ISPM 15 Explained
What is ISPM 15?
ISPM 15 is the international standard on wood packaging, issued by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC, under FAO). Its full title is Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade, and it is the one most exporters run into. It sets out the measures that reduce the risk of quarantine pests being introduced and spread through wood packaging made from raw wood moving in international trade. Wood packaging that meets it carries a recognised mark, so it does not need a phytosanitary certificate.
Status and history
- First adopted in March 2002 by the Fourth Session of the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures. Revised in 2009, with Annexes 1 and 2 revised in April 2013 (CPM-8) and April 2018 (CPM-13). The current text was adopted in 2018 and published in 2019.
- The IPPC's list of adopted ISPMs, updated 30 October 2025, still describes ISPM 15 this way. Unlike some other standards on that list, it is not marked as under revision.
What it covers
- Crates, boxes, packing cases, dunnage, pallets, cable drums and spools/reels. These can come with almost any consignment, including ones that would not normally be inspected for plant health.
- Exempt as low risk:
- wood 6 mm thick or less
- processed wood such as plywood, particle board, OSB or veneer
- wine and spirit barrels heated during manufacture
- gift boxes made from pest-free processed wood
- sawdust, wood shavings and wood wool
- wood components permanently attached to freight vehicles and containers
Core requirements
- Debarked wood: packaging "must" be made of debarked wood. Small pieces of bark may remain if they are less than 3 cm wide (any length), or wider than 3 cm but under 50 cm² in total surface area.
- Approved treatments (Annex 1):
| Code | Treatment | Key parameter |
|---|---|---|
| HT | Heat treatment (steam or kiln) | At least 56 °C for 30 continuous minutes through the whole wood profile, including the core |
| DH | Dielectric heating (microwave or radio frequency) | At least 60 °C for 1 continuous minute through the whole profile, including the surface |
| MB | Methyl bromide | Minimum CT over 24 h by temperature band: 650 g·h/m³ at 21.0 °C or above, 800 at 16.0–20.9 °C, 900 at 10.0–15.9 °C. Not below 10 °C. Not for wood over 20 cm in cross-section at its smallest dimension |
| SF | Sulphuryl fluoride | 1,400 g·h/m³ over 24 h at 30 °C or above, or 3,000 g·h/m³ over 48 h at 20 °C or above. Not for wood over 20 cm cross-section or above 75% moisture content (dry basis) |
The standard notes that methyl bromide depletes the ozone layer and encourages national plant protection organisations (NPPOs) to promote the alternatives.
- The mark (Annex 2): the IPPC symbol, the ISO two-letter country code, a producer/treatment-provider code assigned by the NPPO, and the treatment code (HT, DH, MB or SF). Other requirements:
- It must be legible, durable, not transferable and not hand-drawn.
- It should be placed preferably on at least two opposite sides of the unit.
- Red or orange should be avoided because those colours are used for dangerous-goods labelling.
- NPPO oversight: treatment and marking "must always be under the authority of the NPPO", which authorises, registers and audits producers and treatment providers.
- Reuse, repair, remanufacture:
- A marked unit that has not been altered does not need re-treatment.
- A repaired unit (about one third or less of its components replaced) may only use ISPM 15-treated or processed wood, and each added component must be marked.
- A remanufactured unit (more than about one third replaced) must have old marks obliterated, be re-treated and be marked again.
- At import: importing NPPOs should accept the mark without further wood-packaging requirements. Any extra measures need technical justification. Non-compliant material may be detained, treated, destroyed or reshipped, and the exporting country should be notified when live pests are found.
Approach: The datasets I can search don't hold the text of the standard itself, so this is taken from the IPPC's official 2018 ISPM 15 text and its October 2025 list of adopted ISPMs. How individual countries apply ISPM 15 in their import rules is set nationally and is not covered here.
If you need it, I can look up registered ISPM 15 producers or treatment providers in a specific country's national register.
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What do the HT and MB stamps on a pallet mean?
HT and MB are the treatment codes in the ISPM 15 mark. HT means the wood was heat-treated. MB means it was fumigated with methyl bromide. Either one shows the pallet went through an approved phytosanitary treatment, so it can move internationally without a phytosanitary certificate (ISPM 15, Annex 2).
HT: heat treatment (steam or dry kiln heat chamber)
- The wood must reach at least 56 °C for at least 30 continuous minutes through the whole piece, including its core.
