Isn't this the same as my file being too big?

No, and this is the most common mix-up. "Too big" is file size, measured in megabytes and fixed by compressing the document. "Wrong page size" is physical dimensions, measured in inches and fixed by resizing the pages to 8.5 × 11. A small file can be rejected for wrong page size, and a correctly-sized page can be rejected for being too large a file. Read your rejection notice: inches and "Letter" mean resize; megabytes mean compress.

My scan is A4 — will resizing to Letter cut anything off?

No. A4 is close to Letter but slightly taller and narrower, so docu fits your existing content onto the standard 8.5 × 11 page rather than cropping it. Your full page comes across; it just lands on Letter dimensions the way the court requires.

What if my PDF has pages of several different sizes?

That's common when a filing combines a typed document with scanned exhibits or phone photos, and courts reject it for the same reason. docu normalizes every page to 8.5 × 11 in one pass, so the whole document comes out uniform instead of a patchwork of sizes.

I have a legal-size (8.5×14) document — can I file it as Letter?

Most courts want Letter, and docu will fit legal-size pages onto 8.5 × 11 for you. Be aware that some rules — Florida's, for instance — specifically prohibit shrinking legal-size content down to Letter, and expect the document to genuinely be Letter-size. When the original was meant to be legal, check your court's rule before converting, since the safest path can vary.

Does resizing change how my document reads or what it says?

No. Resizing only changes the page dimensions. Your text, images, and layout are preserved and fitted onto the standard page — docu never edits the substance of your filing. It's a mechanical formatting fix, not legal advice.

Does my document get uploaded to resize it?

No. The resizing runs entirely inside your browser, on your own device. Your PDF's contents are never sent to us or any server. You can verify it by watching your browser's network tab, or by turning off your Wi-Fi before running the fix — it still works offline.

Resize a PDF to Letter (8.5×11) for court filing

Your filing bounced with a note about page size — something like "document must be 8.5 x 11" or "page size does not conform to Letter." The content is fine. The court is objecting to the physical dimensions of the pages, and it won't accept the document until they match the standard.

This one confuses almost everyone, because it sounds like a file-size problem when it isn't. Your PDF could be a tiny file and still get rejected for this reason. What the court is measuring is the width and height of each page, in inches — not how many megabytes it takes up.

docu resizes every page to 8.5 × 11 Letter right here in your browser. Your document never leaves your device and nothing is uploaded to us. Checking the current page size is free, so you can confirm the problem before you fix anything.

File size vs. page size — they're different rejections

These two get mixed up constantly, so clear it up first. File size is how much data the document takes up — measured in megabytes, and capped so the court's system can store and serve it. Page size is the physical dimensions of each page — measured in inches, and required to be 8.5 × 11 (US Letter) so filings print, stamp, and archive uniformly.

A document can pass one check and fail the other. A one-page scan saved at A4 dimensions might be a trivial file that still gets rejected for wrong page size. If your rejection mentions inches, "Letter," "8.5 x 11," or "page dimensions," you're in the right place. If it mentions megabytes or "maximum file size," that's a different fix — you need to compress the file, not resize the pages.

Which systems require Letter (8.5×11) pages

Letter dimensions are a near-universal expectation in US courts, and several systems put it in writing. These are the published rules.

Texas: the statewide e-filing technology standards, adopted under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21, require that an e-filed document be a text-searchable PDF "on 8.5x11 page size, with the content appropriately rotated." Odd dimensions are grounds for rejection.

Florida: Rule 2.520 of the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration requires documents to be filed on paper measuring 8½ by 11 inches, and specifically prohibits reducing legal-size (8½ by 14) documents down to Letter — the pages themselves must be Letter, not shrunk to fit.

Federal courts: many districts require Letter-size pages through their local rules. The Eastern District of Michigan, for example, requires that "all papers must be on 8½ x 11 inch" paper. Because federal formatting rules are set district by district, check your court's local rules for the exact wording — but 8.5 × 11 is the safe default everywhere.

How pages end up the wrong size

You rarely choose a non-Letter page on purpose. It sneaks in. The most common culprit is a phone photo or a mobile scanning app — those capture at the camera's own aspect ratio, which is almost never 8.5 × 11, and drop it straight into a PDF.

Exhibits are another frequent source: a scanned receipt, a photograph, or a printout from a website often lands on a page sized to the image rather than to Letter. Legal-size originals (8.5 × 14) that were scanned as-is will fail, and so will anything created on international A4 paper, which is slightly taller and narrower than Letter and is the default in much of the world. Combine a few of these in one filing and you get a document with pages of several different sizes — which courts reject just as readily as a single wrong one.

How docu resizes your pages to Letter

This all runs inside your browser — your file's bytes never reach a server. docu normalizes every page to 8.5 × 11 and re-checks the result so you know it conforms before you download.

1Open docu and drop in the PDF the court rejected. It reads the file locally, on your device only.
2docu measures each page and shows you which ones aren't 8.5 × 11 — often the mismatch you couldn't see by eye.
3Choose to resize to Letter. docu fits the content of every page onto standard 8.5 × 11 pages, so the whole document is uniform.
4Review the result. Every page now reports as Letter, with your content centered and intact.
5Download the corrected PDF with its compliance certificate recording the change, then re-file it in the portal.

What resizing does and doesn't change

Resizing changes the page dimensions — the width and height — so every page conforms to 8.5 × 11. Your text, images, and layout come along, fitted onto the standard page. The document reads the same; it just sits on the page the court expects.

It's worth knowing what this fix does not do. Resizing pages is not the same as compressing a file, so it won't meaningfully change your megabyte count — if you were also rejected for file size, that's a separate step. It doesn't rewrite, re-flow, or edit your actual content; docu only handles mechanical formatting, never the substance of your filing. And because it's a formatting change, it isn't legal advice — it makes the pages conform, and the words remain entirely yours.

Frequently asked questions

Isn't this the same as my file being too big?: No, and this is the most common mix-up. "Too big" is file size, measured in megabytes and fixed by compressing the document. "Wrong page size" is physical dimensions, measured in inches and fixed by resizing the pages to 8.5 × 11. A small file can be rejected for wrong page size, and a correctly-sized page can be rejected for being too large a file. Read your rejection notice: inches and "Letter" mean resize; megabytes mean compress.
My scan is A4 — will resizing to Letter cut anything off?: No. A4 is close to Letter but slightly taller and narrower, so docu fits your existing content onto the standard 8.5 × 11 page rather than cropping it. Your full page comes across; it just lands on Letter dimensions the way the court requires.
What if my PDF has pages of several different sizes?: That's common when a filing combines a typed document with scanned exhibits or phone photos, and courts reject it for the same reason. docu normalizes every page to 8.5 × 11 in one pass, so the whole document comes out uniform instead of a patchwork of sizes.
I have a legal-size (8.5×14) document — can I file it as Letter?: Most courts want Letter, and docu will fit legal-size pages onto 8.5 × 11 for you. Be aware that some rules — Florida's, for instance — specifically prohibit shrinking legal-size content down to Letter, and expect the document to genuinely be Letter-size. When the original was meant to be legal, check your court's rule before converting, since the safest path can vary.
Does resizing change how my document reads or what it says?: No. Resizing only changes the page dimensions. Your text, images, and layout are preserved and fitted onto the standard page — docu never edits the substance of your filing. It's a mechanical formatting fix, not legal advice.
Does my document get uploaded to resize it?: No. The resizing runs entirely inside your browser, on your own device. Your PDF's contents are never sent to us or any server. You can verify it by watching your browser's network tab, or by turning off your Wi-Fi before running the fix — it still works offline.

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