US Letter Size — 8.5 × 11 in and mm

US Letter paper is 8.5 inches wide by 11 inches tall. In millimeters that is 215.9 × 279.4. Inches are the defining numbers. Millimeters are the conversion at 25.4 mm per inch, and they come out exact: 8.5 × 25.4 = 215.9, and 11 × 25.4 = 279.4.

Letter paper size, letter page size, and us letter size all mean this sheet. It is the default document size in the United States, Canada, and a few other places that did not adopt ISO 216. It is not the default in Europe, Asia, or most of Latin America. Those desks have A4.

North American sizes are listed alongside the ISO series in the usual paper-size references (Paper size, Wikipedia). The interactive series index on this site is Paper Sizes.

Letter dimensions

Unit	Width	Height
Inches	8.5	11
Millimeters	215.9	279.4
Centimeters	21.59	27.94

Portrait is 8.5 × 11. Landscape is 11 × 8.5. Same sheet, swapped axes. A landscape Letter file is not tabloid. Tabloid is 11 × 17, a different piece of paper. That size is in Tabloid Paper Size.

In points, Letter is 612 × 792 pt exactly, because 8.5 × 72 = 612 and 11 × 72 = 792. PDF page boxes that say 612 × 792 are Letter.

Letter and A4

A4 is 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in). Letter is wider by 5.9 mm and shorter by 17.6 mm.

	Inches	Millimeters
US Letter	8.5 × 11	215.9 × 279.4
A4	8.27 × 11.69	210 × 297

A Letter document printed on A4 without scaling loses a sliver of the left and right, or the driver shrinks the page and the margins grow. An A4 document printed on Letter loses the top or the bottom. Headers that sit 10 mm from the edge on A4 can fall off a Letter sheet if you only change the paper name and do not move the frames.

If you publish one PDF to both regions, make two files. Scaling “to fit” changes line breaks when the text is reflowed, and it changes the scale of a drawing even when the text is outlined. The A4 numbers are in A4 Paper Size.

Half letter and executive

Two smaller US sizes show up in the same menus. They are not Letter.

Half letter (also called Statement) is 5.5 × 8.5 inches, or 139.7 × 215.9 mm. It is Letter cut in half parallel to the short side. Two half-letter pages fit on one Letter sheet. People search half letter size when a booklet or a program is smaller than a normal document. Do not call it A5. A5 is 148 × 210 mm, a different rectangle.

Executive is 7.25 × 10.5 inches, or 184.2 × 266.7 mm (7.25 × 25.4 = 184.15, usually written 184.2). It is a stationery size, narrower and shorter than Letter. It is not a half sheet, and it does not impose cleanly onto Letter the way half letter does. Use it only when the printed piece was designed for executive stationery. Dropping a Letter layout onto executive clips both dimensions.

Size	Inches	Millimeters
Half letter	5.5 × 8.5	139.7 × 215.9
Executive	7.25 × 10.5	184.2 × 266.7
US Letter	8.5 × 11	215.9 × 279.4
US Legal	8.5 × 14	215.9 × 355.6

Legal keeps Letter’s width and adds three inches of height. Contracts that need that extra length are in Legal Paper Size.

Setting a Letter template

Set the page to 8.5 × 11 in before you draw a margin. A half-inch (12.7 mm) margin is a common office default. It is inside the sheet. Bleed, if ink runs off the edge, is outside 8.5 × 11. Ask the printer how much. Do not change the trim size to include it.

Word processors sometimes show “Letter” and “A4” as a single style with a paper setting buried in Page Setup. Check that setting when a file moves between a US and a non-US machine. The style name will not save you.

A #10 commercial envelope is the usual pair for a Letter sheet folded in thirds. The fold splits 11 inches into three panels of about 3.67 inches. The #10 face is 4.125 inches tall, so each panel has room to slide. If a design runs across that fold, the crease goes through it. Envelope sizes, including #10, are in Envelope Sizes.

A half-inch margin on Letter is 0.5 × 72 = 36 pt, or 12.7 mm. The live area inside a half-inch margin on all sides is 7.5 × 10 inches. That rectangle is what the reader sees. The 8.5 × 11 figure is the paper, not the text block. Templates that set a 0.5-inch margin and then a second “safe” inset end up with a column that is narrower than anyone intended. Pick one inset and measure it from the trim.

FAQ

What is US Letter paper size?

8.5 × 11 inches, or 215.9 × 279.4 mm. Portrait width is the 8.5-inch side.

Is Letter the same as A4?

No. A4 is 210 × 297 mm, narrower and taller than Letter. The files should be separate.

What is half of Letter?

Half letter is 5.5 × 8.5 inches (139.7 × 215.9 mm). It is also called Statement. It is not A5.

What is executive paper size?

7.25 × 10.5 inches (about 184.2 × 266.7 mm). It is a smaller stationery sheet, not a crop of Letter that keeps the same proportions.

What to open next

Confirm the page box is 612 × 792 pt, or 8.5 × 11 in, before you export. If the reader is outside North America, build the A4 file on purpose. Every other series in the chart lives on Paper Sizes.