Load 8.5 × 14 paper, set the paper size to Legal in the print dialog, and choose Actual size. That's all there is when your printer supports it. Most problems come from a setting stuck on Letter, or from expecting Fit to do something the page shape won't allow. Here are the settings in each app, the exact scale factors, and fixes for mixed files.
Check before you touch the printer settings. Open the file's properties (Ctrl+D in Acrobat, Tools > Show Inspector in Preview) and read the page size. Legal is the same width as Letter and 3 inches longer:
| Paper | Inches | PDF points | Millimeters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | 8.5 × 11 in | 612 × 792 | 215.9 × 279.4 mm |
| Legal | 8.5 × 14 in | 612 × 1008 | 215.9 × 355.6 mm |
| A4 | 8.27 × 11.69 in | 595 × 842 | 210 × 297 mm |
| Tabloid (11 × 17) | 11 × 17 in | 792 × 1224 | 279.4 × 431.8 mm |
A page that measures 8.5 × 14 is legal. Scanned contracts sometimes come in at 8.49 or 8.51, which is close enough. If the file is really Letter and you want it on legal paper, skip to the table below, because you won't gain anything by scaling it.
Three things have to agree: the paper in the tray, the size your printer driver thinks is loaded, and the size the PDF app sends. Most failed jobs have one of them still set to Letter.
Here's where the setting lives in common apps. This list comes from each app's menus, and labels shift between versions:
| App | Where to set Legal | Scaling |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat Reader | Print > Page Setup > Size: Legal | Page Sizing: Actual size, or Fit |
| Chrome, Edge | Print > More settings > Paper size: Legal | Scale: Default or Fit to paper |
| Firefox | Print > More settings > Paper size: Legal | Scale: Fit to page or 100% |
| macOS Preview | Print > Paper Size: US Legal | Scale to Fit, or Scale 100% |
| Windows printer driver | Printing Preferences > Paper/Output: Legal | Set the tray or media type to match |
| Linux (CUPS) | lp -o media=Legal file.pdf | Add -o fit-to-page to scale |
If Legal isn't on the menu at all, the driver doesn't offer it. No PDF app can add it, so you'll need a different printer or the fit-to-Letter route below.
At 100%, the bottom 3 inches are cut off, which is 21.4% of the page. That's usually where the signature block sits, so don't print a contract this way. Fit shrinks the whole page instead. We placed test pages with PyMuPDF to check the math, and 12 pt type measured 9.43 pt on Letter:
| PDF page | Paper | Fit scale | 12 pt becomes | Printed size | Blank left over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | Letter | 78.6% | 9.4 pt | 6.68 × 11.00 in | 1.82 × 0.00 in |
| Letter | Legal | 100.0% | 12.0 pt | 8.50 × 11.00 in | 0.00 × 3.00 in |
| A4 | Legal | 102.8% | 12.3 pt | 8.50 × 12.02 in | 0.00 × 1.98 in |
| Legal | A4 | 83.5% | 10.0 pt | 7.10 × 11.69 in | 1.17 × 0.00 in |
| 11 × 17 | Legal | 77.3% | 9.3 pt | 8.50 × 13.14 in | 0.00 × 0.86 in |
| Legal | 11 × 17 | 121.4% | 14.6 pt | 10.32 × 17.00 in | 0.68 × 0.00 in |
These figures ignore printer margins. With a quarter-inch margin all around, Legal on Letter drops to 75.0% and 12 pt type to 9.0 pt, which is readable but small. There's a second way. If the bottom of each page is blank, as it often is on a short legal form, use Crop PDF to trim those 3 inches and print the rest at full size. Check every page first, because crop removes what's there.
Because the two sizes are the same width. Fit scales until the page hits the first edge, and a Letter page already touches both sides at 100%. You'll always get 3 inches of blank paper, split top and bottom or all at the bottom depending on the app. To use the extra space, you have to change the document, not the print settings. In Word or Excel, set the page size to Legal and export a new PDF.
This is common in scanned closing packages and court exhibits. You have two options:
Our guide to why PDF pages come in different sizes shows how to spot them first.
Sideways output usually means the page is stored as 14 × 8.5 landscape, or has a rotation flag your printer's handling differently. Fix it for good with Rotate PDF, or set the orientation by hand in the dialog. Cut-off output usually means the driver is still set to Letter even though the app says Legal, so check the printer's own preferences. If the print comes out shrunken with wide side margins, that's Fit at work on Letter stock: the 1.82 inches of side space in the table is exactly what you're seeing.
Printing on another size? Our guides cover printing on 11 × 17 and A4 on Letter.
Legal paper is 8.5 by 14 inches, or 215.9 by 355.6 mm. It's the same width as US Letter and 3 inches longer. In a PDF, a legal page measures 612 by 1008 points.
Yes. Choose Fit in the print dialog. The page shrinks to 78.6%, or about 75% with printer margins, and 12 pt text prints at about 9 pt. At 100% the bottom 3 inches are cut off.
The driver for that printer doesn't offer it, or the selected tray doesn't support it. Try the rear or manual feed if your printer has one, and check the spec sheet. A PDF app can't add a size the driver doesn't list.
Often not. Plenty of home and office printers take 8.5 by 14 paper, sometimes only through a manual or rear feed. Your model's spec sheet lists the maximum paper length. The width is the same as Letter, so only the length matters.
Find the page numbers in your PDF reader, then enter them in the print dialog's page range, or use an extract tool to save them as a separate file. Print that file with Legal selected and print the rest on Letter.