In electron beams, the dose in phantom under the central shielding depends on electron‐beam energy, depth in phantom, and shield area and thickness. In our experiments, all shield thicknesses were larger than the range of electrons in the shield material. At a given depth, the dose under the shield never exceeds the open field value; however, it can attain quite a large proportion of the open field value despite a shield thickness which exceeds the range of electrons in the shield material. The effects of shield area on the dose under the central shields were studied in detail and dose distributions are given as a function of shield lateral dimensions and electron‐beam energy. It is shown that in clinical use of central shielding, the best approach to dose estimation under the shield is direct measurement in phantom under conditions of the actual clinical setup.