UIC 435-2
EPAL and UIC 435-2 — the euro pallet specification
What licences a pallet to carry the EPAL mark, how to read the blocks, and when the licence is worth paying for — and when it is not.
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- UIC / EPAL
- Current edition
- current edition
- Status
- Current
- Legally required
- Voluntary
- Last reviewed
- 19 August 2026
A euro pallet is 1200 × 800 × 144 mm and weighs about 25 kg. Those dimensions are public and anybody may build to them.
What makes a pallet an EPAL pallet is the licence, and behind the licence is UIC 435-2 — the quality specification that fixes the timber, the moisture content, the block dimensions, the number and placement of every nail, and the marking. A pallet built to the drawing without a licence is a “euro-size” pallet: possibly excellent, and not the same thing.
How to read the blocks
A licensed pallet is marked on its corner and centre blocks, and the marks are the whole point of the system.
- Left corner block — EPAL in an oval.
- Centre block — the licence number, the country code, and production details identifying the maker and the date.
- Either corner block — the IPPC / ISPM 15 mark where the timber has been heat treated.
- One corner block — the control staple, applied at inspection. It is the physical evidence that the pallet passed, and its absence on an otherwise marked pallet is the thing to question.
Marks are branded, not printed. A stencilled or stickered EPAL mark is not one.
What the specification actually fixes
- Timber — species, grade, permissible knots and wane.
- Moisture content — a maximum, which is why a genuine pallet does not arrive damp.
- Dimensions and tolerances — of the boards and the blocks, not just of the pallet.
- Fasteners — the number, the type and the positions. This is where most counterfeits fail, because nails are the cheapest thing to cut.
- Marking — what is burned where.
When the licence is worth paying for
Yes, when the pallet comes back. Exchange pools only work because every participant can trust an unfamiliar pallet at a glance. That trust is the product; the timber is incidental.
Yes, when it goes into racking. The specification is what makes the load ratings meaningful, and a pallet of unknown construction in beam racking is an unknown carrying an unknown.
No, usually, when it goes one way. Paying an EPAL premium for a pallet that will be broken up at the far end is a common and expensive habit. A one-way pallet at half the price and half the weight also takes weight off a payload-limited load.
The three load figures
Stated here because they are quoted interchangeably and they are not interchangeable:
| Figure | Roughly | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Safe working load | 1500 kg | Normal handling and transit |
| Static load | 3000–4000 kg | Flat, fully supported floor |
| Racking load | ~1000 kg | Supported at the ends only |
Racking is the smallest and usually the one that binds. If your pallets go into beam racking at the far end of the journey, that is your figure — not the one on the datasheet.
What to specify
EPAL licensed, new, heat treated to ISPM 15, moisture content 18% or below.
Or, honestly, for a one-way export:
Euro-size 1200 × 800 mm one-way pallet, minimum safe working load 800 kg, heat treated to ISPM 15.
The second is not a lesser specification. It is a different one, written for what the pallet actually has to do.