Filing Cabinet Dimensions: Vertical and Lateral Sizes by Drawer Count
Filing cabinet dimensions for every common configuration, vertical and lateral, letter and legal, US and metric, with drawer sizes, how much paper each holds and the floor space an open drawer takes.
A vertical filing cabinet is 15 in (38 cm) wide for letter files or 18 in (46 cm) for legal, and 25 to 28.5 in (64 to 72 cm) deep. Heights are about 28 in (71 cm) for 2 drawers, 40 in (102 cm) for 3, 52 in (132 cm) for 4 and 60 in (152 cm) for 5. Lateral files are 30, 36 or 42 in wide and 18 to 20 in deep.
- Width (letter)
- 15 in (38 cm)
- Width (legal)
- 18 in (46 cm)
- Depth (vertical)
- 25-28.5 in (64-72 cm)
- 4-drawer height
- 52 in (132 cm)
On this page
Vertical filing cabinet dimensions
Vertical files have narrow drawers that pull out toward you, with folders facing the front. Width depends only on the paper size the drawer is built for; height depends on the number of drawers.
| Drawers | Height (in) | Height (cm) | Width: letter / legal | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 drawers | 28-29.5 | 71-75 | 15 / 18 in (38 / 46 cm) | 25-28.5 in (64-72 cm) |
| 3 drawers | 40-41 | 102-104 | 15 / 18 in (38 / 46 cm) | 25-28.5 in (64-72 cm) |
| 4 drawers | 52-53 | 132-135 | 15 / 18 in (38 / 46 cm) | 25-28.5 in (64-72 cm) |
| 5 drawers | 59-61 | 150-155 | 15 / 18 in (38 / 46 cm) | 25-28.5 in (64-72 cm) |
Depth is the main difference between product lines. Budget and light-duty files are about 22 to 25 in deep, standard commercial files 25 to 26.5 in, and heavy-duty "full-suspension" files 28 to 28.5 in. The deeper cabinets have longer drawers and hold more.
Letter or legal width?
US letter paper is 8.5 × 11 in and legal is 8.5 × 14 in. In a vertical drawer the paper stands on its long edge facing forward, so the drawer must be wider than 11 in for letter (an 11¾-inch letter folder) or 14 in for legal (a 14¾-inch legal folder). That is why cabinets are 15 or 18 in wide. A legal cabinet holds letter files with an adjustable rail, but a letter cabinet can never hold legal. A4 paper (210 × 297 mm, 11.7 in tall) fits letter-width cabinets with A4 or letter-size hanging folders; see the paper sizes guide.
Lateral filing cabinet dimensions
Lateral files have wide, shallow drawers. Files can run side to side or front to back, and most hold both letter and legal with adjustable rails. They take more wall but less floor depth, which suits offices with circulation behind the desk.
| Drawers | Height (in) | Height (cm) | Widths | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 drawers | 27-29 | 69-74 | 30, 36, 42 in (76, 91, 107 cm) | 18-20 in (46-51 cm) |
| 3 drawers | 39-41 | 99-104 | 30, 36, 42 in | 18-20 in |
| 4 drawers | 52-54 | 132-137 | 30, 36, 42 in | 18-20 in |
| 5 drawers | 65-67 | 165-170 | 36, 42 in | 18-20 in |
A 2-drawer lateral at 28 to 29 in is the same height as a desk and is often used as a credenza or printer stand. Many 5-drawer laterals have a roll-out shelf or a flip-up door on the top drawer, since a drawer at 55 in or higher is hard to see into.
Vertical vs lateral: footprint and floor space
A file drawer opens almost its full length, and you need room to stand in front of it. The total floor depth is cabinet + open drawer + standing room.
| Cabinet | Cabinet depth | Drawer extension | Plus 30 in to stand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical, standard | 26.5 in | about 24 in | 81 in (206 cm) |
| Vertical, deep | 28.5 in | about 26 in | 85 in (216 cm) |
| Lateral | 18-20 in | about 15-17 in | 63-67 in (160-170 cm) |
A row of vertical files needs about 7 ft of floor depth; laterals need about 5.5 ft. Verticals store more per foot of wall; laterals need less room depth. Choose verticals for a narrow alcove and laterals along a wall or as a room divider.
Filing capacity: how much each drawer holds
Capacity is measured in filing inches, the length of the row of folders in a drawer. To estimate it, measure the inside of the drawer in the direction the folders are stacked and subtract an inch or two for the follower block and finger room.
| Cabinet | Per drawer | 2 drawers | 4 drawers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical, 25-26.5 in deep | 24-25 in | 48-50 in | 96-100 in |
| Vertical, 28.5 in deep | 26-27 in | 52-54 in | 104-108 in |
| Lateral 30 in, side to side | 26-27 in | 52-54 in | 104-108 in |
| Lateral 36 in, side to side | 32-33 in | 64-66 in | 128-132 in |
| Lateral 42 in, side to side | 38-39 in | 76-78 in | 152-156 in |
Copy paper is about 0.004 in (0.1 mm) thick, so an inch of bare paper is 250 sheets. With folders, tabs and the slack you need to flip through files, plan on 150 to 200 sheets per filing inch. A 4-drawer letter vertical (about 100 filing inches) therefore holds roughly 15,000 to 20,000 sheets.
