Pallet sizes explained: UK, Euro, half and quarter

A pallet is a unit of transport, not a unit of storage. That distinction is the reason freight is priced in pallet spaces rather than in weight alone, and it is why a light load can cost the same as a heavy one if it takes up the same floor area on a trailer.

The two footprints that matter in the UK

The UK standard pallet is 1200 × 1000 mm. It is sometimes called a Great Britain pallet or an industrial pallet. If someone in the UK says “a pallet” without qualifying it, this is almost always what they mean.

The Euro pallet is 1200 × 800 mm. Narrower, and the standard across most of continental Europe. You will see them in the UK constantly, because goods arriving from Europe arrive on them.

The difference matters for one practical reason: a 13.6 m trailer takes 26 UK pallets on the floor, or 33 Euro pallets. Same trailer, seven more spaces, purely because of the footprint.

Half and quarter pallets

Pallet networks sell smaller units, and the names are not fully standardised between operators. Broadly:

• A half pallet is the UK footprint at a reduced height, commonly around 800 mm to 1,200 mm tall.
• A quarter pallet is smaller again, often around 600 × 800 mm at a low height.
• A micro or mini pallet is the smallest unit a network will take.

These exist because a network can stack two half pallets into one floor space. They are cheaper than a full pallet, but only if your goods genuinely fit the height limit. A half pallet that is 100 mm over gets re-rated as a full one, and you pay the difference.

Height is a limit, and it is lower than people expect

This is the single most common surprise.

On a curtainsider, the usable internal height is commonly around 2.6 to 2.7 m, so a pallet can be built up high. On a pallet network, the limit is typically much lower, often in the region of 2.2 m for a full pallet and considerably less for half and quarter units, because the network needs to double-stack to make the economics work.

Measure from the floor of the pallet, not from the top of the pallet deck. The 150 mm or so that the pallet itself occupies counts.

Weight limits per pallet

A full pallet on a network is commonly capped somewhere around 1,000 to 1,200 kg, with lower caps on the smaller units. Dedicated freight is different: on a dedicated vehicle the limit is the vehicle’s payload and axle loading, not a network tariff, so a single heavy pallet is usually better sent on a dedicated vehicle than through a network.

There is also a floor-loading question that catches people out. A very heavy pallet with a small footprint concentrates load in one place. That can be a problem for the vehicle and for a tail lift, and it sometimes means the answer is two lighter pallets rather than one heavy one.

Overhang is not allowed

Goods must sit within the pallet footprint. Anything that hangs over the edge is liable to be damaged, to damage the pallet next to it, and to be refused at the point of collection.

If your goods are genuinely larger than 1200 × 1000 mm, you do not have a pallet. You have an oversize consignment, and it needs to be quoted as one, usually on a dedicated vehicle rather than through a network.

Working out your pallet spaces

1. Measure the footprint of the goods. If it is within 1200 × 1000 mm, it is one UK pallet space.
2. Measure the total height including the pallet. Compare it against the limit for the service you want.
3. Weigh it, or estimate. Check it against the per-pallet cap.
4. If it fails on any of the three, it is either a different pallet type or a dedicated vehicle job.

When a pallet is the wrong answer

Palletising is not always the right call. It makes sense when goods are stackable, uniform and need protecting in a shared load. It makes less sense for:

• a single awkward item that would need building a bespoke frame
• anything so fragile that network handling is a risk
• loads where the deadline matters more than the cost, because a dedicated vehicle goes direct and a network does not

Pallet and freight work covers the palletised side. If you are not sure whether your consignment should be palletised at all, describe it on the quote form and that part gets worked out before anything is booked.