Pallets carry two very different kinds of mark. An owner stencil says whose pallet it is. A treatment stamp says how the wood was treated against pests, and nothing about ownership. Confusing the two is the most common mistake people make with a mixed pile.
What does an owner stencil look like?
Large painted or burned-in lettering on the side of a block or stringer: a company name, often with words like PROPERTY OF, RETURN TO, or a warning not to sell or destroy the pallet. Rental pools repeat it on several faces so it can be read from any side. A pallet marked this way belongs to the named company even if it's bare wood.
What is the small square stamp?
That's usually the ISPM 15 mark. ISPM 15 is the international standard for wood packaging material, set under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). It requires wood pallets that cross borders to be treated so they can't carry wood-boring pests, and to carry a mark showing that they were.
The mark is a small rectangle containing the IPPC symbol and three pieces of information:
- A country code, two letters, such as US or CA.
- A producer or treatment provider number, issued under that country's program.
- A treatment code: HT for heat treatment is by far the most common. MB means methyl bromide fumigation, which the IPPC encourages countries to replace. DH means dielectric heating, and SF means sulfuryl fluoride fumigation.
You may also see letters for the certifying agency. None of it names an owner.
Do I need heat-treated pallets?
Only for international shipments. Pallets used within the US don't need the ISPM 15 mark, but many carry it anyway. Heat-treated wood is ordinary wood, safe to reuse and recycle; the treatment is heat, not chemicals.
What about brand marks?
Pallet manufacturers sometimes brand their name or a lot number on a block. That's a maker's mark, like the name on a toolbox. It doesn't claim ownership. If you aren't sure whether a name is a maker or an owner, look for the words PROPERTY OF or RETURN TO: owners say so.
Putting it together
- Look for paint and a large stencil first. If either is there, the identifier will tell you whose it is.
- Ignore the small treatment square when deciding ownership.
- No stencil, no paint: it's a white-wood pallet, and yours.