The legal definition
Article 2(28) of the EUDR defines geolocation as the geographical location of a plot of land described by latitude and longitude, using at least six decimal digits. For plots of more than four hectares used to produce relevant commodities other than cattle, polygons with enough points to describe the perimeter are required.
Point or polygon?
| Plot size | Required geometry | GeoJSON type |
|---|---|---|
| 4 hectares or less | A single point inside the plot (a polygon is also acceptable) | Point |
| More than 4 hectares | A polygon describing the perimeter | Polygon |
| Several separate pieces of land | One geometry per plot | MultiPolygon or several features |
The EU Information System documentation notes that if a Point has no Area property, the system assumes 4 hectares. Adding the declared area to each point avoids that default.
Why six decimal places?
Six decimal places of a degree is about 0.11 metres at the equator, which is why the rule exists: it avoids rounding plots off the map. The EU Information System truncates coordinates to six decimal places when it stores them, so extra digits add nothing. Note that rounding can make two nearby points identical, which the system treats as an error.
Coordinate system: WGS84
GeoJSON for the EU Information System must use WGS84 (EPSG:4326) in decimal degrees, with longitude first, then latitude. Swapping the order is one of the most common mistakes: a Kenyan plot at latitude −0.55 and longitude 36.94 written the wrong way round lands in the ocean.
Polygon rules that cause rejections
- The first and last coordinates must be identical, so the ring is closed.
- A polygon needs at least four coordinate pairs, including the closing one.
- Boundaries must not cross themselves (no figure-of-eight shapes).
- Holes are not processed: only the outer ring is considered, so split such plots into separate polygons.
- Line geometries (LineString) are not accepted.
GeoJSON properties the EU system recognises
| Property | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ProducerName | Name of the producer | Optional |
| ProducerCountry | ISO two-letter country code, e.g. KE | Optional; needed per feature in multi-producer files |
| ProductionPlace | Name of the production place | Optional, recommended |
| Area | Area in hectares | For points; must be a number |
Property names are case-sensitive, and unrecognised properties are ignored.
Checklist before you upload
- All coordinates in WGS84, longitude before latitude.
- Six decimal places, with no duplicate points after rounding.
- A polygon for every plot over 4 hectares.
- Closed, non-self-crossing polygons without holes.
- Area included for points.
- Checked against satellite imagery.
How KahawaTrace produces this file
KahawaTrace stores every plot in WGS84 at six decimal places, closes polygons automatically, blocks self-crossing boundaries, requires a polygon where the declared area exceeds 4 hectares, and exports approved plots as a GeoJSON FeatureCollection with ProducerName, ProducerCountry, ProductionPlace and Area. See EUDR readiness, or read the wider EUDR guide for Kenyan coffee.