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Pal­let Ship­ping from the UK

Shipping pallet from the UK to worldwide destinations securely using ForwardVia

You may not be aware of this. When you pur­chase goods that are heavy or large, it makes it dif­fi­fi­cult to han­dle man­u­al­ly. The sell­er or store is required to pack it on a pal­let for safe deliv­ery of your goods. The sender would nor­mal­ly pack it on to a wood­en pal­let, which most use for UK to UK or local delivery. 

Some wood­en pal­lets may not fit for export­ing out­side of the UK, if it is not com­pli­ant with ISPM 15, which stands for Inter­na­tion­al Stan­dards For Phy­tosan­i­tary Mea­sures No. 15. 

For­ward­Via spe­cialised in pal­let ship­ping from the UK. When For­ward­Via receive a pal­letised goods, we will always assess whether the pal­let or crate deliv­ered by the store/​seller is suit­able for ship­ping to your coun­try. If it is not, we would rec­om­mend repack­ag­ing it on to a plas­tic or heat treat­ed pal­lets that are com­pli­ant with local reg­u­la­tions. We would take a pho­to for you to review and decide the best way forward.

Below are some of the com­mon­ly asked ques­tions about pal­let ship­ping from the UK.

Is pallet shipping necessary?

Pal­let ship­ping is nec­es­sary if the item is too large or heavy for man­u­al han­dling. As a guide if the weight is over 40 kg, or girth larg­er than 400 cm. Ship­ping it with­out pal­let may expose the item to dam­ages when in tran­sit. Couri­er may also refuse to accept it. If the item is not pal­letise, it is nec­es­sary to pack the goods onto a pal­let. For export­ing to out­side the UK, it is nec­es­sary to only use pal­let that com­plies with ISPM 15 reg­u­la­tions or use plas­tic pal­let or equivalent. 

What are ISPM15 regulations?

ISPM 15 stands for Inter­na­tion­al Stan­dards For Phy­tosan­i­tary Mea­sures No. 15. Phy­tosan­i­tary mea­sures are mea­sures that are tak­en to help pro­tect humans, ani­mals and plants from con­t­a­m­i­nates, pests or dis­eases. Quite sim­ply ISPM 15 or Inter­na­tion­al Stan­dard for Phy­tosan­i­tary Mea­sure 15 is the 15th mea­sure to pro­tect humans, ani­mals and plants from dis­ease, pests and contaminants.

What do ISPM regulations apply to?

ISPM15 is applic­a­ble to all wood­en pack­ag­ing mate­ri­als such as pal­lets and ship­ping crates. They state that all sol­id wood and wood­en pack­ag­ing mate­ri­als over 6mm in thick­ness and used for export must be treated.

Why do these regulations exist?

These reg­u­la­tions exist to help pre­vent the spread of pests and dis­eases found in wood­en pack­ag­ing that could have a neg­a­tive impact on ecosys­tems. The reg­u­la­tions mean that wood­en pack­ag­ing must be heat-treat­ed pri­or to use in order to destroy any pests or dis­eases in the wood.

What is the alternative to wooden pallet?

Instead of using wood­en pal­let that must be com­pli­ant to ISPM, the oth­er option is to use plas­tic pal­let. That would make pal­let ship­ping more straight-for­ward with­out the wor­ry of your goods get stopped at the border

What countries require ISPM15?

Wood­en pal­lets used in freight to and from Europe are required to be heat-treat­ed to ISPM 15 stan­dard or use a plas­tic pal­let. Here is the list of oth­er coun­tries that required wood­en pal­let to be com­pli­ant with ISPM 15

Argenti­na, Aus­tralia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cana­da, Chile, Chi­na, Colom­bia, Cos­ta Rica, Cuba, Domini­can Repub­lic, Ecuador, Egypt, EU, Guatemala, Guyana, Hon­duras, Hong Kong, India, Indone­sia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jor­dan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mex­i­co, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nige­ria, Nor­way, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philip­pines, Repub­lic of Korea (South Korea), Rus­sia, Sey­chelles, South Africa, Sri Lan­ka, Switzer­land, Syr­ia, Tai­wan (includes Taipei), Turkey, Ukraine, USA and North America

How much does it cost to ship pallet?

Ship­ping cost depends on the weight, dimen­sion and ship­ping des­ti­na­tion. If repack­ag­ing is required, there is an addi­tion­al fee of £45 for mini pal­let or £60 for stan­dard size pal­let. For non-stack­able pal­let, there is a sur­charge of £250.

Will the pallet delivery direct to my door?

Not nec­es­sary. The pal­let deliv­ery is to the ship­ping address, and unloaded at the address, not to the door. Some deliv­ery dri­vers may assist, but it is up to the dri­ver’s dis­cre­tion. If there is any access restric­tion, the deliv­ery dri­ver may refuse to deliv­er it to the address and deliv­er to a place where they can access. Either way the local deliv­ery com­pa­ny will con­tact and liaise with the receiver.

How do pallet shipping from the UK works using ForwardVia?


1. Order the goods from the store using the pro­vid­ed UK address

2. Wait for deliv­ery. For­ward­Via inform you once we have the pallet

3. Once received, For­ward­Via log the pal­let details in your account, which include a pho­to for you to review

4. If repack­ag­ing onto plas­tic pal­let is nec­es­sary, there is a fee of £45/​pallet for mini pal­let and £60/​pallet for stan­dard size pal­let. For non-stack­able pal­let, there is a sur­charge of £185. You can make pay­ment to proceed

5. For­ward­Via repack­age it ready for you to order inter­na­tion­al ship­ping via your account dashboard

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