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JPG, JPEG, PNG and HEIC: which format an online form accepts

By Umair Tahir · Updated 2 October 2026

A form can refuse a picture that is small enough simply because it is the wrong type of file. The type is shown by the letters at the end of the file name, such as .jpg or .png, and each type stores a picture in a different way. Four of them cover almost every photo you will meet.

JPG and JPEG

These are one format with two spellings. Older versions of Windows allowed only three letters after the dot, so .jpeg was shortened to .jpg, and both have been used ever since. A form that accepts one accepts the other.

JPG was designed for photographs. It makes files small by discarding fine detail that the eye does not easily notice, and it lets the amount of compression be chosen. That is why it can bring a photo down to 20 or 30 KB, and why it is the format that forms ask for.

PNG

PNG keeps every pixel exactly as it was. That is ideal for screenshots, logos and drawings, which have flat colours and sharp edges. For a photograph it gives a file many times larger than a JPG of the same picture, and it has no quality setting to bring the size down.

Screenshots on phones and computers are usually saved as PNG. If your “photo” is really a screenshot of a photo, that is why the form refuses it.

HEIC

Recent iPhones save photos as HEIC when the camera is set to “High Efficiency”. HEIC files are smaller than JPG at the same quality, but many websites and many Windows computers cannot open them. To make an iPhone save JPG instead, open Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose “Most Compatible”.

If you have already taken the photo, sending it to yourself by email from the iPhone normally converts it to JPG on the way.

What each form states

  • FPSC: JPG or JPEG. Its guidelines also say “jpeg format only”.
  • Join Pak Army: JPEG/JPG only. The form shows “File must be a JPEG under 300KB” for anything else.
  • Join Pak Navy: the picture field is labelled PNG, JPG and JPEG.
  • Online passport portal: its photo checker accepts .jpg, .jpeg and .png.
  • PPSC, ASF and NTS: the documents we read state a size limit and do not name a format.

JPG is accepted by every one of these, so it is the safe choice whenever a form does not say.

Renaming is not converting

Changing the letters at the end of a file name does not change the file. A PNG renamed to .jpg is still a PNG inside. A portal that checks the contents may refuse it, and one that does not may show a broken picture later, when it is too late to fix.

To convert a picture it has to be opened and saved again in the new format. The resizer on this site does this for you. Whatever you choose, a JPG, a PNG or a picture with a see-through background, the file you download is a real JPG, and any transparent area is filled with white.

How to see which format you have

  • On Windows, right-click the file and choose Properties. The “Type of file” line shows the format.
  • On Android, open the photo, open its details, and look at the file name. The letters after the last dot are the format.
  • On an iPhone, open the photo and tap the info button. The format is shown beside the file name.

What about PDF?

A PDF is a document, not a picture, and a photo field will not accept one. PDF is used where a form asks for a scanned document, such as a degree, or for a copy of your CNIC with both sides on one page. For that second case there is a separate tool on this site that puts the front and back of a CNIC on one A4 page and saves it as a PDF.

When a form has one field for a photograph and another for documents, check the format each field asks for. They are often different, and the limit in KB is often different as well.