Severity: Error. The Information System rejects the file, or silently stores something other than what you meant.
Fixed automatically?: No, this needs a decision only you can make.
In short: Enter the real area in hectares, or remove the property to accept the 4 hectare default.

What the Information System does

It rejects it: "When provided, the area must also be higher or equal to 0.0001ha" (Information System validation rules, Geolocation area for point).

Why it happens

0.0001 hectares is one square metre, about the size of a tree trunk. Anything below it is not a plot.

An Area of zero usually means the value was lost on the way: a text Area read as zero, an empty spreadsheet cell exported as 0, or hectares divided by 10,000 twice. Negative areas are nearly always a sign-flipped column.

A broken example

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": {
        "ProducerCountry": "CI",
        "ProductionPlace": "Zero area",
        "Area": 0
      },
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [-5.123456, 6.123456]
      }
    }
  ]
}

What the checker reports for this file:

Area is 0 hectares. The smallest area the Information System accepts is 0.0001 hectares, which is one square metre., line 9, column 17

Before. Centred on 6.1235° N, 5.1235° W.

Fix it in EUDRplot

Open the file in the checker. Each Area below the minimum is listed with its value.
Enter the real area. Replace it with the plot's size in hectares. If you do not know it, remove the Area property altogether (the system then uses four hectares) and note that this may overstate the plot.

Fix it in QGIS

Find the values. Select by expression: "Area" < 0.0001 OR "Area" IS NULL.
Correct them. Update the field from your source data with the Field Calculator, checking the units.

Try it: check the example, or your own file

Drop a GeoJSON, KML, shapefile or CSV here, or .

Open the full checker

Checked in your browser. The file is not uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.

Sources

EUDR Information System: Validation Rules, Geolocation area for point, European Commission

Rule PROP-006, rule set 2026.09.2. The same rule runs in the checker, the free tools and the command-line tool.

Last verified against these sources on 23 September 2026.