Where it is
Outer blocks on the long sides. EPAL's 2023 classification poster says a new Euro pallet carries it on all four corner blocks.
What it proves
That the pallet was produced or repaired by an EPAL licensee, provided the control staple or repair nail is also present.
In detail
On a flat EPAL pallet the trademark is branded into the wooden blocks rather than printed on a label. EPAL's product pages number it 1/2 because it appears on both outer blocks of a long side. The classification poster published by EPAL in August 2023 adds the detail that matters for grading: a new pallet shows the mark on all four corner blocks, and a used pallet keeps its class A, B or C status only while at least one EPAL mark stays legible on each side.
The mark on its own proves less than people assume. Anyone can burn an oval into a block, and the licensing stipulations say an applicant may not use the EPAL in oval mark until a licence has been granted, which tells you counterfeits are a known concern. Read the brand together with the control staple on the centre block and, for a repaired pallet, the repair marking nail. A pallet with branded ovals but no staple deserves a second look before anyone pays exchange-pool money for it.
This site shows the mark only as a placeholder, [EPAL mark], in its drawings. The real logo is a registered trademark of the European Pallet Association e.V. and is not reproduced here.
Common misreadings
- Worn or sanded blocks can make a genuine mark unreadable; the poster puts a pallet with no legible EPAL marking in 'not fit for use'.