Service · Compliance
ISPM 15, explained by people who stamp the wood
Heat treatment to the 56 °C / 30 minute schedule, IPPC stamping with a registered mark, and a treatment certificate that a customs officer will accept.
Request pricing
Everything marked with a star is required. The rest helps us quote faster.
RePallet Co. supplies ISPM 15 compliant heat-treated pallets and crating for export, stamped with the IPPC mark and accompanied by a treatment certificate. Compliance requires a wood core temperature of 56 °C held for at least 30 minutes.
Heat treatment is arranged per order rather than carried as stock; allow three to five additional working days. Chemical fumigation with methyl bromide is not offered — it is being phased out globally and heat treatment is the better answer in every respect that matters.
What ISPM 15 actually requires
ISPM 15 is the international phytosanitary standard governing wood packaging material moving between countries. Its purpose is narrow and serious: stopping wood-boring pests — emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, pine wood nematode — from crossing borders inside a pallet.
- Applies to: pallets, crates, dunnage, drums, cases and skids made of solid wood over 6 mm thick.
- Does not apply to: plywood, OSB, particleboard, veneer, sawdust, shavings or wood wool — these are already processed enough to kill pests.
- Heat treatment (HT): wood core held at a minimum of 56 °C for at least 30 continuous minutes.
- Kiln drying (KD-HT): counts if the heat schedule is met; drying alone does not.
- Dielectric heating: 60 °C for one continuous minute throughout the profile, for timber under 20 cm.
- The mark: IPPC wheat symbol, country code, registered facility number and treatment code, applied to at least two opposite sides.
Reading the mark
Once you can read an IPPC mark you can audit your own inbound freight in seconds. There are only four elements and each has a fixed position.
| Element | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| IPPC symbol | Stylised wheat ear | Denotes an internationally recognised treatment |
| Country code | US | ISO two-letter code of the treating country |
| Facility code | CO-1234 | State and registered producer number |
| Treatment code | HT | HT = heat treatment; MB = methyl bromide; DH = dielectric |
A mark that is missing an element, stencilled crookedly across a repair, or applied to only one side is a reason to query the load. A longer explanation of the alternatives sits on heat treatment vs fumigation.
Practical export planning
- 1
Confirm the destination
Almost all major trading nations enforce ISPM 15, but a handful have additional national requirements. Tell us where it is going.
- 2
Choose the material
Heat-treated solid wood, or engineered board that falls outside the standard entirely. Sometimes the cheapest compliance is avoiding solid wood.
- 3
Build and treat
Treatment happens after construction, so the fasteners and repairs are inside the treated envelope.
- 4
Stamp and certify
Marked on two opposite sides, with a treatment certificate issued against the batch.
- 5
Keep the record
We retain treatment records and your Pallet Passport batch reference ties the paperwork to the physical load.
One planning note that saves more shipments than any other: repairs after treatment invalidate the mark if untreated wood is introduced. If a crate is damaged in transit and repaired with a random board from a receiving bay, it is no longer compliant. Repair with treated stock, or have it re-treated and re-marked.
Country-by-country notes
ISPM 15 is an international standard, but enforcement and additional national requirements vary. This is not legal advice and your forwarder is the authority — but these are the patterns we see most often from Denver.
| Destination | ISPM 15 | Methyl bromide | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Enforced strictly | Prohibited | Bark-free requirement also applies |
| United Kingdom | Enforced strictly | Prohibited | Aligned with EU practice |
| Australia | Enforced very strictly | Prohibited | Additional biosecurity inspection likely |
| New Zealand | Enforced very strictly | Prohibited | Among the strictest regimes |
| Canada / Mexico | Exempt from US shipments | n/a | NAFTA-region wood moves freely |
| China | Enforced | Accepted in principle | Marking legibility matters; rejections common |
| Japan | Enforced | Accepted in principle | Documentation checked carefully |
| Brazil | Enforced | Accepted | Bark-free requirement |
| Gulf states | Enforced | Accepted | Varies by port |
What the treatment process actually involves
- 1
Inspection before treatment
Structurally sound and reasonably clean. The chamber is not a wash bay, and dirt shields wood from heat.
- 2
Loading and probe placement
Probes go into the thickest member at the coldest point of the load, not into the air.
- 3
Ramp
The chamber heats until the coldest probe reads 56 °C at the wood core.
- 4
Hold
A minimum of 30 continuous minutes at or above 56 °C. The clock starts at the coldest probe, not the average.
- 5
Cool and record
Chart recorded and retained. The record is what makes the mark defensible.
- 6
Marking
IPPC panel applied to at least two opposite faces, branded or stencilled, never on a label.
- 7
Certificate
Issued against the batch, tied to the RPC reference.
Why the coldest probe matters
The entire integrity of heat treatment rests on the fact that the schedule is measured at the least-heated point in the load. A chamber running to an average temperature, or to an air temperature, will certify wood that never reached 56 °C at the core. This is the most common way legitimate-looking treatment fails to do what it claims.
Planning an export shipment
- Confirm the destination's requirements with your forwarder before you specify material.
- Decide solid wood versus engineered board. Plywood and OSB fall outside ISPM 15 entirely.
- Build first, treat second. Fasteners, bracing and repairs must be inside the treated envelope.
- Allow three to five extra working days for treatment and marking.
- Send treated spare timber with the shipment for any repair at destination.
- Keep the treatment certificate with the shipping file, and the batch reference with your records.
- Check the marking is legible before the container doors close. A smudged panel is a rejected container.
- Never accept a stamp without a treatment. It is fraud, and the liability lands on the shipper.
If a supplier ever offers to “just stamp” untreated pallets, walk away and tell your forwarder. A rejected container costs several thousand dollars in demurrage and re-treatment before you count the delay, and it is entirely avoidable.
Questions people actually ask
Can I heat treat pallets I already own?
Does heat treatment make wood waterproof or rot-proof?
How long does compliance last?
Do you offer methyl bromide fumigation?
Is plywood crating exempt?
How long does heat treatment take?
What does it cost?
Can you treat pallets I already own?
Does heat treatment change the wood?
How long is the treatment valid?
Let's keep your pallets in the loop
Whether you have 40 broken cores behind the dock or need 4,000 Grade A pallets a month, the conversation starts the same way.