Use your recipient’s actual requirements
When the page opens, two rules are already active: 10 MB per file and 20 MB in total. Two more rules are set up but switched off: at most 5 files and at most 200 pages per file. All four values are only starting values so that the form isn’t empty. They don’t come from any particular portal. Replace them with the details from your recipient’s current instructions, and switch off any rule that isn’t mentioned there at all.
- Open the recipient’s current guidance, such as the upload page, the FAQ or the help for the relevant form. Look there for information on file size, number of files and page count.
- For each number, find out whether it applies to a single file or to all files combined.
- Enter the value in exactly the unit the recipient uses. If it says MB, choose MB. If it says MiB, choose MiB.
- Activate only the rules the recipient actually specifies. You can switch each rule on and off independently of the others.
- Select your PDFs or add rows manually. The result updates as soon as a file or a limit changes.
When typing, watch out for thousands separators: “1.000” is read as a decimal number, meaning 1. For one thousand, type “1000” or “1,000”. Spaces are not accepted, so “1 000” is rejected. Use a period as the decimal separator; a comma works only as a thousands separator.
What happens to your files
The calculator accepts files with the .pdf extension, in upper or lower case. It reads each selected file locally in your browser: the exact size in bytes and, where possible, the page count. Because the size is measured, you can’t edit it for selected files. The check doesn’t send your documents anywhere. They are neither transmitted to the recipient nor stored for you. “Reset” clears the selection and the result.
If the files are currently on another device, add rows manually instead. Enter the size and, if you know it, the page count. You can’t name these rows; they are automatically called File 1, File 2 and so on. So keep track of which file belongs to which row. After conversion, the size must come to a whole number of bytes. 1.5 MB therefore works, because that is exactly 1,500,000 bytes.
Check individual files, total size and count together
A per-file limit and a limit for the whole collection measure different things. Each individual PDF can be small enough while all of them together are still too large. The calculator therefore evaluates each active rule separately. It also shows the rules that are met, so you can see where you don’t need to change anything.
Does the limit apply per PDF or to all files combined?
The recipient’s wording tells you, and sometimes it specifies both. Look for phrases such as “per file”, “per attachment”, “in total” or “all attachments combined”. Two real examples, retrieved on 13.10.2026: The FAQ on online applications via uni-assist states that My assist accepts only PDF files of at most 10 MB per file. The ELSTER guide to the questionnaire for tax registration for sole proprietorships lists four limits for attachments to this form: 200 PDF pages per file, 10 MB per file, 36.91 MB in total and 20 attachments.
These details apply only to the stated source. Other ELSTER forms, other years and other application portals may differ, and neither source says exactly how “MB” is meant there down to the byte. The calculator therefore never applies such values automatically. You always enter the requirements that currently apply to your case.
An example with three files
The following values are made up and show how each rule produces its own result. Calculations are decimal, so 1 MB equals 1,000,000 bytes. Four limits are active: 10 MB per file, 15 MB in total, at most 2 files and at most 20 pages per file. The page count for File C could not be determined.
All three files are individually under 10 MB. Together, however, they come to 18 MB, which is 3,000,000 bytes more than allowed, and there is one file too many. The missing page count for File C doesn’t change the overall result: two rules are definitely exceeded.
Which file breaks the limit and by how much
If the per-file size rule or the page-count rule fails, the result names each affected file and shows how far it exceeds the limit. For total size, no single file is to blame. There you see how far the sum exceeds the limit. That tells you how much you need to save in total, and you can decide which files are the best ones to reduce. For the number of files, the result shows how many files are too many.
Handle missing page counts correctly
The calculator knows the file size of every selected file. The page count, however, has to be read from the PDF, and that doesn’t always work. In these cases, it remains undetermined:
- The PDF is encrypted or can’t be read. You’ll see a notice, but the size is still checked.
- The file is larger than 50 MiB, which is 52,428,800 bytes. The calculator doesn’t read pages from such files. The file isn’t rejected, though: its size is checked against your limits as normal.
- You added a row manually and didn’t enter a page count.
A missing page count never counts as a pass. While a page-count rule is active, the calculator can’t know whether the file complies with it. If you know the real page count, for example from your PDF program, enter it. An estimated number would only produce a false result that nobody has actually checked.
