Euro pallets for cross-border movements

Exporting from Great Britain

Solid wood packaging material moving between Great Britain and the EU must meet ISPM 15 treatment and marking requirements. The ISPM 15 mark on the wood, not a certificate, is the key evidence; marks can be checked at the border and non-compliant wood packaging may be rejected or destroyed. In practice that means the decision is made on the loading bay, by whoever looks — or does not look — at the blocks.

We source Euro-format timber as heat-treated and marked where treatment and marking can be confirmed for your order, and we say so in writing. Where wood packaging is the wrong tool, plastic Euro pallets sit outside ISPM 15 scope entirely.

Importing into Great Britain

As the importer you inherit packaging chosen by someone else. Put the ISPM 15 requirement into your purchase terms, ask for photographs of marked blocks before despatch, and inspect on arrival rather than assuming. Incoming Euro-format pallets you have no use for can often be collected — enquiries are considered from 10 pallets upwards.

Northern Ireland is a separate question

Wood packaging moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must be ISPM 15 treated and marked, and arrangements for movements from Northern Ireland to the EU are unchanged. Work out which leg you are performing before applying a rule you read about the other; see GB and EU movements.

Two rulebooks, kept apart

Border and plant-health requirements are legal obligations attached to the movement. EPAL licence and trademark rules are commercial and contractual, and only EPAL licensees may produce or repair pallets bearing EPAL marks. A genuine pool pallet can still be wrong for your export; an unbranded pallet can be perfectly compliant. Read EPAL or Euro-format?

The failures we see most

• Untreated bearers and chocks under treated pallets.
• Marks wrapped, labelled or painted over until unreadable.
• Post-treatment repairs with untreated timber.
• Visible bark beyond the small tolerated pieces.
• An assumption that “EPAL” on the paperwork answers a plant-health question.

What we do, and do not, do

We supply pallets, state what is marked on them, and explain the framework in plain terms. We do not issue phytosanitary certificates, do not act as an inspection body, do not clear consignments and do not give legal or customs advice. For that, use your freight forwarder or a plant-health professional and current GOV.UK guidance.