picture: Insert, then Pictures, then choose the cropped file.
3. Click the picture once. The Picture Format tab appears. In the Size group, click the small arrow in the corner to open the Layout window.
4. In the Layout window, untick Lock aspect ratio.
5. Type the height as 5.4 cm and the width as 8.56 cm. If Word shows inches, type 2.13 and 3.37 instead.
6. Click OK. Repeat for the back of the card and place it under the front.
7. Print at 100% or Actual size. Do not choose Fit to page, which shrinks the whole sheet.

If Word shows inches and you prefer centimetres, change it under File, Options, Advanced, then Display, in the setting called “Show measurements in units of”. In Google Docs the same box is under Image options, then Size and rotation. The tool linked at the end of this guide does the whole job without Word: it places the front and the back on one A4 page at 85.6 by 54 mm and gives you a PDF to print.

Checking that a print is the real size

Lay the real card on top of the printed one. The edges should line up within a millimetre. If the print is clearly smaller, the printer scaled the page: print again with scaling set to 100%. If it is smaller only on one side, the picture was stretched because Lock aspect ratio was left on; the width and height must both be typed in.

Which cards share this size

• The smart CNIC, the NICOP for overseas Pakistanis and the POC for people of Pakistani origin.
• Bank debit and credit cards, which is why a bank card is a handy ruler for checking a print.
• Most card-type driving licences and employee or student cards, though these are not covered by a single rule, so measure one before relying on it.

The size has nothing to do with the photo on the card. The photograph NADRA prints on the CNIC is its own small picture; the photograph a form asks you to upload next to your CNIC image is usually passport size, 35 by 45 mm, which has its own guide on this site.