EUDR geolocation requirements: do you need a point or a polygon?

Start with the plot, not the supplier’s office

Ask for the location where the commodity was grown, harvested or raised. An invoice address or a supplier’s headquarters does not identify the production plot. Keep a stable plot identifier so the location can be linked back to the goods in your DDS preparation worksheet.

This guide covers geolocation for a standard DDS. Confirm which obligations apply to your business first, particularly if a simplified declaration may apply.

The four-hectare rule

The threshold applies to each plot, not to the sum of every supplier’s land. Exactly four hectares is not “more than four”. A point’s coordinates cannot tell you the plot area, so obtain the area and boundary context from the producer. These distinctions come from Article 2(28) and Article 9(1)(d).

Keep every relevant production location

A batch sourced from several plots needs the relevant locations for all of them. Keep the product-to-plot relationship explicit rather than selecting the largest plot or a convenient central point. Record the country of production for each location and retain the production date or period with the supporting records.

This collection work supports the wider due diligence process. A complete set of coordinates does not itself establish that the goods are legal or deforestation-free.

Use longitude first in GeoJSON

Export in WGS 84 decimal degrees. GeoJSON positions are written as [longitude, latitude], even though people often say “latitude and longitude”. For example, [-0.900000, 44.500000] is a fictional illustration in that order, not a production location to copy.

If your source uses a projected coordinate system, convert it in a GIS tool. Renaming the CRS or swapping labels does not transform the numbers. When both numbers fall within valid ranges, a validator cannot reliably detect that they have been reversed.

Six decimal digits are not evidence of accuracy

The regulation defines geolocation using at least six decimal digits. Adding zeros does not make an approximate survey more accurate. JSON also treats 44.5 and 44.500000 as the same numeric value, so our checker does not reject a coordinate merely because trailing zeros are absent.

The Commission’s GeoJSON guidance describes storage at six decimal places. Very close vertices can collapse at that precision. Review the exported shape rather than adding ever more decimal places.

Check the export before preparing the submission

A closed boundary, the correct coordinate order and the right file properties are useful checks before import. The browser-only EUDR GeoJSON validator identifies supported structural problems without uploading your coordinates.

Keep the original survey or supplier file alongside the export. Resolve geometry problems with whoever knows the plot; automatically closing a ring or deleting a hole can change the land being declared.

Collecting location files from several suppliers?

Share how locations arrive, who checks them and how corrections reach the supplier. We can help scope repeatable intake and validation around that process, while the evidence assessment remains with the responsible reviewers.