A mortgage applicant has scanned salary certificates, bank statements and passport copies into one 18MB PDF, but the bank's portal caps uploads at 10MB.
The Walkthrough
- Check the exact size limit first
Confirm the bank portal's stated limit — in this case 10MB — so the target size for compression is clear before starting. - Upload the 18MB file to the compressor
Start with the full combined document rather than trying to compress each page separately, since the tool handles the whole file at once. - Start at a moderate compression level
Begin with a setting that meaningfully reduces size without being the most aggressive option, since legal and financial documents need to stay clearly legible. - Check the resulting file size against the 10MB target
If still above 10MB, increase compression incrementally rather than jumping to maximum compression immediately. - Verify legibility of every page before submitting
Scroll through each page of the compressed file, particularly financial statement figures and signature sections, to confirm nothing has become unreadable.
The Takeaway
Going from 18MB to under 10MB rarely requires maximum compression — checking the file size after each incremental step, rather than compressing to the smallest possible size immediately, is what keeps critical financial figures and signatures legible for a bank underwriter.
Try It With Your Own Numbers
This example used specific figures to make the process concrete, but the same steps apply whatever your actual numbers are. Run the Compress PDF with your own details — free, in under a minute, no sign-up required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will compression make bank statement numbers hard to read?
At moderate settings, no — the compressor is tuned to preserve legibility of text and numbers; only extreme compression settings risk blurring fine details.
Should I split the document instead of compressing it?
If the portal accepts multiple files, splitting is an alternative approach, but if it specifically requires one combined file, compression is the more direct solution.
Does compressing a scanned PDF remove any of the pages?
No — compression reduces file size while keeping all pages intact; it doesn't remove or reorder any content.
What if the bank rejects the compressed file for quality reasons?
If quality concerns arise, try a lighter compression setting or consider re-scanning source documents at a lower resolution to begin with, which often compresses more cleanly.
Is there a limit to how much a PDF can be compressed?
There's a practical limit before quality degrades noticeably — very large files may need a combination of compression and reduced scan resolution to reach a small target size while staying legible.