If your goods leave the customs territory of the European Union on a wooden pallet, that pallet has to carry an ISPM 15 stamp. This is the single most common reason a shipment is stopped at the border, and it is entirely avoidable. Below is what the standard covers, which treatments are recognised, what the mark looks like and which documents travel with the load.
Which packaging ISPM 15 applies to
The standard covers untreated wood more than 6 mm thick that is used to pack or secure a load:
- pallets — euro pallets, one-way pallets, special sizes;
- wooden crates and cases;
- wooden skids and lids;
- dunnage — the blocks and battens used to brace cargo inside a container;
- cable drums and reels.
ISPM 15 does not apply to plywood, OSB, particle board, fibreboard and other glued or pressed panels, nor to wood wool, shavings and sawdust, nor to wooden elements up to 6 mm thick.
Which treatments are recognised
| Code | Method | Regime |
|---|---|---|
| HT | Heat treatment (kiln) | at least 56 °C in the core of the wood, held continuously for at least 30 minutes |
| DH | Dielectric heating (microwave) | at least 60 °C throughout the profile, held for at least 1 minute |
| MB | Methyl bromide fumigation | being phased out; banned in the European Union since 2010 |
In practice, pallets and crates leaving Bulgaria for export are heat treated — HT.
What the mark looks like
The ISPM 15 mark is a stamp with four mandatory elements:
- The IPPC symbol — a stylised ear of wheat. It is a protected mark and cannot be applied at a manufacturer’s discretion.
- The ISO 3166 country code — BG for Bulgaria.
- The registration number of the producer or treatment facility, issued by the national plant protection service.
- The treatment code — HT, DH or MB. It may be followed by DB if the wood has been debarked.
The stamp has to be legible, durable and non-transferable, and it must appear on at least two opposite sides of the packaging, so that it can be traced back to a specific producer.
Where it is required and where it is not
Inside the European Union, ISPM 15 is not required for movements between member states — wooden packaging circulates freely. The exceptions are Portugal and Ireland, because of the pine wood nematode, and consignments that transit through third countries.
For export outside the EU the mark is mandatory. That covers the United States, Canada, China, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil, the Middle East and more than eighty other countries that have adopted the standard. Since 1 January 2021 it also applies to the United Kingdom: after Brexit the UK is a third country, and any wooden packaging moving to or from it must be treated and marked.
The practical rule for a dispatch department is simple: if the load leaves the customs territory of the EU, the wood underneath it needs a stamp.
Repaired and re-used pallets
A pallet with a valid mark can be used again and again — the standard sets no expiry date. The difficulty starts with repair. If an untreated element is built into the pallet, the old stamp is no longer valid for the unit as a whole. A repaired pallet is only compliant when every component in it has been treated, and a licensed repairer re-marks it accordingly.
What documents you need
No phytosanitary certificate is issued for ISPM 15 pallets — the stamp on the wood is itself the proof of treatment. The papers that travel with the load are the usual export set:
- commercial invoice;
- packing list describing the pallets and their number;
- transport document — CMR for road, bill of lading for sea, AWB for air;
- customs export declaration;
- certificate of origin or EUR.1, where the destination requires one.
What happens if the packaging does not comply
If the mark is missing, illegible or doubtful, the receiving country decides what happens next, and none of the options are cheap: treatment on the spot, repacking onto compliant pallets, or return of the consignment at the sender’s expense. Demurrage and storage charges run in the meantime, so it is always cheaper to check the stamp before loading than to argue about it at the port.
In short
- ISPM 15 applies to untreated wood over 6 mm — pallets, crates, skids, dunnage.
- The recognised treatments are HT (56 °C for 30 minutes in the core), DH and MB; in the EU it is HT in practice.
- The stamp carries the ear of wheat, BG, a registration number and the treatment code, on at least two opposite sides.
- It is not required within the EU; it is mandatory for export outside the EU.
- A repair using an untreated element invalidates the mark.
Need export pallets?
G-PAL supplies heat-treated pallets for export and repairs euro pallets under EPAL licence BG-308. Call +359 877 166 555 or email [email protected]. See our pallet range.
