Paper size Legal is commonly referenced in professional and administrative contexts, especially in the United States. It plays a highly important role within US paper sizes as it is associated with formal documentation. Why this paper size is named “Legal,” how it differs from the common paper size “Letter,” and what its dimensions are will be answered below.
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Definition: Paper size Legal
Paper size Legal is a standard paper format in North America that is used for, as the name suggests, legal documents. As such, it’s purchased by many law firms and government agencies since it offers more space for texts compared to Letter size.
| Paper size | Dimensions (in) | Dimensions (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Half Letter | 5.5 × 8.5 in | 140 × 216 mm |
| Letter | 8.5 × 11 in | 216 × 279 mm |
| Legal | 8.5 × 14 in | 216 × 356 mm |
| Tabloid | 11 × 17 in | 279 × 432 mm |
| Ledger | 17 × 11 in | 432 × 279 mm |
Legal vs. Letter
The US paper sizes Legal and Letter may be similar in width, however, they vary in other aspects:
- Legal size is three inches longer than Letter size.
- Letter size is used for general documents.
- Printer trays need to be adjusted for Legal-sized paper.
- Legal size offers 27% more space, which is ideal for signatures & details.
- Letter is similar to A4 paper dimensions, whereas Legal has no equivalent.
History
The history of Legal-sized paper started in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries as papermakers placed a drawn watermark on their papers. This watermark portrayed a jester with his cap and bells and thus the paper size name “foolscap” was created.
There are multiple stories on how the traditional British foolscap turned into US Legal paper: one story suggests that during the time of Henry VIII, lawyers would cut a larger sheet (13.5 × 17 inches) in half and use these sheets for longer, official documents.
So how did the foolscap size turn into Legal size? This part of history is somewhat unclear; however, it’s safe to say that the paper size foolscap has had a big influence on the modern US Legal size.
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FAQs
No, 11×17 is referred to as Ledger or Tabloid. Legal size measures 8.5 × 14 inches.
No, Legal and A4 are not the same. Legal size paper measures 8.5 × 14 inches, whereas A4 paper measures 8.3 × 11.7 inches, making it more compact than Legal.
Letter measures 8.5 × 11 inches (216 × 279 mm), whereas Legal size measures 8.5 × 14 inches (216 × 356 mm).
Legal-size paper is a paper size that is specifically for official legal documents.
