How to print your voter ID card front and back on one page
By the PdfDady team · Updated · 7 min read
To print your voter ID with both sides on one page, you need either a photo of each side of the card or the e-EPIC PDF from the Election Commission's portal. Crop each side to the card, place them on an A4 sheet at about 86 × 54 mm, and print at 100% scale. If you print with "Fit to page" on, the card shrinks and looks wrong next to the real one.
Our Voter ID front and back on A4 tool handles the layout in your browser and accepts the e-EPIC PDF directly, so you don't need to convert it to an image first. The rest of this guide covers getting the e-EPIC, the steps, and the problems people usually hit.
Card, e-EPIC or both?
EPIC stands for Electors Photo Identity Card, the voter ID. You may have one of three things:
- The PVC card, the plastic one issued now.
- An older laminated paper card, which many people still carry.
- The e-EPIC, a PDF version you download yourself.
The Election Commission's e-EPIC FAQ describes it as a secure PDF version of the EPIC that you can keep on your phone, upload to DigiLocker, or print and laminate yourself. The same FAQ says you can print the e-EPIC and show it as proof of identity at the polling station. For other uses, such as a bank, college or employer, the organisation asking decides what it accepts.
If you have lost your card, the e-EPIC is the quickest way to get something printable. If you have the card, photograph it.
Getting the e-EPIC PDF
The e-EPIC is downloaded from the ECI's voter services portal (voters.eci.gov.in) or the Voter Helpline app.
- Log in or register on the portal.
- Choose Download e-EPIC.
- Enter your EPIC number or, if your card hasn't arrived yet, the Form 6 reference number.
- Verify with the OTP sent to the mobile number registered in the electoral roll, and download.
If your mobile number isn't registered in the roll, the FAQ says you can complete an e-KYC instead, which includes a face liveness check through your phone or laptop camera, and update the number as part of it. If the e-KYC fails, the FAQ's advice is to visit your Electoral Registration Officer with photo ID to update your mobile number.
Forgot your EPIC number? Search your name on the electoral roll through the same portal, note the number, then download.
Steps to print both sides on A4
- Open the tool and add the front. Use a photo of the card (JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC, up to 25 MB) or your e-EPIC PDF.
- If you added a PDF with several pages, use Previous and Next to pick the page that shows the card. If the file asks for a password, enter it. It is used only in your browser.
- Add the back the same way. If your e-EPIC shows both sides on one page, add the PDF as the front, then press Use the same PDF page on the back side.
- Open Crop & position for each side. With a PDF, the tool starts the crop on a card-shaped area it finds on the page (the first one for the front, the second for the back). This is only a guess, so check that each crop covers exactly one side of the card and adjust it.
- Keep the card size at 85.6 × 54 mm, or enter your card's own measurements as a custom size.
- Choose A4 portrait or landscape, the gap between the cards, and leave cut lines on if you plan to trim the cards out.
- Watch the DPI figure under each side in the preview. Below 200 DPI the tool warns that the print may come out blurry.
- Download
voter-id-front-back-a4.pdf, or press Print.
PDF pages are turned into 300 DPI images before cropping, which is plenty for a card-sized print.
Photographing the card
If you are working from the physical card, the photo decides how good the printout is.
- Lay the card flat on a dark, plain surface.
- Turn the flash off. Laminated and PVC cards reflect it as a white patch right over your details.
- Hold the phone straight above the card so its edges look parallel.
- Let the card fill most of the frame, and zoom in afterwards to check that the EPIC number is sharp.
A cropped WhatsApp forward is usually too small. If the tool shows a low DPI for a photo, take a new one closer to the card.
Card size and printer settings
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| A4 sheet | 210 × 297 mm |
| PVC EPIC | about 86 × 54 mm (ECI card specification, with a tolerance) |
| Tool default | 85.6 × 54 mm, the standard ID-1 card size |
| Old laminated card | No official size found; measure yours |
| Print scale | Actual size or 100% |
| Paper | A4 (not Letter) |
The PVC card and the tool's default differ by less than half a millimetre, so the default works for most people. The older paper cards were made in different places over many years. Put a ruler across yours, and if it is noticeably different, enter its width and height as a custom size.
In the print dialog, look for Scale, Page sizing or Fit. In Chrome and Edge, open More settings and set Scale to 100. In Adobe Acrobat Reader, choose Actual size. At a shop, ask for "100%, no scaling, on A4". Then hold your real card, or any bank card, against the print. The edges should match closely.
For more on why cards come out the wrong size, see our explainer on ID card size in mm.
Common problems
The printed card is smaller than the original. Fit to page or Shrink to fit was on. Reprint at 100%.
The crop picked up the wrong part of the e-EPIC. The automatic crop is a starting point. Drag and resize the frame until only one side of the card is inside it.
The PDF won't open in the tool. Make sure it is the file you downloaded, not a screenshot saved as PDF by a messaging app. If it asks for a password you don't know, download a fresh copy from the portal rather than guessing.
The back is sideways. Rotate it in 90° steps in Crop & position.
You need it in one file with other documents. Download this page and combine it with the rest using Merge PDF. If those are photos, convert them with Image to PDF first.
You need Aadhaar on the same trip. The Aadhaar front and back on A4 tool works the same way, and our guide on printing Aadhaar front and back covers its details.
A word on sharing
The voter ID carries your name, photo, other personal details and a QR code that may contain personal information. Give copies only to people who actually need them. Some organisations want the copy self-attested (signed by you), so check before printing a stack of them.
Questions people ask
Is a printout of the e-EPIC valid at the polling booth?
The ECI's e-EPIC FAQ says you can download and print the e-EPIC to show as proof of identity at the polling station. Your name must still be on the electoral roll for that booth.
Can I laminate the printed e-EPIC?
The same FAQ mentions printing and self-laminating it. A laminated home print is still a copy of the e-EPIC, not the PVC card.
Do I need both sides?
Each side is optional in the tool. Most offices want both sides on the copy, so include them unless you are told otherwise.
Is PdfDady linked to the Election Commission?
No. PdfDady is independent. The tool only arranges the images or PDF you give it and does not create, verify or change any details. Your files are not uploaded.