Drawer sizes
The inside widths are set by hanging folder rails: letter hanging folders hook over rails about 12 in apart and legal folders over rails about 15 in apart.
Mobile pedestals and under-desk files
A pedestal is a short file cabinet, usually on casters, sized to sit under or beside a desk.
| Type | W × D × H (in) | W × D × H (cm) | Drawers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile pedestal, box/file | 15-16 × 19-23 × 22-24 | 38-41 × 48-58 × 56-61 | 1 box, 1 file |
| Mobile pedestal, box/box/file | 15-16 × 19-23 × 22-28 | 38-41 × 48-58 × 56-71 | 2 box, 1 file |
| Desk-height pedestal (fixed) | 15-16 × 22-30 × 28 | 38-41 × 56-76 × 71 | Box/box/file or file/file |
Before buying an under-desk pedestal, measure the clear height under the desk at its lowest point, usually the apron or modesty panel. A standard 29 to 30 in desk often has only 25 to 26 in below the apron. A height-adjustable desk set low can be as little as 22 in, so check the pedestal against the lowest setting in our desk dimensions guide.
UK and metric filing cabinets
Steel filing cabinets in the UK and much of Europe are built for foolscap suspension files. Foolscap is longer than A4, so foolscap cabinets hold A4 files too. A typical 4-drawer cabinet is about 47 × 62 × 132 cm (18.5 × 24.4 × 52 in), with 2- and 3-drawer versions at about 71 and 101 cm tall.
Fire-resistant filing cabinets
Fire-rated files are certified to UL 72. The common rating, Class 350 1-hour, means the inside stays below 350 °F (177 °C), a temperature paper survives, through a one-hour fire test. The insulated walls make them several inches wider and deeper than a standard file of the same capacity, and a 4-drawer fire file weighs several hundred pounds. Check the floor loading and the delivery route, and see the safe size guide for media-rated and burglary-rated options.
Stability and safety
- Open one drawer at a time. With two or three full drawers out, the center of gravity moves past the front edge. Most commercial files have an interlock that allows only one open drawer.
- Fill from the bottom. A file with an empty bottom drawer and a full top drawer tips far more easily.
- Anchor tall units. Bolt 4- and 5-drawer files together in a bank or anchor them to the wall. Office files are tested to ANSI/BIFMA X5.9 for strength and stability.
- Weight when full: paper weighs about 1 lb per 100 sheets of letter copy paper, so a full drawer of 4,000 sheets weighs around 40 to 50 lb on top of the cabinet itself.
For moving files to off-site storage, a standard record box (15 × 12 × 10 in) holds about 14 to 15 filing inches of letter or legal files; see storage unit sizes to plan the space.
Frequently asked questions
What is the height of a standard 4-drawer filing cabinet?
A standard 4-drawer vertical filing cabinet is 52 to 53 in (132 to 135 cm) tall. A 4-drawer lateral file is about the same, 52 to 54 in.
How big is a 2-drawer filing cabinet in inches?
A 2-drawer vertical file is about 28 to 29.5 in tall, 15 in wide (letter) or 18 in (legal), and 25 to 28.5 in deep. That is desk height, so it can sit beside a desk as a return. A 2-drawer lateral file is about 28 in tall, 30 to 42 in wide and 18 to 20 in deep.
How tall are filing cabinet drawers?
Each drawer front on a full-size filing cabinet is about 11 to 12.5 in (28 to 32 cm) tall, with roughly 10 to 10.5 in of clear height inside. That clears a hanging folder (about 9.5 to 10 in including hooks) with a little room for tabs.
What are the dimensions of a 5-drawer legal filing cabinet?
A 5-drawer legal vertical file is about 18 in wide, 25 to 28.5 in deep and 59 to 61 in tall (46 × 64-72 × 150-155 cm). It is the tallest vertical file commonly sold; anything taller is a lateral or a shelf file.
What size is a small filing cabinet?
The smallest common size is a mobile pedestal: about 15 to 16 in wide, 19 to 23 in deep and 22 to 28 in tall, on casters, sized to roll under a desk. It usually has one file drawer and one or two shallow box drawers.
What size is a filing cabinet in the UK in cm?
Most UK steel filing cabinets take foolscap suspension files, which also hold A4. A typical model is about 47 cm wide and 62 cm deep, with heights of roughly 71 cm (2 drawers), 101 cm (3) and 132 cm (4). Check the maker's sheet, as depths vary by 5 cm or so.