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ISPM 15 treatment mark

ISPM 15 is the international standard for wood packaging material in trade. Crates, pallets and dunnage made of solid wood have to be treated and stamped with the recognised mark. The rule applies to the packaging around a consignment whatever the consignment happens to be.

The essentials.

Who sets it: The International Plant Protection Convention, under the FAO. Individual countries then enforce it at their borders.¹
What it covers: Solid wood packaging: crates, pallets, cases, drums and dunnage.¹
What it requires: Treatment by an approved method, then the recognised mark applied at the point of treatment.¹
Why it exists: Untreated packaging wood carries pests between countries. The standard is a plant health measure and nothing else.¹

Who asks for it.

This travels with the goods wherever they go. Either Indonesia requires it on the way out, or it is an ordinary trade document that any buyer, bank and carrier expects to see.

What it does not cover.

It says nothing about the goods
A furniture consignment can be perfectly compliant on its packaging and still be wrong on species, grade, moisture or legality. The mark belongs to the crate.
Manufactured panels sit outside it
Wood-based panels such as plywood are generally exempt because manufacturing removes the risk the standard addresses. Confirm the position for your own packaging rather than assuming it.

Questions buyers ask.

Who is responsible if the mark is missing?

Commercially it lands on whoever holds the shipment when it is stopped, which is usually you. Practically it is the exporter's job to use treated packaging, so make it an explicit line in the order rather than an assumption.

What happens at the border without it?

Outcomes range from treatment at your cost to re-export of the whole consignment, depending on the country. None of them are cheap, and all of them are slower than getting the packaging right.

Where this comes up.

Indonesian teak furniture
Where it is built, what the trade grade letters actually mean, the mandatory V-Legal document, and why SVLK alone no longer answers the EU.

Worth reading.

Sources

1ISPM 15, regulation of wood packaging material in international trade. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO. Checked 3 August 2026.

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