Criteria
From EPAL Quality Classification poster, EPAL 08/2023.
- Rough-sawn, with consistent and repetitive nail positioning
- No signs of use, light-coloured wood
- All 4 corners chamfered at 45°
- EPAL marking on all 4 corner blocks
- All bottom boards chamfered on both sides
- IPPC marking, licence number–year–month and control staple present
Characteristics
- ISPM 15 / IPPC treated
- Chamber-dried
- 800 × 1,200 × 144 mm
- Guaranteed nominal load 1,500 kg
- Maximum 22% residual moisture
In practice
New is the only class with a moisture limit and a full set of construction checks. The poster lists chamber drying with a maximum of 22% residual moisture, and checks you can make by eye: corners chamfered at 45°, bottom boards chamfered on both sides, a regular nail pattern and four branded corner blocks.
For a US or Canadian exporter, new is the safe default when a European customer writes 'EPAL' on a purchase order without naming a class. Because EPAL pallets are only made by licensees, new EPAL pallets in North America come from licensed producers; our source form routes that request.
Typical use: Automated warehouses, high-bay racking, food and pharmaceutical shippers who specify new pallets, and EU-bound exports where the customer asks for new EPAL.
Status of the classification
The EPAL Quality Classification is a non-binding recommendation. It applies only when the companies involved agree to use it. Without that agreement, only the EPAL Terms of Exchange apply, under which new and used EPAL Euro pallets of classes A, B and C are exchangeable without restriction.