Do not stack (crossed box on top)

Nothing may be stacked on top of this package.

Who puts it on the box

The sender, when the top or the contents would be crushed by any load.

How to read it

Keep it on top of a stack or on its own. A pallet marked like this goes on top in a lorry, or on the floor with nothing above it.

What it does not promise

It does not promise the package itself is strong enough to go on top of others either, and it cannot stop a parcel sorting system piling bags onto it.

A mark on a parcel is the sender’s statement about what is inside and how it should be handled. It is not a certificate that the parcel is packed safely, that anyone handled it as marked, or that your carrier accepts it: for what you may send, read the carrier’s own terms.

What it looks like: A box with a second box drawn on top of it, the upper box crossed out.
Standard: ISO 780:2015, symbol No. 17 — Do not stack
Kind of mark: A handling symbol from ISO 780, the international standard for handling marks on distribution packages. ISO 780 marks are always black; they say how to handle the package, never that its contents are dangerous.
Also called: No stacking; Non-stackable; Do not double stack

Other marks with the same shape

Centre of gravity (target cross)The centre of the mark shows where the centre of gravity of the…Do not roll (crossed rolling arrows)Do not roll or tumble the package end over end to move it.Stacking limit by mass (XX kg on a box)No more than the mass written may be stacked on top of this package.Stacking limit by number (n in a box)Identical packages may be stacked only up to the number written in…

Sources

Each document was fetched and read on the date shown. Written in our own words; quotations are the documents’ wording.

Symbol list — IBJ / bravecroc (graphical-symbol file vendor): ISO 780 EN Symbols (2015-12): the 17 ISO 780:2015 symbols with their numbers and titles — Lists ISO 780 symbol No. 17, “DO NOT STACK”, with a reference drawing, in the 2015 numbering. Checked 2026-09-27.
Standard (preview pages) — ISO (preview pages published by iTeh Standards): ISO 780:2015 Packaging — Distribution packaging — Graphical symbols for handling and storage of packages, 5th edition 2015-12-01 (preview: foreword to Table 1) — Foreword: the 17 symbols of the 2015 edition; clause 3.3: symbols are black, never red, orange or yellow (to avoid confusion with dangerous-goods labels); 3.4: normally 100, 150 or 200 mm tall; 3.5 and 3.6: how many and where are fixed for symbols No. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 13; the introduction: “The use of graphical symbols does not provide any guarantee of satisfactory handling”. Checked 2026-09-27.