ContainersAndBoxes.com

File boxes for letter-size folders

File boxes that hold hanging folders and letter-size paper, in cardboard and plastic, with and without lids. Search by outer size for your shelf or closet.

A cardboard file box with hanging folders inside
Image by Pexels from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/archive-boxes-shelf-folders-1850170/)

74 boxes fit

Width 30–42, depth 24–42, height 24–34 cm

Letter paper is 8 ½ × 11 in (216 × 279 mm), and a hanging folder for it is 12 ¾ in (32 cm) wide across the rails. So a letter-size file box is at least 13 in wide inside, about 10 in deep, and 10 to 11 in high. Legal size folders are 15 ¾ in (40 cm) across the rails and need a wider box.

Sizes

  • Letter file box: outer roughly 14 × 11 × 11 in (35 × 28 × 28 cm). Holds hanging folders across the short side.
  • Legal file box: about 17 in (43 cm) wide. Many boxes have rails for both letter and legal, in different directions.
  • Bankers boxes: 15 × 12 × 10 in (38 × 30 × 25 cm), the classic cardboard archive box. Letter folders fit lengthwise; legal fit crosswise.
  • Plastic file totes with latching lids: same inner size, a bit larger outside, and they stack safely.

Cardboard or plastic

Cardboard boxes are cheap, light and fold flat, and they are what archives use. Plastic keeps water and dust out and survives a garage or basement. If the box goes on a shelf, measure the shelf height: file boxes are taller than most storage boxes.

The search below covers letter and legal file boxes. Set the material filter to cardboard for bankers boxes only.

Other common spaces