What ASTM F136 actually is
ASTM F136 is a materials standard published by ASTM International. It specifies Ti-6Al-4V ELI β a titanium alloy containing roughly 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium, where ELI stands for Extra Low Interstitials, meaning tightly controlled levels of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and iron.
It is the standard written for surgical implants that stay inside the body. That is the whole reason it matters for a piercing: it is a specification with a number and a test, not an adjective.
Its equivalents are ISO 5832-3 (the international version of the same alloy) and ASTM F1295 (Ti-6Al-7Nb, a niobium alloy used in the same applications). ASTM F67 covers commercially pure titanium, which is also acceptable but is a different material.
Why "implant grade" on its own means nothing
There is no regulator that certifies a piece of jewellery as "implant grade". No body issues that label, no test defines it, and no law restricts who prints it. It is a phrase, and phrases are free.
What is real is the standard number. "ASTM F136" is a specific, checkable claim: it names a composition that a laboratory can verify. "Implant grade titanium" without a standard number beside it tells you nothing you can act on.
This distinction is the single most useful thing to understand when buying piercing jewellery online, and it is why the rest of this page is about documents rather than descriptions.
| Standard | Material | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| ASTM F136 | Ti-6Al-4V ELI titanium | The alloy most implant-grade piercing jewellery is made from |
| ISO 5832-3 | Ti-6Al-4V ELI titanium | The international equivalent of ASTM F136 |
| ASTM F1295 | Ti-6Al-7Nb titanium | A niobium alloy used for the same purpose |
| ASTM F67 | Commercially pure titanium | Unalloyed titanium β also acceptable, different material |
| ASTM F138 | 316LVM steel | Implant-grade steel β still contains nickel |
| EN 1811:2023 | Nickel release test | The UK/EU method behind the 0.2 Β΅g/cmΒ²/week limit |
Standard numbers worth recognising
What a mill certificate is
A mill certificate β also called a mill test report or MTR β is issued by the mill that produced the metal. It states the batch or heat number and the measured percentage of every element in that batch, against the limits the standard allows.
It is the paper trail that connects the bar of titanium your jewellery was machined from to the standard it claims to meet. A serious supplier has these on file because their own supplier gave them one.
What a real one contains: the issuing mill, a heat or batch number, the standard it certifies against (e.g. ASTM F136), and a table of measured element percentages β titanium, aluminium, vanadium, plus the interstitials: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and iron.
How to ask a seller β the exact wording
Most people never ask because they do not know what to ask for. This is short and specific enough that a legitimate seller can answer it in one reply, and an illegitimate one cannot answer it at all.
Hello β before I order, could you confirm which standard your titanium is certified to (ASTM F136, ISO 5832-3, or ASTM F1295), and whether you can provide the mill certificate for the batch? I would also like to confirm the jewellery is internally threaded or threadless rather than externally threaded. Thank you.
What good answers look like: a named standard, a yes on the certificate, and a straight answer on threading.
What evasion looks like: "all our jewellery is implant grade and hypoallergenic", "it is surgical grade titanium", a change of subject to how many customers they have, or silence. None of those are answers to the question asked.
The UK and EU angle: EN 1811
Buyers in the UK and EU have a second, legally enforceable check that most guides never mention. Under REACH Annex XVII, entry 27, jewellery inserted into a pierced part of the body must release less than 0.2 Β΅g/cmΒ² per week of nickel. For other items in prolonged contact with skin the limit is less than 0.5 Β΅g/cmΒ² per week.
The test method for that limit is EN 1811 β the current version is EN 1811:2023. For coated or plated items, EN 12472 simulates two years of wear and corrosion first, then measures release, because plating wears through.
This is why a nickel-release figure is a stronger claim than the word "hypoallergenic", which has no legal definition anywhere. A seller who can cite EN 1811 compliance is telling you something a regulator could check.
Materials that are genuinely suitable β and what is not
The materials accepted for initial and healing piercings are narrow, and they are written into law in some jurisdictions. The US state of Oregon, for example, lists them explicitly in its body-piercing rules (OAR 331-900-0105): steel to ASTM F138 or ISO 5832-1, titanium alloy to ASTM F136 or F1295 (ISO 5832-3 or 5832-11), commercially pure titanium to ASTM F67, solid 14 karat or higher gold free of nickel and cadmium, nickel-free platinum, niobium to ASTM B392, lead-free glass, and PTFE to ASTM F754.
What is not on that list, and why it matters: gold-plated and gold-filled jewellery, because the surface layer wears and exposes the base metal underneath; sterling silver, which tarnishes and can leave permanent dark marks in a healing channel; and mystery "surgical steel" with no standard number, which may be any of several alloys.
Common questions
What is ASTM F136 titanium?
Is "implant grade" a legally regulated term?
What is a mill certificate?
How do I verify jewellery is implant grade before I buy?
Does "hypoallergenic" mean anything legally?
Is gold-plated jewellery safe for a healing piercing?
Sizes and healing times on this page are typical ranges, not guarantees β anatomy varies and healing differs from person to person. Your piercer has seen your piercing and we have not: check with them before changing jewellery, especially on one that is still settling.