Planet APIs reject geometries that are too complex or invalid. If your subscription, order, or feature upload fails because of its geometry, this article explains the limits and how to fix your AOI in QGIS or Features Manager.

The limits

• Vertex limit: a subscription is rejected if the geometry, or the clip tool geometry, has more than 1,500 vertices. The same 1,500-vertex limit applies to Orders API clip AOIs and Features API features.
• Geometry types: only Polygon and MultiPolygon are supported.
• Valid geometry: rings must close, and polygons must not self-intersect or have overlapping parts.
• Plans with defined areas: if Planet set up your plan from an AOI you supplied (for example, Insights Premium or Insights Reserved), that AOI had to meet the provisioning requirements in Creating an Area of Interest (AOI) GeoJSON. Those include a 25 sq km minimum for each polygon. Agriculture areas can be as small as 1 hectare.
• Planetary Variables: each PV product has its own maximum AOI size (for example, Crop Biomass is limited to a single field of up to 30 sq km). See the product's page in the Planet documentation.
• Analysis-Ready PlanetScope (ARPS): only Polygon is supported, not MultiPolygon.

How vertices are counted

Every point on each polygon's outer boundary and on any inner boundaries (holes) counts toward the limit. Boundaries traced from detailed sources such as parcel data, coastlines, or administrative borders often go well over 1,500.

Is it the geometry, or your quota?

If the error mentions insufficient quota, the geometry is probably fine and is instead outside your plan's area of access.

Option 1: Fix the AOI in Features Manager (no GIS software needed)

1. Upload the AOI in Features Manager.
2. Features that break the rules appear in the To Review tab.
3. Use "Fix and import", or simplify the geometry manually, then save.
4. Use the saved feature in your subscription or order.

Option 2: Fix the AOI in QGIS

1. Find the problem polygons. Use Vector > Geometry Tools > Multipart to Singleparts, then add fields for vertex count and area (in sq km, using a projected coordinate system such as your UTM zone).
2. Reduce vertices. Use Vector > Geometry Tools > Simplify. Start with a small tolerance and increase it until every polygon is under the limit. Check that the simplified shape still covers your area.
3. Fill small holes. Use Vector > Geometry Tools > Delete Holes and set a minimum area.
4. Fix invalid geometry. Use Vector > Geometry Tools > Fix Geometries.
5. If your plan's AOI rules require a minimum polygon size, remove, merge, or enlarge the small polygons. A small buffer followed by Dissolve joins parts that are close together.
6. Export as GeoJSON in EPSG:4326. See Fixing Spatial Offset in Tasking Dashboard AOI Uploads for the export steps.

Things to keep in mind

• Every fix involves a trade-off. Simplifying changes the boundary slightly, removing small polygons reduces coverage, and buffering or growing polygons increases the area you're charged for.
• Measure areas in a projected coordinate system. Areas measured in degrees are not accurate.

If you can't get your AOI to pass, contact Support and attach the GeoJSON file and the error message.