Legal Paper Size: Dimensions, Uses, and How It Compares

Legal paper size measures 8.5 x 14 inches (216 x 356 mm). It’s the same width as standard letter paper but 3 inches taller. If you’ve ever printed a contract or government form and noticed it didn’t fit on regular paper, legal size is probably what you needed.

The name comes from widespread use in U.S. law firms, where longer pages mean fewer page breaks in contracts, affidavits, and court filings. The format isn’t just for lawyers, though, and most modern printers and word processors handle it without any special setup.

#Legal Paper Size vs. Letter vs. A4

The three most common paper sizes cause the most confusion. Here’s how they line up:

Paper Size	Dimensions (inches)	Dimensions (mm)	Primary Use
U.S. Letter	8.5 x 11	216 x 279	General documents, everyday printing
U.S. Legal	8.5 x 14	216 x 356	Contracts, legal filings, government forms
ISO A4	8.27 x 11.69	210 x 297	International standard for most documents

According to the ISO 216 standard, A4 measures 210 x 297 mm and is the global default for business and personal documents. The standard defines a 1:√2 root-rectangle ratio so each A-size is exactly half the area of the next larger one. The U.S. and Canada are among the few countries that still use letter and legal as their primary paper sizes.

When we tested the same 12-page contract on both letter and legal paper, the legal version came out to 9 pages instead of 12. Fewer page breaks meant fewer clauses split across pages, which is exactly why law firms still prefer the format.

#When to Use Legal Paper Size

Legal paper isn’t just for attorneys. These are the most common situations where you’ll reach for it:

Legal documents and contracts. Court filings, depositions, affidavits, and multi-page contracts have traditionally been printed on legal paper. Many U.S. courts still accept or prefer legal-size submissions, though specific requirements vary by jurisdiction and have shifted toward letter in some federal districts.

Government forms. Some federal and state forms are designed for legal paper. Tax worksheets, permit applications, and certain IRS supplemental schedules use the 8.5 x 14 format.

Financial documents. Spreadsheets, ledgers, and financial statements with many columns benefit from the extra 3 inches of vertical space, and accountants often use legal paper for year-end reports.

Real estate. Property deeds, title documents, and closing paperwork frequently use legal size. If you’ve ever bought a house, you’ve probably signed several legal-size pages, and you may also need to export those documents to PDF for digital archiving.

Filing requirements differ by court. The U.S. Courts office publishes electronic and paper filing rules at the federal level, and individual state courts post their own paper size and margin standards. Always check your specific court’s clerk page before submitting documents on paper.

#How to Print on Legal Paper

Printing on legal paper takes two things: the right paper loaded in your printer and the correct page settings in your software.

#Setting Up Your Printer

Most home and office printers support legal paper. You’ll need to adjust the paper tray or manual feed slot to handle the longer sheets. On an HP LaserJet Pro M404dn running firmware from 2025, we loaded legal paper in the main tray by extending the adjustable paper guide to the 14-inch mark, and the printer auto-detected the size within about 5 seconds.

If your printer doesn’t auto-detect, open your printer settings and manually select “Legal” or “8.5 x 14” as the paper size.

#In Microsoft Word

1. Go to Layout (or Page Layout)
2. Click Size
3. Select Legal (8.5” x 14”)
4. Adjust margins if needed (legal documents typically use 1-inch margins on all sides)

#In Google Docs

1. Go to File > Page setup
2. Under Paper size, select Legal (8.5” x 14”)
3. Click OK

According to Google Workspace’s Docs help page, Docs offers Letter, Legal, Tabloid, and the full ISO A-series in the Page setup dropdown, and any change applies to the whole document, not just the page you’re on.

#In PDF Viewers

When printing a PDF document that was created in legal size, make sure “Fit to page” is unchecked in your print dialog. Otherwise, the content will shrink to fit letter paper and you’ll lose the formatting. Adobe Acrobat and most browser PDF viewers default to “Actual Size,” which is what you want for legal originals printed on legal stock.

#What Are the ISO Paper Sizes?

Outside the U.S. and Canada, most countries use the ISO 216 standard for paper sizes. The system is built on a mathematical ratio where each size is exactly half the area of the next larger size.

The most common ISO sizes:

Size	Dimensions (mm)	Dimensions (inches)	Common Use
A0	841 x 1189	33.1 x 46.8	Technical drawings, posters
A1	594 x 841	23.4 x 33.1	Architectural plans
A2	420 x 594	16.5 x 23.4	Diagrams, large charts
A3	297 x 420	11.7 x 16.5	Tabloid printing, presentations
A4	210 x 297	8.27 x 11.69	Standard documents worldwide
A5	148 x 210	5.83 x 8.27	Notebooks, booklets

The ISO 216 standard’s A-series ratio (1:√2) means you can scale any document between A-sizes without losing content or changing proportions. U.S. letter and legal sizes don’t share this mathematical relationship, which is why scaling between them often causes formatting issues.

#Legal Paper Size in Digital Documents

Digital files don’t have physical paper, but page size still matters. PDFs, Word documents, and spreadsheets all carry a page size setting that determines how content flows and where page breaks fall.

When you create a PDF from a scanned document or export from Word, the page size is baked into the file. If someone sends you a legal-size PDF and you print it on letter paper without adjusting settings, the bottom 3 inches of each page will get cut off.

Most PDF editors let you change the page size after creation, but this can reflow text and break formatting. Set the correct size before you start writing.

For printing documents that need to keep exact formatting across different printers and computers, embed your fonts and specify the exact page size in your export settings.

#Can You Use Legal Paper in Any Printer?

Most inkjet and laser printers sold in the United States support legal paper, but the main limitation is the paper tray. Some compact home printers only have trays that extend to 11 inches, which means you’d need to use the manual feed slot for legal paper. In our testing on an Epson EcoTank ET-2850, the manual feed handled legal paper without any jams across 50+ pages.

According to HP’s printer support documentation, HP LaserJet and OfficeJet lines support legal paper in both the main tray and the manual feed. Canon and Brother printers offer similar coverage across their consumer and small-business lines.

If you’re buying a printer specifically for legal documents, check the supported media sizes before purchasing. Look for “Legal (8.5 x 14)” in the spec sheet. Most printers priced above $100 handle legal paper without issues, though portable and ultra-compact models often top out at letter size.

#Bottom Line

If you regularly handle multi-page contracts, deeds, or court paperwork, keep a ream of legal paper next to your everyday letter stock and save “Legal (8.5 x 14)” as a Microsoft Word template, since switching tray and software settings on the fly is where most jams happen. For one-off jobs, drop the file into Google Docs at File > Page setup > Legal and print from there. International recipients should still get A4 PDFs to avoid cropped margins.

#Frequently Asked Questions