Stacking limit by mass (XX kg on a box)

No more than the mass written may be stacked on top of this package.

Who puts it on the box

The sender, from the strength of the box and its contents.

How to read it

Add up what would go on top: the total may not exceed the figure. The figure is for the load on top of this box, not the weight of the box itself.

What it does not promise

It does not promise the box can bear that load when it is wet, damaged or stacked off-centre — cardboard loses strength with humidity and time — and it is not the weight of the package.

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 an arrow pressing down on its top and a mass written above, for example “200 kg”.
Standard: ISO 780:2015, symbol No. 15 — Stacking limit by mass
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: Max stacking load; Maximum stacking weight

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 number (n in a box)Identical packages may be stacked only up to the number written in…Do not stack (crossed box on top)Nothing may be stacked on top of this package.

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. 15, “STACKING LIMIT BY MASS”, 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.