The EUDR 4-hectare rule: point or polygon?

The rule in one paragraph

Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, geolocation for a plot of more than 4 hectares used to produce a commodity other than cattle must be a polygon: enough latitude and longitude points to describe the perimeter. For a plot of 4 hectares or less, a single point is allowed. A polygon is always allowed, whatever the size.

How big is 4 hectares?

• 4 ha = 40,000 m², a square of 200 × 200 metres.
• About 9.9 acres, about 5.7 Central American manzanas, or about 1.65 alqueires paulistas.
• Roughly five or six football pitches.

Not sure? Draw the plot on the map above. The area appears as soon as the shape is closed, and you can switch units in the land area calculator.

Borderline plots

If a plot is close to 4 hectares, draw a polygon. A polygon is accepted for any plot size, gives better evidence, and avoids a point being rejected because the plot turns out to be slightly larger than declared.

Points without an area

The EU GeoJSON File Description says that a point submitted without an Area property is treated as a 4-hectare plot. If you know the real area of a small plot, enter it: the export writes it in hectares as a number.

Cattle

For cattle, the geolocation refers to the establishments where the animals were kept, and the polygon requirement for large plots does not apply in the same way. Check the official guidance for your case.

What counts as one plot?

The regulation defines a plot as land within a single real-estate property, as recognised by the law of the country of production, with sufficiently uniform conditions to assess deforestation risk as a whole. In practice, if a farmer has two separate fields, map them as two plots, each with its own point or polygon. Do not draw one large shape around separate fields.

How DrawMyPlot helps

Every point plot is checked against the rule. If a point plot has an area over 4 ha entered, it is marked in red with an explanation, so you can redraw it as a polygon before you submit.

More EUDR guides