Skip to main content

Independent UK supplier — not affiliated with the EU or EPAL.

European Pallets UKEuro-format specialists

Identification guide

EPAL or Euro-format?

Two different claims get muddled constantly: how big the pallet is, and whether it belongs to a licensed quality pool. Size you can measure. Pool status you have to read off the blocks.

Ask us to look at photosCheck your pallet

Size and status are different claims

A measurement

Euro-format

1200 x 800 mm, usually block-built with four-way entry. Describes the footprint and therefore how the pallet fits racking, trailers and containers. Says nothing about who made it, to what standard, or how it may be traded.

A licence and a pool

EPAL

A registered trademark and quality pool operated by European Pallet Association e.V. Only EPAL licensees may produce or repair pallets bearing EPAL marks. That licensing is what underpins acceptance in exchange arrangements.

So a pallet can be Euro-format and not EPAL. It cannot be EPAL without the marks. And “EPAL” on a delivery note is a claim about the pallet, not evidence about it.

What a genuine EPAL 1 carries

  1. 1

    EPAL-in-oval brand marks

    The EPAL letters inside an oval, branded into the corner blocks. Look at the marks themselves: crisp, deep and consistent, not a shallow or wandering impression.

  2. 2

    IPPC mark on the centre block

    The plant-health mark: IPPC symbol, country code, registered producer or operator code and the treatment code, typically HT for heat treatment and DB where debarking is indicated.

  3. 3

    EPAL control staple

    A control staple applied as part of the quality-control system. Its presence is one of the checks a receiving warehouse is entitled to make.

  4. 4

    Producer licence and date information

    Licence and production date information branded onto the pallet, identifying who made it and when — the audit trail behind the pool.

  5. 5

    Authorised repair marking nail, if repaired

    Where a pallet has been repaired within the EPAL system, the licensed repairer applies the authorised repair marking nail. Replacement timber with no repair marking is a reason to ask questions.

12345Plan view, 1200 x 800 mm footprint — schematic only, not to scale

Where to look on the pallet

  1. 1Corner blocks — brand marking area. Where a pool pallet's brand marking is applied. On an unbranded Euro-format pallet these faces are blank.
  2. 2Centre block — plant-health marking area. Where the international plant-health mark is applied on treated wood packaging, carrying the country code, the registered operator code and the treatment code.
  3. 3Producer and date information. Licence and production date information, where the pallet was produced within a licensed system.
  4. 4Control staple position. A quality-control staple is applied to the edge board area on pool pallets.
  5. 5Repaired components. Replacement boards or blocks. Under a licensed pool system, an authorised repair marking is applied when a pallet is repaired.

This diagram shows marking positions only. It does not reproduce any brand mark, emblem or official symbol, and implies no affiliation with the European Union or with EPAL. Always read the actual marks on the pallet in front of you.

Illustrative close-up of Euro-format timber pallet deck boards; no brand or treatment markings are visible in this image.
Illustrative stock image. A photograph like this cannot verify that a pallet is EPAL, heat-treated, ISPM 15 marked or export-ready — only the marks on the actual blocks, read in person or in clear close-up photographs, can support that, and treatment is confirmed in writing rather than from an image.

Only licensees may mark

Producing or repairing pallets with EPAL marks is restricted to EPAL licensees. We are an independent supplier: we source, describe and quote, and we neither produce nor repair EPAL-marked pallets.

A two-minute check on the loading bay

  1. Measure the deck. 1200 x 800 mm confirms Euro-format and nothing more. Anything else is not a Euro pallet at all.
  2. Count underneath. Nine blocks is the EPAL 1 arrangement. Stringer construction is a different animal entirely.
  3. Read the corner blocks. Look for the EPAL-in-oval mark, and for licence and date information.
  4. Read the centre block. The IPPC mark lives here: country code, operator code, treatment code.
  5. Look for the control staple. Part of the quality-control system, and easy to miss.
  6. Check repairs. Bright new timber among weathered components means a repair. Under the EPAL system there should be an authorised repair marking nail.
  7. Photograph anything doubtful. One photograph of each marked block settles most disputes before the load moves.

Warning phrases in a quotation

Unstamped EPAL

EPAL-style

Euro EPAL equivalent

EPAL grade, marks may vary

“Unbranded Euro-format, 1200 x 800” — accurate, and nobody is misled later.

Keep the two rulebooks apart

EPAL licence and trademark questions are commercial and contractual. Border and plant-health questions are legal, and they follow the movement rather than the brand. A pallet can be perfectly genuine EPAL and still be wrong for your export because treatment or marking has not been confirmed. Read ISPM 15 explained and GB and EU movements separately from anything on this page.

Not sure what you are holding?

The pallet checker walks through footprint, construction, marks, repairs and route, then returns a cautious category — never a compliance decision.

Open the pallet checker

Common questions

Is every 1200 x 800 pallet an EPAL pallet?
No. 1200 x 800 mm is the Euro footprint, which is a size. EPAL is a trademark and quality pool. A pallet is only an EPAL pallet if it was produced or repaired by an EPAL licensee and carries the corresponding EPAL marks.
Where should the EPAL marks appear on the pallet?
EPAL brand marks appear in an oval on the corner blocks. The IPPC plant-health mark appears on the centre block, showing the country code, the registered operator code and the treatment code such as HT. A control staple and producer licence and date information should also be present.
How can I tell whether a repaired EPAL pallet is still valid?
A pallet repaired under the EPAL system should carry the authorised repair marking nail applied by the licensed repairer. If a pallet shows obvious replacement components but no repair marking nail, treat its EPAL status as unverified and ask the supplier.
Does an EPAL mark mean the pallet can cross a border?
No. EPAL marking concerns the trademark and quality pool. Movement of solid wood packaging between Great Britain and the EU depends on ISPM 15 treatment and marking, evidenced by the IPPC mark on the wood. The two systems are separate and must be checked separately.
What should an unmarked Euro-sized pallet be called?
An unbranded or unstamped Euro-format pallet. Terms such as unstamped EPAL or EPAL-style are misleading, because a pallet without EPAL marks produced outside the licence system is not an EPAL pallet.