PDF and attachment size limits of popular services
Email services and upload portals reject files that are too big. Here are the limits that providers publish themselves, each linked to its official page, plus how to get your PDF under the number.
All rows checked against the official source on 26 October 2026.
Email services
Email limits are for the whole message. Attachments are encoded for sending, which makes them noticeably bigger than the file on your disk, so stay comfortably below the number.
Official page25 MBLarger attachments are replaced by a Google Drive link. Work and school accounts are set by the administrator.
Official page20 MBCounts the attachment and the message together. Exchange (business) accounts default to 10 MB.
Official page25 MBTotal of all attachments in one message, for both sending and receiving.
Official page25 MB sent, 50 MB receivedTotal of all attachments in a message. Up to 100 files per message.
Government upload portals
Portals often set a limit per file, and some set a different limit for each account type. The number shown on the upload screen of your own account is always the one that counts.
Official page12 MB per fileFiles generally must be PDF, JPG or JPEG (some forms also accept TIF/TIFF). Files must not be encrypted or password-protected.
Official page4 MB per fileOnly one file per upload field, so combine several documents into one PDF first.
Official page5 MB per fileOnly one file per upload field. The limit depends on which account type you were given.
Official page4 MB per fileSame IRCC help page as above.
How to get a PDF under the limit
- Compress it first with Compress PDF, starting on the Recommended level.
- Remove pages you do not need with Remove pages.
- For a black-and-white scan, convert it to grey when you compress.
- If a portal accepts only one file per field, combine documents with Merge PDF.
- If it is still too big, split it into parts with Split PDF.
The full step-by-step is in our guide: How to reduce a PDF to 200KB, 500KB or 1MB.
Common questions
How current are these limits?
Every row was checked against the provider's own help page on 26 October 2026. Providers change limits without notice, so always confirm on the upload screen of your own account.
Why is my PDF rejected even though it is under the limit?
For email, the attachment is encoded before sending and becomes noticeably larger, so a file close to the limit can still fail. Portals can also reject files that are encrypted or password-protected, have the wrong format, or are uploaded several at a time to a field that accepts only one.
How do I make a PDF fit under a limit?
Compress it first, then remove pages you do not need, convert black-and-white scans to grey, and split it into parts if the portal allows several files. Our guide walks through the steps in order.
Why are some popular services missing?
We only list limits that the provider publishes on its own help pages. If a service does not state a number, or the figures people quote online disagree, we leave it out rather than print a guess.
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