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ReferencePapers for buying a wood slab: standards, certificates, tests and import rules
SlabHome editorial team · Last reviewed October 2026
A wood slab crosses a border with more paper than most buyers expect, and no single paper covers it. One document names the species. Another says the wood was treated. A stamp on the crate says something else again. A permit may be needed before any of them matter. This section sets out each paper, who issues it and how a buyer checks it, and it keeps the slab’s own figures, moisture and flatness, next to them because they are the other half of what a workshop must show.
SlabHome is a matching service. It does not issue, hold or check certificates, and none of these pages is legal advice. They explain what exists and what to ask for. Confirm the rules for your destination with your customs broker or the plant health and wildlife authorities of the countries involved. Facts are given as of October 2026 with their sources.
Which paper answers which question
| Question | Paper or rule | Page |
|---|---|---|
| What species and where did the tree grow? | Lacey Act declaration data on the invoice | Lacey Act declaration for a wood slab |
| May this species cross a border at all? | CITES permit for listed woods | CITES and restricted woods in slabs |
| Is the wood free of pests? | Phytosanitary certificate | Phytosanitary certificate for wood slabs |
| Was it really heat treated? | Treatment record, core temperature and hold time | Heat treatment and kiln records for slabs |
| Is the crate stamped? | ISPM 15 mark | ISPM 15 crates for wood slabs |
| Is it certified wood? | FSC claim on the invoice | FSC wood slabs: claims |
| How dry is it, really? | Meter readings at depth, oven-dry reference | Moisture meter readings on thick slabs |
| How flat and how thick? | Tolerance clause with a method | Slab flatness and thickness tolerance |
| Is the resin food safe? | The resin maker’s food-contact statement | Food safe epoxy for river table tops |
| Is the finish low in emissions? | VOC content in g/L, emission test report or label | Low VOC finishes for wood tops |
| Where did a reclaimed slab come from? | Provenance statement, photographs, species method | Reclaimed wood slab documents |
| What does a workshop prepare for export? | The document set for one shipment | Export documents for a slab workshop |
The matrix: product by layer
The pages fall into four layers. A standard or tolerance describes the product, a certification describes a company or a claim, a test or document describes a lot and a market rule describes the destination.
| Product or use | A. Standards and tolerances | B. Certifications and claims | C. Tests and documents | D. Market rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live edge tables and desks | Flatness and thickness | FSC claims, reclaimed slab provenance | Moisture meter readings, heat treatment records, phytosanitary certificate | Lacey Act, CITES |
| River tables with resin | Food safe epoxy, low VOC finishes | Cure record and data sheets, described on the epoxy page | EU bisphenol rule, described on the epoxy page | |
| Kitchen islands and bar tops | Finishes and care, low VOC finishes | Moisture meter readings | Lacey Act | |
| Slabs shipped across borders | Phytosanitary certificate, heat treatment, ISPM 15 crates | Lacey Act, CITES, country pages | ||
| Workshops that export | Export documents for a slab workshop, and the workshop page |
Cells left empty have no page yet. The matrix grows as pages are added.
A sensible order of questions
- Species and origin. Write the scientific name and the country of harvest on the quotation. Everything else depends on them.
- Restricted species. Check the genus against the CITES lists before you fall for a slab sold as rosewood, bubinga or ebony.
- Bark and treatment. Decide bark on or off, and ask for a treatment record that matches the destination.
- Certificate. Ask whether the destination wants a phytosanitary certificate and who signs it.
- Crate. Ask for photographs of the ISPM 15 mark on every solid wood part.
- The slab itself. Write moisture and flatness into the order with a method, a meter and a date.
- Claims. If you need an FSC claim or a food-contact statement, ask for the document and check it yourself.
What papers can and cannot do
- A paper is evidence, not a guarantee. Check the details against the invoice and the packing list.
- A certificate belongs to a company or a lot. It does not follow a slab through a resale unless the chain is documented.
- A paper that is correct at the exporting end can still be refused at the importing end if the destination asks for something else. Ask the destination first.
- Rules change. The pages carry the date they were checked, and the lists for restricted species and tariffs change often.
Shipping rules by country are on the shipping a slab hub, and species details are in slab species. When you know what you need, send a request with the size, species and destination so matched workshops quote with the right papers.
Frequently asked questions
Which papers does a wood slab need?
It depends on the species, whether the bark is on, the destination and the use. Every slab needs a named species and a harvest country. Many need a treatment record or a phytosanitary certificate. A few species need a CITES permit. The crate has its own stamp. The pages below take them one at a time.
Does SlabHome issue or check these papers?
No. SlabHome is a free matching service and holds no certificate. The workshop supplies the papers and the importer files the declarations. This section tells you what to ask for and how to check it yourself.
Where do I start?
With the species, written as a scientific name on the quotation. It decides whether a permit is needed, what the declaration says and which treatment the destination accepts. Then ask about bark and treatment, then the crate, then the figures for moisture and flatness.
Sources
Last reviewed October 2026. Figures are typical values from the sources named above, never a promise for one piece.
Describe the top you want
Size, species, style, finish and where it is going. SlabHome matches you with up to 3 workshops that reply with photos of the actual piece and a quote. Free for buyers, reply within 24 business hours.