NTS photo: what size, which background, and how to upload it

Every NTS test, from teaching posts to NAT and GAT, is applied for through the same candidate portal, and the portal will not let you apply until your profile has a photo. This guide answers the three questions people ask about that photo, using the wording of the NTS Candidate Portal Manual, and then walks through taking and uploading it.

What photo size does NTS ask for?

A passport size photo on a blue or white background, with a file of up to 5 MB. The NTS Candidate Portal Manual puts it in one sentence: “The profile photo should be of passport size with blue or white back ground. The max. size allowed for all images is 5 MB.” That is the whole rule. There is no pixel size and no small KB limit in the manual.

Passport size means the 35 × 45 mm shape: a little taller than it is wide, head and shoulders filling most of the frame. A photo cropped to that shape at good quality usually comes to 100 to 300 KB, which is far under the 5 MB limit, so NTS is one of the few portals where file size is not the problem.

Is the NTS photo limit 50 KB or 200 × 200 pixels?

No. Several job blogs repeat a 50 KB or 200 × 200 pixel rule, but it is not in the official manual. The manual states 5 MB for all images and says nothing about pixels. We checked the manual on 2 October 2026; the exact sentence and a link to the PDF are on the NTS page of this site. If a future test advertisement states a different figure, the advertisement wins, so read it before you upload.

Which background colour does NTS accept?

Blue or white. This is the rule people actually fail, not the file size. A photo taken against a cream wall, a curtain, a brick wall or outdoors does not count as blue or white, however good the picture is. If your only photo has a coloured background, take a new one against a white wall, a whiteboard, or a plain blue sheet pinned flat. Do not use an app to paint the background; the edges around the hair look wrong and the photo can be refused at the test centre.

How do I take an NTS photo with my phone?

1. Stand about two feet in front of a plain white or blue wall, facing a window in daylight. Switch the flash off; it leaves a shadow on the wall behind you.
2. Ask someone to take the picture with the back camera, from your eye level, phone held upright. Leave some space above your head and below your shoulders; the crop comes later.
3. Look straight at the camera with a plain expression, mouth closed, eyes open. No cap or sunglasses. Ordinary glasses are fine if there is no glare on them.
4. Check the photo at full size on the screen. The face should be sharp and evenly lit, with no shadow across one side.
5. Open the NTS page on this site, choose the photo, drag it so your head and shoulders fill the passport frame, and download. The file is a JPG, cropped to passport shape, well under 5 MB.

Where is the photo uploaded on the NTS portal?

On the “Update Profile” page, which is Step 2 of the portal after you register. The manual notes that only candidates with a complete profile are allowed to apply for a post, so the photo has to be in place before you reach the application for your test. Do it a day or two before the closing date rather than on the last evening, when the portal is slow.

1. Log in at the NTS candidate portal and open Update Profile.
2. Find the profile photo field and choose the JPG you downloaded.
3. Save the profile. Wait for the page to confirm the save; on a slow connection the upload can take a few seconds.
4. Open your profile once more and check that the photo shows. Then go on to apply for the test.

What else goes wrong with the NTS photo?

• A screenshot of a photo instead of the photo itself. Screenshots are PNG files with the phone’s status bar in them; use the original picture.
• An iPhone HEIC file that the portal cannot read. The tool on this site saves a JPG, which solves this.
• A photo of a printed photo. It comes out dull and tilted; take a fresh picture instead.
• A group photo cropped down to one face. The face ends up tiny and blurred. Take a new head and shoulders picture.
• A photo older than a year or so. NTS does not state an age limit, but the picture is used to identify you at the test centre, so it should look like you now.

Can I use the same photo for FPSC or PPSC?

The same picture, yes; the same file, no. FPSC accepts less than 30 KB and PPSC less than 25 KB, so the NTS file would be refused there for size. Choose the same photo on the FPSC or PPSC page of this site and it will be saved again under that form’s limit. The limits for every form we cover are in one table on the photo size requirements page.

Does NTS also need a CNIC image?

The part of the manual we quote covers the profile photo and gives the 5 MB limit for “all images”, which suggests the portal may ask for other images in some steps. Rather than guess, follow whatever the Update Profile page and your test’s advertisement ask for. If a CNIC image is needed, the guide on photographing a CNIC for upload shows how to get a clean, readable one.