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Why upload portals reject your scanned documents, and how to fix each cause

A rejected upload is rarely about size alone. Format, page count, readability, passwords, colour and file names all cause rejections, and every portal sets its own rules. Here is what official pages say about each cause and how to fix it on your own device.

By DocPro · Updated · 7 min read

A portal that refuses a document usually gives a short message and no detail. The cause is often one of seven things. This guide goes through each one with what official pages say, and then shows the fix. It covers causes beyond file size. For size alone, see the guide to compressing a PDF for email and upload limits. Limits change, so at the time of writing (October 2026) the figures below are those on the pages listed under Sources. The message on your own upload screen overrides everything here.

1. The file is too large

Size limits differ a lot between portals, even inside one country:

Fix: Compress PDF, aiming a little below the limit. The existing posts cover three portals in detail: ImmiAccount, USCIS and UK visa uploads.

2. The format is not on the list

Each portal names the formats it takes. USCIS accepts PDF, JPG, JPEG, TIF and TIFF. GOV.UK accepts PNG, JPG and JPEG for photos of documents, and PDF, PNG, JPG and JPEG for scans. The German agency lists PDF, JPG, PNG and BMP. TLScontact's UK self-upload guide says only PDF is accepted. IRCC lists different formats per account, and Word files are accepted only on some of them. The citizenship application list names no Word format.

None of these lists names HEIC, the default photo format on many iPhones. A Word file is also off the list on most of them. When a portal says PDF or JPG, send exactly that.

Fix: for HEIC photos, use HEIC to PDF (the Images to PDF tool) or HEIC to JPG. For a .docx file, use Word to PDF, which keeps a basic layout only.

3. Several pages went up as separate files

IRCC states that when there is one upload field, all documents must be combined into 1 file, and that if several are uploaded only the last one is saved. IRCC also says to keep an image-based PDF at 150 DPI or less, or its minimum size setting, to stay under the limit. That helps with size but can hurt readability, so check the result.

The rule is not universal. The German agency's guide says the opposite: split content into several files of a few pages each, and upload several smaller files rather than one large file. Read the portal's own guidance before merging.

Fix: Merge PDF to join files, or Split PDF to cut a long file into parts. Phone photos of one document go through Images to PDF first.

4. The scan is blurry, cropped or too low in resolution

USCIS says to make sure each image is clear and that all text is readable. GOV.UK asks for the full document to be visible with nothing covering it, the document flat against the scanner or in focus on the camera screen, and the flash off for reflective documents. A Home Affairs guide warns that low quality scans might slow processing. The German guide suggests limiting a large file's resolution to 300 dpi, which shows that a scan well above that is not needed.

No tool can restore detail that was never captured. Compression and rotation do not sharpen a blurry photo.

Fix: rescan or rephotograph in daylight, flat, with all four corners in view. Use Rotate PDF for sideways pages: select pages, then use "Rotate left", "Rotate right" or "Rotate 180°" and press "Save rotated PDF". If the compressed file looks soft, use a larger target or split the file instead.

5. The PDF is password-protected or encrypted

Most of the pages reviewed say nothing on passwords. One does: the July 2017 Home Affairs guide states that encrypted PDF files cannot be accepted for citizenship applications and that the scan must be saved in a different format. A portal cannot open a file that needs a password, so treat any protected PDF as likely to fail, including bank statements downloaded with a password.

Fix: Unlock PDF. If the PDF needs a password to open, type it in the "Password" box and press "Unlock PDF". If it only has restrictions such as no printing, the button reads "Remove restrictions". The password is used on the device. Only unlock files you own or may change. If a file will not open at all, try Repair PDF with "Repair PDF". A repair may rebuild the pages as images, so the text can no longer be selected.

6. Colour or black and white

Few official pages say anything on colour. Protean's PAN scan table asks for colour photographs and signatures and for black and white supporting documents. Where a page is silent, keep colour for documents with stamps, seals or coloured security features unless size forces a change, and use black and white for plain text pages.

Fix: Grayscale PDF has "Grayscale" and "Black & white" modes, a "Black & white threshold" slider and Resolution choices of 100, 150 or 200 dpi. Read the result: a high threshold can drop faint print.

7. The file name breaks a rule

The July 2017 Home Affairs guide allows only the letters A to Z, numbers 0 to 9, dashes and underscores in file names. It rejects spaces, full stops, ampersands, hashes and other symbols, and does not accept compressed (ZIP) files. GOV.UK takes the opposite approach and asks for a descriptive name, with "bank statement 2019" as its example. USCIS and IRCC pages reviewed give no rule.

Fix: rename the file on your device before uploading, for example Passport_Jane_Smith.pdf. DocPro names its outputs itself (such as merged.pdf or images.pdf), so rename the download.

Other causes worth checking

How to do it with DocPro

  1. Write down the portal's limit, formats, page rule and name rule from its own screen.
  2. Turn photos into one PDF per document: Images to PDF, choose Page size, press "Create PDF". HEIC photos are accepted.
  3. Join or split as the portal asks with "Merge PDFs" in Merge PDF.
  4. Remove any password with Unlock PDF, and repair a file that will not open with Repair PDF.
  5. Fix sideways pages with Rotate PDF.
  6. Last, open Compress PDF, tick "Aim for a target size", enter the limit in "Target size (KB)" and press "Compress PDF". Compare the Before and After sizes.
  7. Open the final file at full zoom, rename it, and upload.

Everything runs in the browser and the files are not uploaded to DocPro, which matters for passports and bank statements.

What DocPro cannot do

Frequently asked questions

Why does my PDF upload fail when it is under the size limit?

Common reasons are the wrong format, a password or encryption on the file, a file name with a space or symbol where the portal forbids them, or several files uploaded to a field that keeps only the last one.

Can I upload a HEIC photo to a government portal?

None of the official format lists reviewed (USCIS, GOV.UK, IRCC, the German agency) names HEIC. Convert it to JPG or put it in a PDF first.

Should I merge all my pages into one PDF?

Only if the portal asks for it. IRCC says to combine documents into 1 file when there is a single field. The German agency's guide advises several smaller files. Follow the portal.

Does a password-protected PDF get rejected?

Most official pages say nothing, but a Home Affairs guide says encrypted PDFs cannot be accepted for citizenship applications. Remove the password before uploading.

Which colour mode should I scan in?

Follow the portal. Few state a rule. Protean's PAN table asks for colour photos and black and white proofs. Otherwise keep colour for documents with stamps.

Sources

Sources checked on 28 October 2026

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