File size and volume limits: 25 MB per statement, 1,000 producers per commodity
The EU Information System caps the geolocation data in one due diligence statement at 25 MB, all GeoJSON files together. It also limits how many producers one statement can list.
What the EU documentation says
- The GeoJSON File Description: "The system has a file size limit of 25 Mb for individual DDS submissions, which includes the total size of uploaded GeoJSON files." Files over the limit are on its list of common errors.
- The Validation Rules: the total size of geolocation data per DDS "cannot exceed a certain amount (presently set to 25Mb)". The total number of producers per commodity cannot exceed 1,000, and per DDS cannot exceed 10,000.
- Other common errors the page lists for files in general: invalid file format (for example PDF or plain text), syntax errors such as a missing bracket, and password-protected files.
The EU's own advice for large files
The GeoJSON page recommends two workarounds, while noting that operators must obtain geolocation data that is as granular as possible:
- Fewer points on straight edges. Use two points to define a straight line instead of logging coordinates every 5 to 10 metres along it.
- Points for small plots. Use a single geolocation point for plots under 4 hectares rather than a polygon.
Other ways files get too big
- Excess decimals. The system keeps only 6 decimals, so 15-decimal coordinates waste space; see decimal places.
- Altitude and extra values. A third number (altitude) in every position. The EU format allows more than two values in a position, but only longitude and latitude are used.
- Pretty-printing. Indentation and line breaks can double a file's size. Compact JSON is just as valid.
- Unused properties. Every property not on the official list is ignored by the system but still counts toward size.
- GPS track logs. A boundary walked with a point every second can have thousands of near-identical corners.
Simplifying safely
GIS tools can simplify polygons (remove points that barely change the shape). Use a small tolerance and check the result: simplification that moves the boundary by several metres changes what land is declared, and can create self-intersections in narrow plots.
What the Plot File Checker does
- File over 25 MB (read as 25,000,000 bytes): an error. Over 20 MB: a warning.
- More than 1,000 distinct producers (ProducerName plus ProducerCountry), or more than 10,000 plots: a warning, as a prompt to check how the file will be split across statements.
- The fixed file is written compactly with 6 decimals, without altitude, one feature per line, which usually makes it much smaller.