A few recruiting bodies — most notably the Tamil Nadu PSC and Kerala PSC — ask for something most exams do not: your name and the date the photo was taken, printed in a strip at the bottom of the photo. Studios do it routinely; at home it is easy to get slightly wrong. Here is how to do it right.
Why do they ask for it?
The date proves the photo is recent; the name ties the photo to the applicant. Both commissions use a one-time registration profile (TNPSC OTR, Kerala PSC Thulasi) where the photo is reused across many applications, so they want to know how old it is.
What the strip should contain
- Your name — TNPSC asks for capital letters, exactly as on your SSLC mark sheet. Spelling should match your certificates.
- The date the photo was taken, not today's date — in DD/MM/YYYY (or the format your notification shows).
- Black text on a white strip, centred, readable at the small upload size.
Requirements differ slightly between commissions and change between notifications — always check the current notification for the exact pixels, KB range and text format. The exam pages for TNPSC and Kerala PSC list the sizes we track.
Step by step
- Take the photo against a plain white wall in daylight (see how to take an exam photo with your phone). Note the date.
- Open the photo with name & date tool, upload the photo and crop so your face fills most of the frame.
- Type your name and the photo date. The tool adds a white strip below the face — it does not cover your chin or shoulders.
- Pick your exam's preset so the final image, strip included, comes out at the required pixels and KB.
- Zoom into the result. Name and date must be readable. If they are blurry, start from a sharper original.
Mistakes that cause rejection
- Text written over the face or background instead of in a separate strip.
- Today's date on an old photo. Scrutiny compares it with your face at verification.
- Name in a different spelling from your certificates, or initials in the wrong order.
- Resizing after adding text to a different shape — the text stretches and becomes unreadable. Add text and resize in one step.
- Handwritten name photographed on paper under the photo — looks unprofessional and is often too faint at small size.
Do other exams need this?
Most central exams (SSC, IBPS, NTA, UPSC) do not ask for name and date on the photo, and some instruct you not to add any text. Only add it when your notification asks for it.