What is geolocation data, and what format does the EUDR Information System accept?

The EU Deforestation Regulation requires medium and large companies importing palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber, soy, wood, paper and beef to upload maps of all of origin forests and farms to EU customs starting December 30, 2026.

Each forest or farm larger than 4 Ha needs a complete map of its perimeter also known as a polygon shapefile (smaller plots only require a single point, usually in the center).  For cattle, the rule is different: every stage in the animal’s life must be mapped with a point. 

For some crops, this could mean that thousands of individual farms need to be mapped and verified for zero deforestation. Each farm polygon contains multiple points, and the GPS coordinates need at least six decimal digits. For a shipment originating from 5,000 farms, the map file could be as large as 25MB (which also happens to be the maximum file size allowed by the customs portal).

For EUDR, map data must be submitted using a file format called GeoJSON using the WGS84 coordinate system. GeoJSON lists longitude before latitude, which is the reverse of what most platforms provide.

The polygons must pass a quality control test or they will be automatically rejected by the EU customs portal. The test is subject to change but as of the most recent testing, it rejects polygons that are open, polygons with a hole in them, and polygons that self-intersect (like a bowtie). Validation rules are expected to evolve over time.

How do we recommend handling the large amounts of data required by EUDR? First, ensuring timely data collection so that shipments can enter the EU without delay. The biggest hurdle to EUDR compliance is making certain that suppliers can provide accurate, complete and timely mapping data regardless of prior experience. To achieve this, all geo-data is validated for quality as soon as suppliers upload it into their Sourcemap account. Files that are rejected are sent back to the supplier with instructions on how to repair them so that they can re-submit the data as soon as possible. Most errors are easily repaired by the supplier, for others our expert help desk assists any supplier that has questions regarding data quality.

The EUDR is the first regulation to require supply chain mapping at such a large scale. Sourcemap provides the software and services that any company needs to become compliant. Get in touch with us to find out how to become EUDR-compliant in as little as 2 weeks: https://www.sourcemap.com/demo