Not all pallets are safe to use — and the consequences of getting it wrong can be serious. A pallet that fails under load can damage stock, injure workers, and create a significant liability for your business.
The problem is that most people don't know what to look for. They see a pallet, they put stock on it, and they assume it'll hold. Often it does. But sometimes it doesn't — and the signs were there all along.
This guide tells you exactly what to check before you load a pallet, what you can live with, and what's a hard no.
Start With the Boards
The deck boards — the planks on top that your stock sits on — are the first thing to inspect.
Check for:
- Cracks running along the grain of the wood
- Boards that are split end-to-end
- Missing boards or large gaps in the deck
- Boards that flex or bounce when you press on them
- Rot — soft, dark, or crumbling wood that breaks away when you press it
What's acceptable: Minor surface splitting or small cracks that don't run the full length of a board. Light surface wear and discolouration. A small knot hole that doesn't affect the board's structural integrity.
What's a deal-breaker: Any board that's completely cracked through, missing, or rotten. If you can push your thumb into the wood and it gives, the board's structural value is gone. Don't load it.
Check the Blocks or Stringers
Depending on the pallet type, it'll either have blocks (the wooden cubes at the corners and centre) or stringers (the long planks running lengthways on stringer pallets). These are what carry the weight down to the floor — they're critical.
Check for:
- Cracked or split blocks
- Blocks that are loose or have shifted out of position
- Missing chunks of block — particularly at the corners
- Stringers with cracks running across the grain (not along it — across it is worse)
- Any part of the block or stringer that looks crushed or compressed
What's acceptable: Light surface cracks along the grain. Minor cosmetic damage from forklift tines. Slight discolouration or staining.
What's a deal-breaker: A block that's cracked through, missing entirely, or noticeably softer than the others. Even one failed block significantly reduces the pallet's safe load capacity. On a stringer pallet, a crack running across the stringer — rather than along it — is a structural failure and the pallet should not be used.
Look at the Bottom Boards
The boards on the underside of the pallet are easy to ignore — you can't see them once the pallet's on the floor. But they matter, especially if the pallet is going into racking.
Check for:
- Missing or broken bottom boards
- Boards that have pulled away from the blocks
- Rot on the underside (often worse than the top due to ground moisture)
What's acceptable: Minor wear and scuffing. Light staining. Nail heads that have lifted slightly.
What's a deal-breaker: Missing bottom boards on a pallet going into racking — particularly at the outer edges. In racking, the bottom boards can be the only thing preventing the pallet from tipping. A pallet missing its outer bottom boards should not go into racking under any circumstances.
Inspect the Nails and Fixings
The nails holding the pallet together are small but important. A pallet where the fixings are failing is a pallet that's starting to come apart.
Check for:
- Protruding nails sticking up through the deck — a hand and foot injury waiting to happen
- Nails that have pulled clean out of the wood, leaving holes
- Boards that have shifted because the nails are no longer holding them in place
What's acceptable: Nails that are flush or slightly recessed. Minor nail head corrosion on the surface.
What's a deal-breaker: Protruding nails are a safety hazard regardless of the pallet's structural condition — they need to be hammered down or the pallet taken out of use. Any board that's visibly moving because the nail is no longer gripping should be treated as a loose board and inspected further.
Check for Contamination
This one is particularly important for food, pharmaceutical, or cosmetics businesses.
Check for:
- Staining that looks like chemical or oil spillage
- Strong or unusual smells
- Visible residue — particularly anything that could indicate chemical contact
- The IPPC/ISPM-15 stamp if you're using pallets in an export context
What's acceptable: General surface dirt and dust. Water staining from outdoor storage. The usual colour variation that comes with used pallets.
What's a deal-breaker: Any pallet with unknown chemical contamination should be quarantined until you know what it carried. In food and pharmaceutical environments, you should only ever use pallets from a known, traceable source — and Grade A where possible. A cheap pallet that contaminates a product load is never actually cheap.
The Quick Four-Point Check
If you're inspecting in volume and don't have time to go through everything on every pallet, run this quick four-point check:
- Press the boards — does anything flex, crumble, or give?
- Look at the corners — are all four corner blocks intact and solid?
- Check for cracks across the stringers (on stringer pallets) — any across-grain cracks?
- Look underneath — are the bottom boards present, especially at the edges?
If it passes all four, it's almost certainly fine for standard use. If it fails any one of them, pull it out and inspect it properly before loading.
When in Doubt, Don't Load It
The cost of a rejected pallet is nothing compared to the cost of a failed one. If you're not sure, don't put stock on it. Put it to one side for a proper assessment or set it aside for recycling.
At Champion Pallets, every pallet we sell has been checked before it leaves our depot. We don't shift pallets we wouldn't load ourselves — and if something is only suitable for light-duty use, we'll tell you upfront.
If you need reliable, inspected pallets for your operation, give us a call or fill in the contact form. We'll get you sorted with the right grade for what you actually need.