How to Compress a PDF for Online Form Uploads

The problem

Recruitment and admission portals ask for supporting documents as PDFs with per-file KB limits. A colour scan of a multi-page mark sheet can reach several megabytes. The upload progress bar stops with a generic “file too large” message even when each page looks readable on screen.

Step-by-step

1. Check the notification for each document type — photo, signature, and certificate PDFs often have different limits.
2. Open Compress PDF and upload one document at a time (do not merge unrelated files first).
3. Start with medium compression; open the downloaded PDF and confirm text on certificates is still readable.
4. If still over the limit, run compress again at a higher level or split pages only if the portal allows multiple uploads.
5. Note the final file size before submitting — some portals enforce limits strictly below the stated maximum.

Common mistakes

• Compressing once without re-opening the PDF to check readability of small text and stamps.
• Uploading a phone photo saved as PDF instead of a proper flat scan.
• Merging unrelated certificates into one PDF when the form expects separate uploads per document.
• Assuming the same limit applies to photos, signatures, and degree certificates on UPSC-style forms.