What is a Euro pallet exchange?

A like-for-like swap: the carrier gives back as many empty exchangeable EPAL pallets as it collects loaded, at once or through a pallet account settled later.

What makes a Euro pallet non-exchangeable?

A missing or broken board, a missing or split block with more than one nail shank visible, a twisted block protruding more than 10 mm, rot or heavy splintering, or dirt that could contaminate the load.

Who pays for missing pallets?

Whoever the contract makes responsible. Austria's charter makes the shipper's stated count binding, and in a 2026 Munich case a shipper claimed €694,000 from its forwarder for pallets it never returned.

Term

Pallet exchange

Pallet exchange is the European practice of swapping like-for-like pallets at handover: for every loaded Euro pallet a carrier takes, it gives back an empty exchangeable one, at once or later through a pallet account. EPAL sets the quality classes; a pallet with a missing board, or more than one nail shank showing, cannot be exchanged.

Also called Euro pallet exchange, EPAL exchange, pallet swap, Palettentausch, pallet accountApplies in EU, UKUpdated 13 October 2026

How the swap works

EPAL Euro pallets are built to UIC standard 435-2. Their quality classification, drafted in 2011 by EPAL Deutschland and GS1 Germany, sorts used pallets into new, A, B and C, while unsorted pallets are exchanged one-to-one. Austria's pallet charter, published by its chamber of commerce in June 2024, tells carriers to refuse non-exchangeable pallets and makes the shipper's stated pallet count binding for the exchange.

When a pallet can't be exchanged

A board is missing, or broken across or diagonally.
A block is missing, or split so that more than one nail shank is visible.
A twisted block protrudes more than 10 mm.
It can no longer carry a safe working load — rotten, heavily splintered or with damaged stringers.
It is dirty enough to contaminate the load.

Worked example: an account nobody reconciled

Shortfall 115,530 pallets, first billed at €11.70 each · settled: 40,000 × €8.20 = €328,000 + 40,000 × €9.15 = €366,000 = €694,000 paid · 35,530 still unsettled

From a Munich Higher Regional Court judgment of 25 February 2026 (7 U 826/24): a pallet account between a retailer and a shipper ran short from 2016 to 2022, and the shipper sued its forwarder for the €694,000 it had paid.

Exchange costs money even when it works. DSV Switzerland's 2025 surcharge list charges CHF 2.20 a Euro pallet, with a minimum of CHF 22 per loading order, and offers exchange only for Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

The mistake people make

Letting the pallet account run. In the Munich case the shipper chased its forwarder by email through July and August 2022 to reconcile the accounts, and they never were. Count pallets on the delivery note at both ends, refuse damaged ones on the spot, and agree in the contract who carries the exchange risk and what it is paid for it.

FAQ

Pallet exchange: common questions

What is a Euro pallet exchange?: A like-for-like swap: the carrier gives back as many empty exchangeable EPAL pallets as it collects loaded, at once or through a pallet account settled later.
What makes a Euro pallet non-exchangeable?: A missing or broken board, a missing or split block with more than one nail shank visible, a twisted block protruding more than 10 mm, rot or heavy splintering, or dirt that could contaminate the load.
Who pays for missing pallets?: Whoever the contract makes responsible. Austria's charter makes the shipper's stated count binding, and in a 2026 Munich case a shipper claimed €694,000 from its forwarder for pallets it never returned.