Legal Paper Size
Legal paper measures 8.5 × 14 inches (215.9 × 355.6 mm), sharing the same width as Letter but adding 3 inches of height. It is the standard format for legal documents, contracts, and government forms in the United States and is widely used in law offices and courthouses.
What Size is Legal Paper?
Legal paper is 8.5 × 14 inches (215.9 × 355.6 mm), the same width as Letter but three inches taller. It is the standard for contracts, legal documents, and government forms in the US.
| Unit | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Inches | 8.5 | 14 |
| Millimeters | 215.9 | 355.6 |
| Centimeters | 21.59 | 35.56 |
Legal Paper in Pixels
Pixel dimensions depend on DPI (dots per inch). 300 DPI is the standard for commercial printing.
| DPI | Width (px) | Height (px) | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 612 | 1008 | Screen display, digital proofs |
| 150 | 1275 | 2100 | Draft printing |
| 300 | 2550 | 4200 | Standard commercial print |
| 600 | 5100 | 8400 | High-quality or fine art print |
Use our free Inches to Pixels converter or Pixels to Inches converter to calculate pixel dimensions at any DPI.
Legal Paper with Bleed
Standard bleed in the US is 0.125 inches (approximately 3.2 mm) per side.
| Measurement | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| With bleed (inches) | 8.75 | 14.25 |
| With bleed (mm) | 222.25 | 361.95 |
| Pixels at 300 DPI (with bleed) | 2625 | 4275 |
Size Comparison
Legal is the same width as Letter (8.5 in) but 3 inches taller. It is narrower and shorter than Tabloid (11 × 17 in). In the ISO system, Legal falls closest to B4 (250 × 353 mm) in overall area, though the proportions differ significantly.
Common Uses
- Legal documents and contracts
- Government and notarial forms
- Wills and estate documents
- Real estate agreements and disclosures
- Financial statements and multi-section forms
Design Tips
- Most printers support Legal size, but it often requires manual tray selection or a dedicated paper tray.
- Standard Letter-size folders will not fully cover Legal pages — use Legal-size folders or allow the extra length to extend above the folder.
- Include a 0.125-inch bleed when designing printed Legal documents with full-color backgrounds or borders.
- When converting Legal documents for international use, reflow content to A4 rather than simply scaling — the different proportions cause layout issues at print resolution.
Setting Up Legal Size Files
Most design and office applications support Legal as a standard paper size — select 8.5 × 14 inches in Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, or your preferred tool. For professional printing, add 0.125-inch bleed. Note that some applications default to Letter, so double-check the page size before designing. In Figma, the Print for Figma plugin includes a built-in Legal preset with bleed setup and CMYK export.
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