About this calculator
ISPM 15 is the international standard of the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) for wood packaging material in international trade: pallets, crates, cases, cable drums, skids and dunnage. Its purpose is to stop wood pests such as bark beetles, borers and nematodes from spreading between countries. Almost every export destination applies it, and non-compliant packaging can be refused, destroyed, re-treated at the owner's cost, or hold up the entire shipment.
Not all wood is covered. Processed wood such as plywood, OSB, particle board, MDF and veneer, solid wood 6 mm thick or less, sawdust, wood wool and heat-treated wine barrels are exempt. Packaging made of thicker solid wood must receive an approved treatment: heat treatment (HT) to a core temperature of 56 °C for 30 minutes, dielectric heating (DH), methyl bromide (MB) fumigation, which is restricted and not accepted by some countries, or sulfuryl fluoride (SF). The wood must also be debarked within the tolerance, and every unit must carry the mark on at least two opposite sides: the IPPC symbol, the country code (ID for Indonesia), the registered producer or treatment-provider code and the treatment code.
This tool walks you through simple questions: material, thickness, treatment, marking, bark, repairs and the destination's rules. The result shows whether the packaging is exempt, compliant or needs fixing, with a preview of how the mark is laid out. In Indonesia the registration of treatment providers and the supervision are handled by the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Badan Karantina Indonesia); the destination country's rules are always the final reference.
Worked example
Three export packaging cases:
- A crate of 5 mm solid boards → exempt (≤ 6 mm). A plywood crate is exempt too.
- A 20 mm solid wood pallet, HT, complete mark (IPPC, ID-0123, HT), debarked → compliant.
- The same pallet fumigated with MB and shipped to a country that refuses methyl bromide → needs fixing (switch to HT pallets).
- An untreated, unmarked pallet with bark → three issues: not treated, not marked, bark present.
The mark preview for producer 0123 with heat treatment shows the lines ID-0123 and HT DB.
How to use it
Choose the material
Choose solid wood, processed wood (plywood, OSB, MDF) or a non-wood material; enter the thinnest board thickness for solid wood.
Enter treatment and marking
Pick the treatment (HT, DH, MB, SF or none) and tick whether the mark is present and complete and the wood is debarked.
Check destination rules
Tick when the destination refuses methyl bromide and when the packaging was repaired with new wood.
Read the result and mark preview
See the status (exempt, compliant, needs fixing), the list of issues and an example mark layout.