Error catalogue eudr.geo.no-self-intersection

EUDR GeoJSON rejected: polygon crosses itself

A boundary that crosses itself — a bowtie — has no unambiguous interior, so no area can be computed from it.

Blocking Needs your choice

What the check requires

Polygon boundaries must not cross themselves (no bowties). The plot can be decomposed into simple polygons — this changes its shape, so it always needs your confirmation.

A blocking error — the EUDR information system refuses the file until it is resolved.

Why files fail this check

Self-intersections usually come from two vertices recorded in the wrong order, GPS jitter at a corner, or an editing slip that dragged one point across the boundary. The shape looks almost right on a map, which is why it survives into so many files.

The registry cannot decide which side of the crossing is inside the plot, so the polygon is refused.

How it gets fixed

The engine can decompose the shape into simple, non-crossing polygons. That changes the plot's shape — so it is never done silently. The free check shows the finding with a "Split into simple plots" action, you apply it per plot, and you review the result on the map before downloading.

If the split result does not match the land you meant to declare, the vertex order needs correcting in the tool that produced the boundary.

Citation EUDR GeoJSON File Description v1.5, European Commission (TRACES): polygons must be valid, non-self-intersecting Effective from 2025-05-05 · captured 2026-07-10