Rules
Pallet ownership rules, in plain language
A rental pallet belongs to its pool, wherever it ends up. Receiving one on a delivery doesn't transfer ownership, so the business holding it shouldn't sell, keep, grind or burn it. The owner's own collection is the right way out.
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This page explains the general position. It isn't legal advice. For a dispute, or a large stock of someone else's pallets, talk to a lawyer.
Why doesn't a pallet become mine when it's delivered to me?
Because the pool never sold it. Pallet pools rent pallets to manufacturers, who ship goods on them to distributors and stores. Each move is recorded against a customer's account, but the pool keeps title the whole time. Possession isn't ownership: a pallet left behind with a delivery is like a rented crate left at the wrong address.
The pools say so on their own pages:
- CHEP's US collection page says CHEP owns its pallets and never sells them or otherwise gives up ownership (source, checked October 27, 2026).
- PECO's recovery page says its pallets are PECO's property and that selling, buying, exchanging or repurposing them is illegal (source, checked October 27, 2026).
What can I do with them, then?
- Do: stack them apart, count them, and request a collection from the owner. The return-channel directory lists each channel.
- Don't: sell them, give them away, use them for your own outbound shipments without an account, dismantle them, or put them in a grinder or a skip.
Pools do pursue their pallets. Trade coverage in Pallet Enterprise has followed CHEP's lawsuits against pallet recyclers holding its pallets, and iGPS has publicized police recoveries of its plastic pallets.
What is California's AB 1760?
A 2022 California law on stray pallets held by recyclers and junk dealers. As reported by Reusable Packaging News when it was signed in September 2022, it lets recyclers and junk dealers who acquire bulk pallets in good faith, including rental pallets, store them until the owner collects. Once the owner has been told to pick up the pallets, it has 35 days to do so. After that, the recycler may sell them, or charge reasonable storage fees if the owner later demands them back.
The law is contested. In litigation reported by Pallet Enterprise, CHEP asked a court to declare it unconstitutional, and California recyclers sued CHEP over recovery compensation. Courts have issued rulings at early stages of those cases, but we found no final decision on the law's validity as of our last check. If you're in California and holding pooled pallets, get legal advice before relying on it.
AB 1760 concerns recyclers and junk dealers. It doesn't make a rental pallet the property of a store or warehouse that happens to receive it.
Other states
Other states may have their own rules on marked pallets. We cover only what we've checked and cited, so there are no state-by-state pages here yet.
Related reading: California AB 1760 explained and how pallet pooling works.