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distortionCheck failed: what it means and how to fix it

distortionCheck failed means the Passport Seva upload screen detected that your photo has been stretched or squashed. It is a geometry check, not a judgement about your face, your expression or the background.

In almost every case the cause is the same: a square 2 x 2 inch photo — the one every US drugstore counter hands you — resized into the 630 x 810 pixel rectangle the portal requires. Resizing changes the proportions of the face, and that is exactly what the check looks for. The fix is to go back to the original and crop it to 630 x 810 instead.

Why cropping works and resizing does not

The printed photo you glue to the form is 2 x 2 inches — a square. The photo you upload to the portal is 630 x 810 pixels — a rectangle, taller than it is wide. Those are two different shapes, and nothing you do in a resize dialog reconciles them.

Resizing forces the square into the rectangle, which stretches the face vertically. You often cannot see it on screen; the check measures it immediately. Cropping instead removes space around the head and leaves every proportion of the face untouched, which is why the same photograph passes once it has been cropped rather than resized.

If you no longer have the original file, take a new one from about 1.5 metres away rather than at arm's length. A close camera bends the features outward on its own, and that lens distortion can trip the same check even on a correctly cropped file.

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If you are running low on upload attempts, send the photo you have. We return a portal-ready file within the hour, checked against the spec.

  • A portal-ready file at the exact pixel size the upload screen wants
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  • Checked by a specialist against the current spec before you upload
  • Re-done free if the portal still refuses it

What each upload error actually means

ErrorWhat it meansWhat to do
distortionCheck failedThe image has been stretched or squashed out of proportion.Crop the original to 630 x 810. Do not resize a square into a rectangle.
postureCheck failedThe head is tilted, turned, or off-centre in the frame.Face the camera straight on, shoulders square, equal space either side of the head.
Face Width / Length RatioThe face is too small or too large within the frame.The face should fill about 80 to 85 percent of the frame height.
isMobileDeviceDetected failedThe portal believes the file came straight off a phone camera.Prepare the file properly before upload rather than sending an unedited phone capture.

The photo looks correct and still fails

Two invisible things cause this. The first is the aspect ratio, which you cannot judge by eye once the image is displayed on a screen — check the pixel dimensions, not the preview.

The second is how the JPEG was written. Phone editors and many online croppers save progressive JPEGs with chroma sub-sampling by default, and the portal can reject those regardless of how the photo looks. Re-save as a plain baseline JPEG, without progressive encoding, and upload again.

How many attempts do you get?

Roughly twelve on the upload screen. People run out not because twelve is few but because they re-upload the same stretched file with small cosmetic edits, burning an attempt each time. Fix the shape once and the next upload passes.

The OCI photo is a different photo

This is the trap for anyone who has just finished a passport renewal. The OCI photo is 51 x 51 mm, square. The Passport Seva upload is 630 x 810 pixels, a rectangle. A file prepared for one is rejected by the other, so prepare them separately — see the OCI application guide for the rest of that file, and the full photo specification for both formats side by side.

Where these numbers come from

We re-check every fee and rule on this page monthly. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it the same day.

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distortionCheck failed, answered

What does distortionCheck failed mean?
It means the portal detected that your photo has been stretched or squashed out of its original proportions. It is not a comment on your face or the background — it is a geometry check. Almost every case is a square 2 x 2 inch photo that was resized into the 630 x 810 pixel rectangle the upload screen wants.
How do I fix distortionCheck failed?
Go back to the original photo and crop it to 630 x 810 instead of resizing the square. Cropping removes area around the head and keeps the face proportions intact; resizing changes the shape of the face, which is exactly what the check looks for. If you no longer have the original, take a new photo from about 1.5 metres away rather than at arm's length.
How many times can I upload a photo before I am locked out?
You get roughly twelve attempts on the upload screen. That sounds generous, but each failed attempt with the same stretched file burns one, which is why people run out. Fix the aspect ratio once rather than re-uploading the same image with small edits.
Is the OCI photo the same as the passport photo?
No, and this catches people who have just been through a passport renewal. The OCI photo is 51 x 51 mm square. The Passport Seva upload is 630 x 810 pixels, a rectangle. A file prepared for one will be rejected by the other, so prepare them separately.
The photo looks fine to me. Why is it still rejected?
Two things cause a correct-looking photo to fail. The first is the aspect ratio, which you cannot see by eye once the image is on screen. The second is how the JPEG was saved: progressive encoding and chroma sub-sampling, which many phone editors and online tools apply by default, can break the upload. Re-save as a plain baseline JPEG.
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