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Folate intake calculator: how much per day

Short answer

Adults need 400 mcg DFE (dietary folate equivalents) of folate a day, 600 mcg DFE in pregnancy and 500 mcg DFE while breastfeeding. Anyone who could become pregnant is advised to take 400 mcg of folic acid a day on top of food folate. The upper limit is 1,000 mcg of folic acid from supplements and fortified foods.

Last reviewed 28 October 20261 published sourcesNot medical advice

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Folate intake calculator

For anyone aged 1 or over. Folic acid from supplements is optional and is checked against the upper limit.

Enter your age to see your folate target.

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Folate RDAs by age and life stage
Age	Male	Female	Pregnant / breastfeeding
Birth to 6 months	65 mcg DFE*	65 mcg DFE*	—
7–12 months	80 mcg DFE*	80 mcg DFE*	—
1–3 years	150 mcg DFE	150 mcg DFE	—
4–8 years	200 mcg DFE	200 mcg DFE	—
9–13 years	300 mcg DFE	300 mcg DFE	—
14–18 years	400 mcg DFE	400 mcg DFE	600 mcg DFE / 500 mcg DFE
19+ years	400 mcg DFE	400 mcg DFE	600 mcg DFE / 500 mcg DFE

* Adequate Intake for infants (NIH ODS: Folate fact sheet).

Folic acid upper limits (supplements and fortified foods)
Age	Upper limit
Birth to 12 months	Not possible to set
1–3 years	300 mcg
4–8 years	400 mcg
9–13 years	600 mcg
14–18 years	800 mcg
19+ years	1,000 mcg

The same limits apply in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breast milk, formula and food should be the only sources of folate for infants (NIH ODS: Folate fact sheet).

Where the numbers come from

The Food and Nutrition Board sets the RDAs in dietary folate equivalents: 1 mcg DFE is 1 mcg of food folate, 0.6 mcg of folic acid from fortified foods or supplements taken with food, or 0.5 mcg of folic acid from supplements on an empty stomach (NIH ODS: Folate fact sheet).

The upper limits apply only to folic acid from supplements and fortified foods, and are in mcg rather than mcg DFE; 1,000 mcg of folic acid equals about 1,667 mcg DFE (NIH ODS: Folate fact sheet).

Planning for pregnancy

Everyone who could become pregnant is advised to take 400 mcg of folic acid daily on top of food folate (NIH ODS: Folate fact sheet). The pregnancy weight gain calculator covers the Institute of Medicine's weight ranges.

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Common questions

What does mcg DFE mean?

Dietary folate equivalents account for folic acid being absorbed better than food folate. 1 mcg DFE equals 1 mcg of food folate, 0.6 mcg of folic acid taken with food, or 0.5 mcg of folic acid on an empty stomach.

How much folic acid should I take before pregnancy?

The Food and Nutrition Board advises everyone who could become pregnant to take 400 mcg of folic acid a day from supplements, fortified foods or both, in addition to the folate in a varied diet.

Is there an upper limit for folate?

For adults it is 1,000 mcg a day of folic acid from supplements and fortified foods. The limit is in mcg, not mcg DFE, and there is no upper limit for folate that occurs naturally in food.

Sources

Figures on this page were checked against these publications on 28 October 2026.

Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Folate: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated November 30, 2022. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/

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