A shipment held up over its packaging costs you days of delay, storage fees and unhappy customers. This checklist gathers the points phytosanitary authorities inspect on wooden pallets, crates and boxes — go through it before every international shipment.
Plant health authorities (in Mexico, SENASICA/SEMARNAT; in the U.S., USDA-APHIS and CBP) inspect wood packaging because it can carry live forest pests. The international standard ISPM 15 — implemented in Mexico through NOM-144-SEMARNAT — defines how that packaging must be treated and marked. If a pallet fails, the inspector can order the return of the entire shipment, its fumigation or the destruction of the packaging, with costs and delays that the exporter absorbs.
All the lumber in the packaging must have been heat-treated: 56 °C at the core of the wood for at least 30 minutes, per ISPM 15. Verify that your supplier is authorized by SEMARNAT to apply the treatment and issue the mark, and that it can back it up with process records.
The mark must include the IPPC wheat-ear symbol, the country code (MX), the authorized supplier's registration number and the treatment code (HT). It must appear on at least two opposite sides of the packaging, be permanent and legible, and must not be red or orange (colors reserved for dangerous goods). A blurred or incomplete stamp is worth the same as no stamp at all.
ISPM 15 requires debarked lumber (small, isolated patches are allowed). The inspector also looks for insect boreholes, fresh sawdust (a sign of active infestation), fungi and excess moisture. A treated pallet that shows evidence of active infestation can still be rejected.
A single box, brace, block or piece of dunnage without treatment contaminates the entire shipment. If you repair a certified pallet with an untreated board, the packaging loses its compliance: every repair must be made with treated lumber and re-marked according to the standard.
Although ISPM 15 compliance is verified through the physical stamp, it helps when your invoice, packing list or supplier letter mentions the treated packaging and the registration number. If the inspector has any doubt, documentation speeds up the release.
Some destinations apply stricter criteria (for example, Australia and New Zealand regarding bark and cleanliness). Before a first shipment to a new country, confirm that destination's specific phytosanitary requirements with your customs broker.
Golden rule: compliance is bought, not improvised. Working with a SEMARNAT-authorized manufacturer that has in-house HT and IPPC marking turns this checklist into a 2-minute formality per shipment.
Request the exact reason in writing (treatment, marking or lumber condition), document it with photos, and contact your packaging supplier immediately: if it is authorized, it can issue evidence of the batch's treatment. For the next shipment, replace the flagged packaging — reusing damaged or re-nailed pallets without re-certifying them is the most common cause of repeat rejections.
Three things: that the lumber has valid HT heat treatment, that the IPPC stamp is complete and legible on two opposite sides (wheat-ear symbol, MX, registration number and HT code), and that the lumber is debarked, dry and shows no evidence of active pests.
The authority can order the return, fumigation or destruction of the packaging, with costs and delays for the exporter. It is best to document the reason, notify the authorized packaging supplier and replace the flagged pieces before the next shipment.
Only with treated lumber, and by re-marking it according to the standard. If it is repaired with untreated lumber, the packaging loses its compliance even if it keeps the original stamp.
Heat treatment (HT) compliant with NOM-144 and ISPM 15.