Fire-rated plastic pallets: what a buyer should know
The two listings
- FM 4996
- Fire controlled at 5.9 mm/min within 10 minutes
- UL 2335
- Idle pallet test and commodity storage test
- Fire code
- Listed and labeled pallets may be treated as wood
- Unlisted
- May raise the commodity class by two
- First listings
- iGPS: UL 2335 in 2007, FM in 2008
A fire-rated plastic pallet is one that carries a listing, FM 4996 or UL 2335, from a body that has burned it. The listing is what lets a building inspector treat the pallet like a wooden one when the sprinklers are designed.
Without a listing, plastic is the more expensive question. An ICC article says unlisted plastic pallets may require the commodity hazard class to be raised by two classes, with one worked example needing about 55 percent more sprinkler water.
A pallet seen from the side: the top deck, three blocks, the bottom boards and, between the blocks, the two fork openings marked with arrows. Schematic, drawn at one scale.
What the two tests measure
FM 4996 is a pass or fail on one fire. A pallet passes if the fire is controlled at 5.9 mm per minute, which is 0.15 gallons per minute per square foot of sprinkler density, within a 10-minute test of eight stacks 1.2 m high. UL 2335 has two parts: an idle pallet test, for empty pallets in storage, and a commodity storage test, for pallets carrying goods.
The two are different laboratories and different fires. A buyer asks which listing the maker holds, for which model, and wants the number or the label, not a statement that the pallet is "fire safe". A model name and a listing number belong together.
What the fire code does with a listing
The International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design. That is the whole prize: the building's existing sprinkler design, drawn for wooden pallets, stays valid.
Without the listing the designer may have to assume a more hazardous commodity. The ICC example is two classes higher and roughly 55 percent more water. Whether your building can supply it is an engineering question, and the insurer will ask.
| Situation | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Listed and labeled pallet | May be treated as a wood pallet for sprinkler design |
| Unlisted plastic pallet | May require raising the commodity class by two |
| Wood and plastic pallets, any | NFPA requires outdoor or detached storage unless sprinklers protect them |
| Fire spread, 2010 insurer figure | About 18 minutes to a pallet above for plastic, nearly 50 for wood |
Who needs it
- Warehouses and third-party logistics operators storing pallets indoors under sprinklers.
- Cold stores and high-bay racking, where sprinkler design is expensive to change.
- Plants whose insurer has asked for a listing on the policy renewal.
- Any buyer replacing wooden pallets in a building whose sprinkler design assumed wood.
The first all-plastic RFID-tagged pooled pallet to announce FM approval was the iGPS pallet in 2008, which had UL 2335 certification from 2007. Listings are not new, and several makers carry them now. Premier Pallet (PHS) lists FM-approved blends among the materials of its stackable line.
Asking for a fire-rated pallet
- Name the listing wanted: FM 4996, UL 2335 or either.
- Ask for the listing document and the model it covers.
- Give the building's sprinkler basis if you have it, or the insurer's requirement.
- Say the footprint and ratings as for any order.
- Ask what changes in the listed pallet against the unlisted one: weight, price and resin.
Put the answers into a request through the load quote tool. For the full guide to the codes, read fire-rated plastic pallets.
From request to trailer
- Send the ship-to. A delivery ZIP, a footprint and a quantity, in pallets or in trailers. If you do not know a rating, describe the load.
- We match a model. We pick a maker and model whose published static, dynamic and racking load fit the load, and say so when only one maker fits.
- You get a count. The quote carries the maker's own per-trailer figure where one is published, and says plainly where none is.
- Papers and delivery. For food or pharma we attach the resin and colourant documents. A standing supply repeats the same line on every order.
What a complete request carries
- The footprint, in inches or millimetres, and whether it is fixed by a rack bay or a container.
- How many pallets, or how many 53 ft trailers.
- The ratings the load needs: static for the stack, dynamic for the move, racking only if the pallet sits on beams.
- Food, pharma, chemical, automotive, warehouse or export use, which sets the papers.
- One load now, or a standing supply with the same line on every order.
- Where it goes and when, and anything marked on the pallet: colour, logo, RFID tag.
Terms on this page
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Stackable
- Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- FM 4996
- FM Approvals standard that rates a pallet as equal to wood in fire tests.
- UL 2335
- UL fire-test standard for storage pallets, with an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test.
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Open deck
- Top deck with gaps between slats or ribs; lighter and drains.
- Closed deck
- Solid top deck with no gaps; keeps small items from falling through.
Questions at the dock
What does FM 4996 mean on a plastic pallet?
The pallet has passed an FM fire test in which fire is controlled at 5.9 mm per minute within 10 minutes.
Is UL 2335 the same as FM 4996?
No. They are different tests from different bodies; UL 2335 has an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test.
Do I need a listing for every pallet?
Only where your sprinkler design or insurer depends on it. Ask them first.
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Last reviewed 2026-11-12.