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IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033 is the joint industry standard for handling, packing, shipping and use of moisture/reflow sensitive surface-mount devices. Its dry pack has three parts that must all be present: desiccant conforming to MIL-D-3464, a humidity indicator card, and a moisture barrier bag that is properly heat-sealed. Which level of dry pack you need is set by the device's MSL, classified under J-STD-020.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full title | Joint IPC/JEDEC Standard for Handling, Packing, Shipping and Use of Moisture/Reflow Sensitive Surface-Mount Devices |
| Current revision listed by JEDEC | J-STD-033D, published April 2018 |
| Companion standard | J-STD-020 — classifies the moisture sensitivity of non-hermetic solid-state surface-mount devices |
| What it fixes | handling, packing, shipping and implementation requirements for moisture sensitive devices |
J-STD-033 specifies that desiccant conforming to MIL-D-3464 shall be included in the container. That is a named specification, not a general instruction to add some silica gel. The practical consequence for a buyer: the specification trail runs J-STD-033 → MIL-D-3464. Supply the sachet that satisfies the named specification and the question is answered before it is asked.
Dry packs carry a humidity indicator card. The common spot set is 5% / 10% / 60% RH, and the standard's text refers to the 10% spot as the minimum indication point. Cards are typically reversible — the spots change from brown when dry to yellow when humid. Reading them is covered in how to read a humidity indicator card, and the card itself is stocked as a humidity indicator card.
A device is classified to an MSL under J-STD-020; the MSL sets the dry-pack level required under J-STD-033; the pack is an MBB plus desiccant conforming to MIL-D-3464 plus a humidity indicator card; the bag is heat-sealed; and the container is marked as the standard requires.
J-STD-033 requires the container to be marked with the part number, description, lot or date number, manufacturer name, the quantity of humidity indicator cards, and IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033 including the revision level. That last item matters commercially: a pack that does not name the standard revision cannot be audited against it. The full list is in our dry-pack checklist.
| Requirement | What to state |
|---|---|
| Standard | IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033, revision D — or the revision your customer's process is written to |
| Desiccant specification | conforming to MIL-D-3464 |
| Desiccant condition | fresh or regenerated — never exhausted |
| Humidity indicator card | 5% / 10% / 60% RH spots, reversible, cobalt-free option available |
| Bag | moisture barrier bag, heat-sealed — not folded, not taped |
| Marking | part number, description, lot/date, manufacturer, card quantity, standard revision |
Written by the VEN Desiccant export team from the JEDEC standard listings and the published text of J-STD-033. Drafting was AI-assisted; the clause references (MIL-D-3464 desiccant, the 10% spot, the marking list, the dry-cabinet and resealing conditions) were checked against the standard text and edited by our team before publication. We publish it because the desiccant is the part of a dry pack that can fail without anyone seeing it. J-STD-033 has moved through several revisions — confirm the revision your customer's process references before writing it into a contract.
Last checked: 11 October 2026.
Tell us the device MSL, the pack format and the card type — we will quote the sachet and the documentation set.
