Error FILE-003

EUDR geolocation over 25 MB: simplify or split the file

A single due diligence statement may carry at most 25 MB of geolocation data, counting every file attached to it.

Severity
Error. The Information System rejects the file, or silently stores something other than what you meant.
Fixed automatically?
Yes, after you have seen the change in hectares and accepted it.
In short
Remove points that only describe straight lines, use a single point for plots under 4 hectares, or split the file into several statements and group them under one that references them.

What the Information System does

It refuses geolocation above the limit. The validation rules set the total size of geolocation data per statement at 25 MB (Information System validation rules, Geolocation data size), and the specification lists files over 25 MB among the common errors, noting the limit covers all the GeoJSON uploaded to one statement (GeoJSON File Description, Common errors 16). Statements already submitted can be grouped under a new one that references them (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1565, Art. 8a).

Why it happens

Size in a geolocation file is almost entirely points. A plot walked with a GPS app that records a position every second can carry thousands of vertices along a boundary that four corners would describe. Every vertex is two numbers, often with far more than the six decimals the Information System keeps.

The Commission's own advice for large files (GeoJSON File Description, Common errors 16) is to use fewer points along straight edges, and single points instead of polygons for plots under four hectares. Both reduce size without changing what you are declaring.

Three things to know before you reduce anything:

  1. The limit is per statement, not per file. Three 10 MB files attached to one statement are over it.
  2. Simplifying moves boundaries. Only a little, done carefully, but it is still a change to someone's land, so every area is shown before you download.
  3. Trailing decimals are free to drop. Coordinates beyond six decimals are cut by the system on arrival (Information System validation rules, Geolocation invalid coordinates), so writing them costs bytes and buys nothing.

Fix it in EUDRplot

  1. Open the file in the checker. Large files are checked in your browser too; nothing is uploaded. The size is shown against the 25 MB limit.
  2. Let it reduce the file first. Choose Get the file under 25 MB in the Download panel. It removes points that do not change a boundary, never moving a corner more than 10 m, and keeps every polygon valid.
  3. Check the areas. Each simplified plot is listed with its area before and after. Any plot that would change by more than 2% is left exactly as it was, and listed as such.
  4. If it is still too big, split it. The file is split by producer into parts under the limit, keeping each producer's plots together. Submit each part as its own statement; they can then be grouped under one statement that references them.

Fix it in QGIS

  1. See where the size comes from. Run Add geometry attributes from the Processing Toolbox (Ctrl+Alt+T). The vertex count per plot shows which boundaries carry most of the points.
  2. Simplify cautiously. Run Simplify with the Douglas-Peucker method on a copy of the layer. The tolerance is in the layer's units: for WGS 84 that is degrees, so 0.00005 is roughly 5 m. Compare areas before and after with $area / 10000 in the Field Calculator.
  3. Or split the layer. Run Split vector layer with ProducerName as the unique field to write one file per producer, then group them into as few statements as the limit allows.
  4. Export each part. Save each as GeoJSON in EPSG:4326 with the layer option COORDINATE_PRECISION set to 6: more decimals are cut by the Information System anyway and only add bytes.

Check 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.

Related errors

Guides

Free tools

Sources

Rule FILE-003, 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 .