ISPM 15 Compliance Checker
Answer a few questions about your pallets, crates or dunnage to see whether they meet ISPM 15 for international shipping, or are exempt, and what to fix if they don't.
- Requirement
- Treatment
- Mark
- Bark
- Repairs
- To Do
Check Log
Checks you add are saved in this browser, with the date.
| Date | Description | Material | Treatment | Result | Remove |
|---|
What ISPM 15 Requires
ISPM 15 is the international standard for wood packaging, set by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Countries that follow it require pallets, crates, dunnage and other packaging made of solid wood to be debarked, treated to kill pests, and marked before they cross a border. Each country's plant protection agency enforces it; in the United States that's USDA APHIS, with inspections by Customs and Border Protection.
Approved Treatments
| Code | Treatment | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| HT | Heat treatment (kiln or chamber) | At least 56 °C (132.8 °F) for 30 continuous minutes through the whole wood profile, including the core |
| DH | Dielectric heating (microwave or radio frequency) | At least 60 °C (140 °F) for 1 continuous minute through the whole profile, reached within 30 minutes; wood no more than 20 cm across its smallest dimension |
| MB | Methyl bromide fumigation | At least 24 hours at a set concentration and wood temperature of 10 °C or more; wood no more than 20 cm in cross-section. Some countries restrict or refuse it |
| SF | Sulphuryl fluoride fumigation | A fumigation schedule approved by the IPPC as an alternative to methyl bromide |
Kiln-dried lumber (KD) is not the same as heat-treated (HT). Lumber is only HT if the treatment met the schedule above and was done under an approved program that lets the facility apply the mark.
What's Exempt
ISPM 15 does not apply to packaging made entirely of: thin wood 6 mm (about ¼″) or less; processed wood such as plywood, OSB, particleboard or veneer made with glue, heat or pressure; wine and spirit barrels heated during manufacture; gift boxes for wine, cigars and similar goods made from wood processed to be pest-free; sawdust, shavings and wood wool; and wood parts permanently attached to trucks or containers. If any part of the packaging is solid wood, like lumber skids under a plywood crate, that wood needs treatment and the mark.
The Mark
The mark shows the IPPC symbol, the two-letter ISO country code, a unique number for the producer or treatment provider, and the treatment code. It must be permanent and legible, not hand drawn, and should be on at least two opposite sides. Avoid red and orange, which are used for dangerous goods labels. Some older marks also show DB for debarked; it isn't required, because all ISPM 15 wood must be debarked.
Repaired and Remanufactured Packaging
A repaired unit (up to about a third of its parts replaced) may keep its mark if every new part is treated and marked on its own, or is processed wood. A remanufactured unit (more than a third replaced) must have all old marks permanently removed, be treated again, and be marked again.