NSP Scholarship Document Upload Size and Format
The official NSP FAQ for the disability scholarships (DEPwD) says every uploaded document, including the photograph, income certificate, Aadhaar copy, marksheet and bank passbook, must be a PDF or JPEG of up to 200KB each, and readable. It is the only published NSP size rule, so use 200KB as your target.
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On the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), keep every document a PDF or JPEG of no more than 200KB. That is the rule in NSP's official FAQ for the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) scholarships, and it covers the photograph, income certificate, Aadhaar card, disability certificate, previous marksheet, fee receipt and bank passbook.
What the official FAQ actually says
The FAQ that NSP hosts for the three DEPwD schemes (Pre-matric, Post-matric and Top Class Education for students with disabilities) is direct about this: "the document should be in PDF or JPEG format only. The size of the each document should not exceed 200kb. The documents uploaded must be in readable mode otherwise application is liable to be rejected." The FAQ also says that under these schemes, students with a scholarship amount above Rs 50,000 upload the documents on the portal, while those below Rs 50,000 submit them to their school or institution instead. NSP's general student FAQ does not give a separate size figure, so 200KB per file is the safest target for any scheme unless its own form says otherwise.
| Document | Format | File size (KB) | Dimensions | Other rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student photograph | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Clear, readable |
| Parental income certificate | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Signed by revenue authority/tehsildar; Form 16 is not accepted |
| Aadhaar card or enrolment number | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Scanned copy |
| Disability certificate (if applicable) | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Issued by the competent authority designated by the District Medical Officer/civil surgeon |
| Previous year marksheet | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Scanned copy |
| Tuition fee receipt | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Of the current course year |
| Bank passbook or cancelled cheque leaf | PDF or JPEG | Up to 200 | Not specified | Scanned copy |
Source: National Scholarship Portal (scholarships.gov.in), "FAQs for applying Scholarships on the National Scholarship Portal" (DEPwD FAQ, checked 2026). This list is for the DEPwD schemes; other ministries' schemes may ask for a different document set, so check your own scheme's list.
Compress a scanned document to fit under 200KB with the PDF compressor, or convert a photographed document into a PDF first with JPG to PDF.
Compress PDF to 200 KB
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Step by step: preparing documents for NSP on your phone
- Photograph or scan each document separately in good, even light, keeping the page flat and fully in frame.
- Convert photographed documents into PDF form with JPG to PDF if the portal field expects a PDF rather than a JPEG.
- Check each file's size; if it is over 200KB, compress it with the PDF compressor.
- Confirm the compressed file is still clearly readable, especially any numbers or official stamps.
- Log in to the NSP portal or your scheme's specific application form.
- Upload each document to its correct field, checking the format accepted (PDF or JPEG) for that specific field.
- Review your application before final submission, since NSP applications typically cannot be edited once submitted and forwarded.
Why "readable" matters as much as the KB limit
The FAQ specifically warns that documents must be in readable mode or the application is liable to rejection, separate from the size limit itself. Compressing a scanned income certificate down to 200KB is only useful if the numbers, signatures and stamps on it are still legible at that size. If heavy compression makes a document blurry, re-scan at a slightly higher quality and compress again, rather than accepting an unreadable file just to meet the size cap.
If your scheme's own guidelines differ slightly
Individual scholarship schemes under the NSP umbrella, run by different ministries and state departments, can list a somewhat different set of required documents depending on the scheme. The 200KB, PDF-or-JPEG rule comes from the DEPwD FAQ, and it is a sensible target across the portal, but always cross-check your specific scheme's document list before assuming this covers everything it asks for. If you are applying through a state portal instead, such as the UP Scholarship portal, check that state's own upload limits separately, since they are run as distinct systems even where NSP eventually receives the data.
What happens after you submit on NSP
Once submitted, your application typically moves through a verification chain, often starting at your institute, then to a district or state nodal officer, before final approval for disbursal. A document that looks fine to you at upload can still be flagged later in this chain if a verifier cannot read a stamp or signature clearly, which is another reason to prioritise legibility over squeezing every file to the smallest possible size.
Renewal applications have their own document needs
If you already received an NSP scholarship in a previous year and are applying for renewal rather than a fresh application, you typically need to upload your latest year's marksheet and a fresh bonafide or fee receipt, in addition to whichever documents from your first application still need updating. The same 200KB, PDF-or-JPEG rule applies to these renewal uploads as well.
Common mistakes
- Uploading a PNG or a screenshot instead of a proper PDF or JPEG scan.
- Compressing so aggressively that stamps, signatures or numbers become unreadable.
- Submitting Form 16 as income proof, which the FAQ explicitly says is not accepted in place of an income certificate.
- Assuming every scheme's document list is identical, when some ministries or states add extra required documents.
- Submitting the application before double-checking every uploaded document opens and displays correctly.
Tools for this
Frequently asked questions
What file format does NSP accept for documents?
PDF or JPEG only, as stated in NSP's FAQ for the DEPwD scholarships. Convert a PNG or screenshot to JPEG or PDF before uploading.
What is the maximum file size for each NSP document?
200KB per document, according to NSP's "FAQs for applying Scholarships on the National Scholarship Portal" published for the DEPwD scholarships. It is the only size figure NSP publishes, so it is the safest target for other schemes too.
Is Form 16 accepted as income proof on NSP?
No. The official FAQ specifically states that Form 16 is not acceptable in place of a parental income certificate signed by a revenue authority or tehsildar.
Does the same 200KB rule apply to all scholarship schemes on NSP?
The 200KB, PDF-or-JPEG rule is stated in the DEPwD scheme FAQ, and NSP does not publish a different figure for other schemes. Check your specific scheme's own guidelines too, since document lists vary by scheme.
What happens if my document is not clearly readable after compression?
The FAQ warns that an application can be rejected if uploaded documents are not readable, separate from the size limit. Re-scan at a higher quality and compress again if the file looks blurry.
Sources
- National Scholarship Portal, FAQs for applying Scholarships (DEPwD) (checked 2026-09)
- National Scholarship Portal, NSP 2.0 Students FAQ (checked 2026-09)
Rules and limits change. Always check the latest official notification or portal before you submit a form.