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How to get a PDF under 1 MB

Government forms, job applications and school portals often only accept PDFs under 1 MB, 2 MB or 5 MB. pdfSofo shows the real size of each option before you download, so you know you'll pass the limit.

Compress a PDF now

Get under the limit

  1. Open Compress and add your PDF.
  2. Look at the four measured sizes and pick the first one under your limit.
  3. Check the preview: are names, numbers and signatures still readable? Zoom in to be sure.
  4. Download and upload it to the portal.

Still over 1 MB?

  • Remove pages the portal doesn't need (blank pages, instructions) in Organize, then compress again.
  • Crop scans to the paper's edges, since dark borders around scans take space.
  • If you scanned in color, the black-and-white document probably didn't need it; Smallest helps most here.
Free, no watermark, no sign-up, and your file never leaves your device.Compress a PDF now

Questions

Why do portals have such small limits?

To keep their systems fast. A 1 MB PDF is plenty for text documents and readable scans.

Is the file still accepted as an official document?

Compressing doesn't change the content, only the picture resolution. Always check the preview before submitting.

Tools for this

Compress a PDFShrink big PDFs, usually scans and photos, and see exactly how each option looks before you save.Organize PDF pagesRearrange pages across several files with drag and drop, and see the finished PDF as you go.Crop PDF pagesCut away margins or keep just part of a page or scan.

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