Pallet dimensions: the guide to standard formats

The EPAL format table

Three of these formats nest together: two 800 × 600 half pallets cover one Euro pallet, and two 600 × 400 quarters cover one half pallet. This modularity means formats can be mixed within a single load without wasting space. EPAL 2 and EPAL 3 stay outside that family: both have the same 1.20 m² area, but they are two distinct builds — 162 mm high and 1,250 kg of load for the EPAL 2, 144 mm and 1,500 kg for the EPAL 3.

One caveat, though: permissible load cannot be inferred from area. According to EPAL specifications, the EPAL 3 carries 1,500 kg just like the EPAL 1 (with a stacking limit reduced to 4,500 kg on the bottom pallet), while the EPAL 6 half pallet is capped at 750 kg of load and 1,500 kg in a stack. Every model has its own load and stacking specifications: it is the EPAL data sheet for the format that governs, not its size.

The Euro pallet (EPAL 1) in detail

This is the reference of European road transport. Its characteristics are set by the technical regulations of EPAL (European Pallet Association):

That last line is the least known and one of the most useful: when loaded pallets are stacked on a solid, level surface, the total weight resting on the first pallet in the stack must not exceed 5,500 kg. It is that value, defined by EPAL, that really bounds what you can stack in storage. Other figures circulate (static load, racking load), but they do not appear in the characteristics published by EPAL: in racking, it is the specifications of your own storage installation that apply.

Why 800 × 1200? Because the format is built around the truck: two pallets side by side make 1,600 mm, three make 2,400 mm, to fit an internal width of 2.45 to 2.48 m depending on the semi-trailer. Three pallets per row, and the floor is taken up across almost the full width.

EUR, EPAL: what is the difference?

On dimensions, none: both markings refer to the same 800 × 1200 mm format. On the system, there is a difference. “EUR” is the historic marking inherited from European railways, attached to the pool managed by the UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de fer, the International Union of Railways). “EPAL” designates the pool of the European Pallet Association, which manages its own manufacturing and repair licences and its own quality control. A compliant EPAL pallet carries the “EPAL in the oval” marking on the left and right blocks (systematically since August 2013), and the phytosanitary treatment details on the centre block.

The two systems are no longer equivalent: the exchangeability agreement between EPAL and the UIC ended on 1 May 2017, so a EUR/UIC pallet is not automatically accepted in exchange for an EPAL pallet. More broadly, compliant dimensions are not enough to make a pallet exchangeable: the marking, the condition of the pallet and the terms agreed between shipper, carrier and consignee determine whether it is accepted into an exchange scheme.

Beware of counterfeits too, which are increasingly in circulation: only EPAL-licensed companies are authorised to produce or repair these pallets.

ISPM 15 marking for export

For a shipment outside the European Union, check the phytosanitary requirements of the destination country: many of them require solid wood packaging, pallets included, to be treated in accordance with the international standard ISPM 15 (NIMP 15). The most common treatment is heat treatment — the core of the wood is held at 56 °C for at least 30 minutes — and it is attested by the regulatory IPPC marking applied to the pallet. A non-compliant load can be held, treated or turned back at customs on arrival.

The good news: new EPAL pallets have been treated and marked in accordance with ISPM 15 since 1 January 2010, so they are compliant from the outset. The point to watch concerns reused pallets from outside the EPAL system, whose treatment is not guaranteed.

What each format gives you in a semi-trailer

The pallet format directly determines how a truck fills up. In a standard 13.60 m semi-trailer:

That simple gap weighs on the invoice. In groupage, consignments are often priced by loading metre of floor, that is, the length of truck occupied across its full width — even though every carrier applies its own rate card: actual weight, chargeable weight, number of pallets or loading metres. The industry reference formula:

Loading metre = (length × width of the pallet in metres) ÷ 2.4

That is 0.4 ldm for a Euro pallet and 0.5 ldm for a 1200 × 1000 pallet, 25 % more linear occupancy. When the carrier's rate card charges by loading metre, that gap feeds straight into the cost of groupage. On a regular flow, the choice of format is not a packaging detail: it is a line in your transport budget.

The detail of loading calculations (stacking, chargeable weight, trailer types) is in our dedicated article: how many pallets fit in a semi-trailer?

Which format to choose

The 800 × 1200 (Euro) is the most widespread format in European road flows: excellent floor efficiency in a standard semi-trailer, well-established exchange schemes, docks and equipment sized for it. You still need to check that it suits your products, your equipment, your consignee's constraints and the pallet exchange scheme envisaged.

The 1200 × 1000 makes sense when your products are more than 80 cm wide; it is found in particular in certain industrial, chemical and food flows.

The 800 × 600 half pallet is a retail tool more than a transport one: it goes straight onto the shop shelf without repacking, which makes it the preferred medium for promotional operations.

And if you are hesitating over a specific flow, that is literally our trade: ask us for a quote, our teams will work out the loading plan with you.