ASTM D1185: test methods for pallets

ASTM D1185 is the standard North American test method for pallets. Its title is Standard Test Methods for Pallets and Related Structures Employed in Materials Handling and Shipping. It is maintained by ASTM Committee D10 on packaging. The technical content dates from 1998 (designation D1185-98a) and has been reapproved several times since, most recently listed as reapproved in 2025. ASTM has an open work item to revise it and bring it closer to ISO 8611.

#What does ASTM D1185 cover?

It covers the performance of pallets and related structures that act as skids, bases, platforms and bins. The tests evaluate resistance to deformation, damage and structural failure that would affect how a unit load performs. There are two groups:

The standard also includes conditioning requirements for the pallets before testing, and allows other tests for specific materials and connectors.

#How ASTM D1185 rates a pallet

A static test loads the pallet to failure or to a deflection limit under a given support condition, such as spanning two rack beams. The safe load is derived from the ultimate load by applying a safety factor and checking deflection.

Differences from ISO 8611, as summarized by Virginia Tech:

An airbag spreads load more evenly than rigid bars, and for some pallets that changes the result a lot. That is why two "2,800 lb" ratings from different standards are not comparable.

#Who uses ASTM D1185?

• Retailers. Home Depot's shipping standard accepts either a PDS report or an ASTM D1185 test for new pallet designs.
• Plastic, presswood and metal pallet makers selling in North America, who often publish static, dynamic and racking ratings from D1185 or ISO 8611.
• Researchers and pallet labs, including university unit-load labs.
• Buyers of high-risk pallets, such as automated storage or high-bay racking, where an analytical estimate is not enough.

#PDS analysis or physical testing?

For wood pallets, most buyers accept a Pallet Design System analysis. It is faster and cheaper than testing and covers many support conditions at once. Physical testing to D1185 makes sense when:

• the pallet is not wood, or uses materials PDS does not model,
• the customer or insurer requires test data,
• the loads are unusual (drums, point loads, line loads) and the analysis is uncertain,
• a failure would be expensive or dangerous.

#How it relates to other standards

#When should a buyer cite ASTM D1185?

Cite it when you need a verified racking load or stacking rating in a North American program, when your customer names it, or when you compare plastic pallets from different suppliers. Ask every supplier for the same standard and support condition.

#How to reference it on a spec sheet

• "Safe working load, racked across the width, 2-beam, 42 in clear span: [value] lb, per ASTM D1185; test report required."
• "Deflection under safe working load not to exceed [value] in."
• "Retest required on change of species, grade, component size or fastener."

Values in brackets are yours to fill in. See pallet load capacity and racking and deflection for how to choose them.