Three possible results
- Met: All required values are known and are at or below the limit.
- Exceeded: At least one known value is above the limit. The affected files are named.
- Unknown: Nothing is definitely exceeded, but at least one value needed to decide the rule is missing.
For the overall result, “exceeded” takes precedence over “unknown”, and “unknown” takes precedence over “met”. For example, a file of 1,000,000 bytes with an unknown page count is checked only against the rule “at most 200 pages”. The result is “unknown”, both for the page rule and overall. In the three-file example above, by contrast, the overall result is “exceeded”, even though a page count is missing. If no rule is active at all, the calculator reports exactly that, not “passed”.
The calculator always measures a file that already exists. It doesn’t estimate how large a document will be after exporting or scanning. Nor does it break down the size by images, fonts or other embedded components. When you select the finished PDF, you check exactly the file you will later upload.
Choose the right tool for the problem
Which step helps depends on which rule fails. However, each step changes more than just the one value you want to fix. Only the recipient decides whether you may remove pages, split a document or merge several documents. Some recipients, for example, require exactly one document per supporting document.
In the three-file example, total size and count fail. Merging alone isn’t a reliable solution there. The count would then be right, but you only see how large the new file is after merging, and it must still stay under 10 MB per file and under 15 MB in total. If you may submit your documents as one combined document and the quality stays good enough, try this order: first compress the PDF and look at the new sizes, then merge PDF files so that you stay within the allowed number. Afterwards, check the finished, downloaded files again against all limits, using their actual size, page count and number. If a file is still over the limit, combine the files differently or compress specific files further.
If you have a fixed per-file limit, you can reduce the affected file to a target size. How much a PDF shrinks depends on its content, so no particular value can be promised in advance. If a single file is too long or too large and multiple parts are allowed, you can split the PDF. If it contains blank pages or duplicate scans, you can remove selected PDF pages. Look through the pages first, though, so that no required supporting document is lost. The linked PDF tools accept at most 50 MiB per file. If you select a larger file to check on this page, the calculator reads its size directly on your device without transferring it to a server or recipient. However, it doesn’t count the pages of files over 50 MiB. If a file is larger, re-export it from the original program or edit it with a suitable PDF program on your device, and then check the result again. You can find more under Pricing and limits.
Finally, select exactly the downloaded files here once more. Only this check shows whether the finished files meet all active limits at the same time.
What a passed result means
“Met” means that the measured or entered values comply with the limits you activated. The result says nothing more than that. It covers at most four numbers: size per file, total size, number of files and pages per file.
Can a PDF exactly at the limit still be rejected?
Yes, that’s possible. The calculator counts a value exactly at the limit as met, meaning it checks for “less than or equal to”. A file of 10,000,000 bytes and 200 pages therefore passes limits of 10 MB and 200 pages. If a recipient explicitly requires “under 10 MB”, that file is already too large. In that case, set your limit slightly lower. There is no universally correct buffer. What matters is the exact wording.
The unit matters too. 10 MB is 10,000,000 bytes, whereas 10 MiB is 10,485,760 bytes. A file of exactly 10 MiB is therefore 485,760 bytes over a limit of 10 MB and is reported here as exceeded. Many recipients simply write “MB” without saying how they calculate it. If that’s unclear, the decimal reading is the safer choice because it gives the smaller limit. If you want to compare values across units, you can convert file sizes.
What else to check with the recipient
Many requirements have nothing to do with the four numbers. Just because they don’t appear here doesn’t mean they’re met. Check them against the recipient’s instructions:
- permitted file formats and the content of the documents, meaning whether all the right supporting documents are included
- handwritten signatures and digital signatures, as well as rules on password protection or encryption
- page format, orientation, active content and accessibility
- quotas on your account, such as storage space, the total number of previous publications or uploads per day. The file count here includes only the files you are currently checking.
- whether the file actually arrives during upload and is accepted by the recipient
Does the result confirm that my application or ELSTER file will be accepted?
No. The calculator doesn’t know your application, your form or your account. It only compares your files with the numbers you entered yourself. If all active rules are met, you’ve properly checked off the size and quantity requirements from your instructions. The recipient still decides on format, content and acceptance.