GuidesTreatmentHT or not
Heat-treated or untreated: which your load needs
A heat-treated pallet has been through a kiln or chamber that brought the wood core to 56 °C for at least 30 minutes. An untreated pallet has not. Which one you need depends on where the load is going.
The rule of thumb
| Load goes | Treatment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the United States | Not required | ISPM 15 covers international trade |
| From the continental US into Canada | Exempt from CFIA D-98-08, for now | A phased move to full ISPM 15 is pending |
| Overseas | HT, with the stamp | The destination country enforces it |
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says wood packaging imported into Canada from the continental United States is exempt from policy D-98-08, pending a phased move to full ISPM 15 implementation. That could change; check the agency's current rule before relying on it.
The cost of treatment
Treatment adds a step, and the pallet has to be stamped by a certified facility. A buyer who does not export gains nothing from it. A buyer who does export loses the load without it. Do not guess; ask the shipper or the consignee.
Mould after treatment
Heat treatment kills pests but does not make wood immune to mould. Pallet Enterprise warns that heat-treated pallets loaded into trailer vans while still hot are susceptible to it. Let treated pallets cool and dry before closing a van. See mould and moisture.
What to write in the request
- The destination country, if outside the US.
- Whether you need the stamp visible on two faces.
- The size and count.
- Whether the pallets may be used or must be new.
Used pallets can carry the stamp, but only if every board does. Reading the stamp shows what to look for.
Telling which you are holding
A stamped pallet is heat treated or fumigated; one without a mark is treated as untreated, even if it was kiln dried. Kiln drying and heat treatment are different processes, and only the second earns the mark. Pallets sold as dry but unstamped should never be shipped abroad. If a repaired pallet mixes stamped and unstamped boards, treat the whole pallet as unstamped.
A short example
A packer ships machine parts to a customer in Europe on 48 x 40 pallets. The customer's country requires stamped wood, so the packer orders heat-treated pallets and keeps a photograph of the stamp. Another packer ships the same parts to a customer in Ohio on plain pallets, since no stamp is needed. The product is identical; the destination decides the pallet.
Know which you need? Ask for it.
Sources, last reviewed November 2026: