Legal Paper Size — 8.5 × 14 in and mm

Legal size paper in the United States is 8.5 inches wide by 14 inches tall. In millimeters that is 215.9 × 355.6. The inches are the standard. The millimeters are exact at 25.4 mm per inch: 8.5 × 25.4 = 215.9, and 14 × 25.4 = 355.6.

Legal size page, legal documents paper size, and us legal paper size refer to this sheet, not to “paper that a lawyer uses.” A law firm can print on Letter. Legal is a page format. Many filings, older contracts, and some notepads use it because the extra three inches hold a signature block or a long clause without a second page. Many modern filings have moved to Letter. Check the court’s rule before you pick the longer sheet.

North American sizes, including Legal, sit next to ISO sizes in standard paper-size references (Paper size, Wikipedia). The chart that lists them together is Paper Sizes.

Legal dimensions

Unit	Width	Height
Inches	8.5	14
Millimeters	215.9	355.6
Centimeters	21.59	35.56

Portrait is 8.5 × 14. Landscape is 14 × 8.5. Landscape Legal is a wide strip. It is not ledger, and it is not A3. Ledger is 17 inches on the long side. A3 is 420 mm (16.54 in) on the long side.

In points, Legal is 612 × 1008 pt, because 14 × 72 = 1008. A PDF page box of 612 × 1008 is Legal. A box of 612 × 792 is Letter. If those numbers surprise you, the document is on the wrong preset.

Legal and Letter

Both sheets are 8.5 inches wide. Legal is three inches taller.

	Inches	Millimeters
US Letter	8.5 × 11	215.9 × 279.4
US Legal	8.5 × 14	215.9 × 355.6

The shared width means a Letter text frame can sit on a Legal page without changing the line length. The extra 3 inches (76.2 mm) is empty until you design it. That is useful for a signature area, a notary block, or a rider. It is wasted on a memo that would have fit on Letter, and it costs more to copy, scan, and file.

Do not stretch a Letter layout to fill Legal. Type that was 11 pt with a normal leading becomes a sparse page. Either add real content in the extra band or stay on Letter.

Letter’s smaller companions, half letter and executive, are documented in US Letter Size.

Legal and A4

A4 is 210 × 297 mm. Legal is 215.9 × 355.6 mm. Legal is both wider and much taller. There is no clean fold from one to the other.

A Legal PDF opened on a machine whose printer only has A4 will be scaled or clipped. Scaling makes the signature line the wrong length. If a document must be signed in a country that stocks A4, design it on A4. The ISO size is in A4 Paper Size. Calling an A4 contract “legal size” because a lawyer wrote it will produce the wrong file.

When the longer page is justified

Use Legal when:

• A form’s instructions say 8.5 × 14
• An existing template, pleading, or notary certificate is already on that size and the margins are specified
• You need the extra length and you know the recipient can print it

Stay on Letter when:

• The text fits on one or two Letter pages without crowding
• The reader will print at home or in a typical office, where the Legal tray is often empty
• You are sending the file outside the United States

Scanning adds a practical limit. Many office scanners have a Legal-length feeder, and many do not. A 14-inch page that has to be scanned on a short glass gets cropped. If the archive is digital, Letter is the more reliable capture.

Bleed and margins work the same way as on Letter. The trim is 8.5 × 14. Anything that must not be cut off stays inside the margin. Anything that runs off the edge needs bleed outside the trim, at the amount the printer names.

Copy machines add a second constraint. A feeder listed as “legal” accepts 14 inches. A feeder listed only as “letter” often stops at 11 inches and will skew or jam a longer sheet. If the document will be copied at a counter that does not advertise legal, the extra three inches are a liability. The signature block that justified Legal then has to move onto a second Letter page, which is a redesign, not a print setting.

In a PDF, compare the media box to 612 × 1008 pt before you send it. Some tools leave the document on Letter and only change the paper tray name in the print dialog. The file is still 11 inches tall. The tray name does not stretch it.

FAQ

What are the dimensions of legal size paper?

8.5 × 14 inches, or 215.9 × 355.6 mm. The width matches US Letter. The height is three inches more.

Is legal size the same as Letter?

No. Letter is 8.5 × 11 inches. Legal is 8.5 × 14 inches. Only the width matches.

Is there an ISO equivalent of Legal?

No. A4 is the international document size, and it is shorter. Do not relabel Legal as an A-series sheet.

Can I print a Legal PDF on Letter?

Only by scaling or by clipping three inches. Neither keeps a signature block where the form drew it. Print Legal on Legal paper, or redesign the form.

What to open next

Set the page to 8.5 × 14 in and check the PDF box reads 612 × 1008 pt. If the reader has no Legal tray, rebuild on Letter or A4 instead of relying on the print dialog. The rest of the US and ISO sheets are on Paper Sizes.