Export compliance
ISPM-15 requires that solid wood packaging crossing an international border be heat treated to a minimum core temperature of 56°C for at least 30 continuous minutes, then marked with the IPPC stamp. We treat on site in our own chambers, stamp two opposing stringers, and record every charge so the paperwork exists if a border agency asks.
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ISPM-15 is International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, published by the IPPC under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. It exists because wood-boring insects — the emerald ash borer, the Asian longhorned beetle, the pine wood nematode — have historically travelled the world inside shipping pallets and destroyed forests on arrival.
The standard applies to solid wood packaging material over 6 mm thick: pallets, crates, dunnage, drums, cases and load boards. It does not apply to processed wood products where the manufacturing heat has already done the job.
| Material | ISPM-15 required? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solid wood pallet | Yes | Untreated raw timber can host larvae |
| Solid wood crate or box | Yes | Same |
| Dunnage and bracing | Yes | Frequently the forgotten item that stops a container |
| Plywood | No | Glued and pressed under heat |
| OSB / particleboard | No | Manufacturing process is lethal to pests |
| Wood ≤6 mm thick | No | Below the threshold in the standard |
| Plastic or metal pallet | No | Not wood |
The stamp is not decorative and it is not a logo you can print. It has a defined structure, and a mark missing any element is not compliant. Our IPPC stamp decoder will read one for you if you have a photo in front of you.
This is the single most common compliance failure we see, and it is almost always innocent. A company buys correctly treated pallets, uses them for two years, has a broken deck board replaced by a local repair shop, and ships. The pallet still carries a valid-looking IPPC mark. It is now non-compliant, because one board in it was never treated.
Under the standard, every component of a marked pallet must have been treated. A repair with untreated wood invalidates the existing mark. The compliant remedy is to re-treat the whole pallet and apply a new mark — and, correctly done, to obliterate the old one so there is no ambiguity at the border.
Heat treatment also does something buyers rarely ask about but always appreciate: it drops moisture content, typically to 15–20%. Drier wood is lighter, resists mould, and holds fasteners better. On a moisture-sensitive load it is worth specifying for that reason alone.
By the numbers
Rules of thumb
Before you order
ISPM-15 governs international movement only. Domestic freight, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the USVI, needs nothing.
Pallets, crates, dunnage, blocking, bracing, chocks, reels. The forgotten item is almost always dunnage cut on your own dock.
A treated pallet repaired with untreated wood is non-compliant even though the mark looks perfect. If nobody knows the history, treat it as untreated.
Some destinations refuse methyl bromide outright. Confirm before shipping anything marked MB.
At least two opposing sides, permanent, legible. A printed adhesive label is not compliant.
Ask for the charge number and probe trace, not just a certificate. The trace is the evidence.
What goes wrong
Blocking and bracing cut from untreated 2x4 on the loading dock is wood packaging under the standard, and it is the first thing an inspector sees when the doors open.
FixKeep a rack of pre-treated, pre-marked dunnage lumber and physically separate it from general timber.
The plywood panels are exempt. The solid cleats, runners and internal bracing holding them together are not.
FixTreat and mark the whole assembly rather than arguing component by component at a border.
Treatment does nothing for structure. Paying $1.55 to treat a pallet that breaks next trip is money burned twice.
FixInspect and repair first, with treated stock, then treat.
Two marks invite exactly the wrong question at inspection, particularly if one of them is MB.
FixObliterate the superseded mark. It takes seconds.
Side by side
| Material | ISPM-15 required? | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Solid wood pallet | Yes | — |
| Solid wood crate or box | Yes | Internal bracing forgotten |
| Dunnage and blocking | Yes | The single most common oversight |
| Wood drums and cable reels | Yes | Shipped as loose freight, never marked |
| Solid cleats on a plywood box | Yes | Assumed exempt because the panels are |
| Plywood, OSB, particleboard | No | — |
| Wood 6 mm thick or less | No | — |
| Plastic or metal pallet | No | — |
Against our interest
ISPM-15 governs international movement. Domestic lanes — including Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands — need no treatment and no mark. Paying for it is pure waste.
Treatment kills what is in the wood. It does nothing for a cracked stringer. Inspect and repair first, or you are paying $1.55 to treat a pallet that fails next trip.
There is no residual barrier. Treatment sterilises at a point in time; it does not immunise the wood against anything that happens afterwards.
What moves the price
| Driver | What it is | Rough effect |
|---|---|---|
| Charge volume | The chamber costs the same to run whether it is half full or full, exactly like a trailer. | $1.90 under 200 units, $1.10 above 5,000 |
| Starting moisture | Water absorbs enormous energy. A charge of soaked pallets can take twice as long to reach core temperature. | Longer cycle, lower throughput |
| Species and thickness | The thickest component sets the cycle. Hardwood stringers take longer to bring up than SYP. | Cycle time, not unit price |
| Repair before treatment | Anything needing repair is repaired with treated stock first, which adds a step. | $2.20–$4.80 if required |
Due diligence
“Are probes placed in the wood or measuring chamber air?”
“Where in the stack is the probe positioned, and why there?”
“Can I see the probe trace for my charge, not just a certificate?”
“How long do you retain charge records?”
“Do you hold a facility registration, and through which accredited agency?”
“How do you handle a pallet that arrives already marked but has been repaired?”
The rulebook
International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, published by the IPPC under the UN FAO. Governs treatment and marking of solid wood packaging over 6 mm thick in international trade.
Four required elements: the wheat symbol, an ISO country code, the registered facility number and the treatment code. Missing any one invalidates it.
The agreement under which methyl bromide is being phased out as an ozone-depleting substance — the reason MB-marked wood is increasingly refused.
Each country administers ISPM-15 through its own NPPO, which is why facility numbers are national and enforcement varies at the border.
Vocabulary
From the journal
The mark has four required elements. I have seen shipments held because one of them was missing and nobody at either end knew what they were looking at.
The pallets were compliant. The crate was compliant. The two lengths of untreated 2x4 wedged against the load were not, and they were the first thing the inspector saw.
The mark on the wood is the declaration. The record behind it is the evidence. Most of the time nobody asks for the second one, and then somebody does.
Reference
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Standard | ISPM-15 (IPPC / FAO), current revision |
| Treatment | Conventional heat treatment (HT) |
| Core temperature | 56°C (133°F) minimum |
| Hold time | 30 continuous minutes |
| Marking | Two opposing stringers or blocks, branded |
| Fumigation | Not offered — methyl bromide is being phased out globally |
| Record retention | 7 years of charge data per treatment number |
| Added lead time | 1 working day |
| Added cost | $1.10–$1.90 per pallet depending on volume |
Questions
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