- The national plant protection organisation (NPPO) should specify or approve the treatment schedules.
- Bark may be removed before or after treatment.
MB: methyl bromide fumigation
- The fumigation must reach a minimum concentration × time value (CT) over 24 hours. The minimum depends on temperature:
| Wood/air temperature | Minimum CT over 24 h | Minimum final concentration after 24 h |
|---|---|---|
| 21.0 °C or above | 650 g·h/m³ | 24 g/m³ |
| 16.0–20.9 °C | 800 g·h/m³ | 28 g/m³ |
| 10.0–15.9 °C | 900 g·h/m³ | 32 g/m³ |
- The temperature must not be below 10 °C, and exposure must not be shorter than 24 hours.
- Methyl bromide "must not" be used on packaging that contains a piece of wood more than 20 cm in cross-section at its smallest dimension.
- Bark must be removed before fumigation.
- The standard encourages NPPOs to promote the alternative treatments. It also notes that IPPC parties may have obligations under the Montreal Protocol, since methyl bromide depletes the ozone layer.
Reading the rest of the stamp
- Symbol: the IPPC symbol sits on the left.
- Country code: the ISO two-letter code, followed by a hyphen.
- Producer/treatment provider code: a unique code assigned by the NPPO. It identifies the company that made or treated the pallet, or the one responsible for the marking.
- Treatment code: HT, MB, DH (dielectric heating) or SF (sulphuryl fluoride). It goes on a separate line, or after a hyphen if it's on the same line.
- Format: the mark must sit inside a rectangular or square border, with nothing else inside the border. It must be legible, durable, not transferable and not hand-drawn.
- Several marks on one pallet: a repaired pallet may carry more than one mark, and that alone is not non-compliance.
- Older marks: importing countries should accept wood packaging marked under earlier versions of the standard.
Approach: The regulatory datasets I can search don't hold the ISPM 15 text, so this comes from the IPPC's official 2018 standard (Annexes 1 and 2). It doesn't cover individual countries' import rules on methyl bromide-treated packaging, which are set nationally.
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Which countries enforce it? Does Korea?
Yes, Korea enforces ISPM 15. Its national plant protection organisation has told the IPPC that it applies the standard to both imports and exports. It enforces it through an administrative rule from the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (농림축산검역본부) called the 수출입화물 목재포장재 검역요령 (Quarantine Guidelines for Wood Packaging Material in Import/Export Cargo). There isn't a single official list of every country that enforces it. The closest is the IPPC's register of country implementation reports, which names 61 countries, Korea among them.
Korea
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IPPC reports: Korea filed two. The first, published 24 March 2011, reports implementation of the 2002 version for imports and exports (IPPC). The second, published 17 June 2014, reports the 2009 version for imports and exports (IPPC). Neither IPPC page shows the report text, only the status.
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National rule: the Korean National Law Information Center (law.go.kr) holds the rule under two notices. One is Notice No. 2017-19, in force from 3 April 2017 (law.go.kr). The other is a partial amendment, Notice No. 2020-11, in force from 17 March 2020, filed in the site's history section (law.go.kr).
- I couldn't open the article text of either version, so I can't give you the article wording on inspection, exemptions or what happens to non-compliant packaging.
- I also couldn't confirm whether a version later than 2020 is now in force.
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Korean export mark: the agency's mark-registration page says the mark must have:
- the IPPC symbol, the KR country code, a producer code assigned by the agency, and a treatment code (HT, DH or MB)
- a standard size of 7.5 cm × 3.5 cm
- placement on at least two opposite sides
- black, navy or blue ink, never red or orange
Heat-treatment providers must register under the Enforcement Rules of the Plant Protection Act (식물방역법 시행규칙) before they can apply to use the mark (QIA).
The 61 countries in the IPPC register Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam (IPPC, Implementation of ISPM 15).
Countries file these reports themselves. A country that isn't on the list may still apply ISPM 15 in its own import rules, and the reports don't show which treatments each country accepts or how strictly it inspects.
Approach: The regulatory datasets I can search hold Korea's register of export/import plant-quarantine treatment companies but no wood-packaging rule, so the answer comes from the IPPC's official country reports, Korea's law.go.kr and the agency's wood packaging pages. The agency's English import page and its page on other countries' requirements both redirected to the agency homepage, so I couldn't read them.
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