Guide

Prepare a PDF for an upload portal

Portals fail files for boring reasons: the attachment is 12 MB on a 10 MB cap, the cover is page four, the name has spaces and an emoji, or the PDF is a JPEG with a .pdf extension. RealScaner gets the file into a shape those systems usually accept, right in your browser.

Read the cap before you scan

Look for three numbers: maximum file size, accepted types, and page or dimension limits. Common caps are 2 MB, 5 MB, and 10 MB. If the original scan is a 20 MB phone PDF, compress once with Compress PDF at the Balanced preset, then open a page of small print. If the text is still crisp, stop. A second pass rarely saves much and can smear barcodes.

If only one photo page is huge, save that page as a JPG under a KB limit with PDF to JPG. Then delete the heavy page, add the JPG back with Merge PDF, which takes images next to PDFs, and move it into place in Organize PDF. Crushing the whole packet to save one photo is how signatures turn into gray blobs.

Order the packet the way a human will open it

1. Cover or form first, then ID, then supporting pages, then extras.
2. Drop blank backs and accidental double captures in Organize PDF.
3. If the portal wants one file per document type, split instead of merging everything into a 40-page blob.
4. Add page numbers only if the instructions ask, using Add page numbers with a margin that misses stamps.

A watermark that says DRAFT on a filing you intend to submit will get the packet sent back. Use Watermark PDF on the copy you keep, not on the copy you upload, unless the office asked for a mark.

Name the file so the clerk can find it

Use letters, numbers, and hyphens. Avoid commas, slashes, and leading spaces. A name like 2026-09-26-lease-application.pdf survives more systems than final FINAL (2).pdf. Match any naming pattern the instructions print, even if it looks ugly. Their search box is looking for that pattern.

Last check in a second viewer

Download the file, close the tab, and open it in the device’s PDF viewer. Confirm page count, rotation, and that the last page is not a duplicate of the first. If you placed a signature image, confirm it still sits on the line. Then upload. If the portal errors with a generic “invalid file,” try a slightly smaller compress rather than converting to Word. Most government and school systems want PDF, not a screenshot of a PDF.

Processing stays in the browser until you upload to the portal. After you click submit, that portal’s privacy rules apply. See what stays on your device.

Updated October 21, 2026. First published September 26, 2026.

Keep reading

• How to scan a document on your phone

  Lighting, framing, and export settings that turn a phone photo into a readable scan.

• When a phone scan is good enough

  Jobs a phone PDF can handle, and jobs that still need a certified copy or a flatbed scanner.

• Compress a PDF without ruining the text

  When shrinking images inside a PDF helps, and when a smaller file starts to look worse.

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