01
ISO 6346 validation
Run the check digit calculation right on the phone. If the math doesn't work, you know before it hits the system.
Built for gate checks, surveys, and yard audits
Check the prefix. Check the unit number.
Point your phone at the box. PrefixCheck pulls the prefix, runs the check digit math, and tells you if the number is legit — before you key it into anything.
Who owns it? Is the number right? Does the digit match?
Built for
Gate checks, surveys, and yard audits
What changes
Fewer misreads. Faster handoffs. Cleaner records.
What stays local
The validation logic and the operator's ledger
02
BIC BoxTech lookup
The prefix gets checked against BIC BoxTech — the same registry the lines and lessors use to track ownership.
03
Local audit trail
Every scan gets timestamped on your phone. Pull it up when someone asks what you checked and when.
04
Zero credentials on device
Nothing sensitive lives on the phone. Hand it to a new checker, it just works.
The problem
Most mistakes start with a prefix that doesn't look right.
You're at the gate or walking a row, and the code on the door doesn't match what's on the clipboard. Or worse — it looks close enough that you log it anyway. One transposed digit, one wrong prefix, and now the wrong box is in the system. Good luck unwinding that.
11
characters on the box. One wrong one is enough.
Wrong prefix
Wrong prefix means wrong owner. Full stop.
If you log MSC's box under Hapag, that's not a typo — it's a billing dispute, a lost container, and a phone call nobody wants to make.
Manual handoff
One bad number holds up the whole gate.
Truck's waiting. Clerk's on the radio. Someone has to walk back out and eyeball the door again. That's 15 minutes gone on one box.
Condition context
Damage notes on the wrong unit are worse than no notes at all.
You photograph a dent, write up the condition report, and attach it to TCLU when it should have been TCNU. Now you've got a clean box flagged and a damaged one cleared.
Product walkthrough
Point. Check. Log.
Three taps. You know who owns it and whether the number is real.
01
Point
Aim the camera at the container door. PrefixCheck reads the markings off the steel — no manual entry, no clipboard.
02
Confirm
The check digit gets calculated on your phone using the ISO 6346 formula. If you have signal, the prefix gets looked up against BIC BoxTech for the owner.
03
Log
Save the verified scan to your local ledger. Next person who touches that box starts from a confirmed ID, not a guess.
Live field sample
OWNER CONFIRMED
Container ID
MSCU 663987 0
ISO 6346 valid - registry lookup available
Owner
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company
Country
Switzerland
Tare
2,280 KG
ISO Type
20G1
Local record
Ready to log with verification state attached
Owner confirmed, check digit valid, timestamped. The next handoff starts clean.
Capabilities
Built for the checks that matter in the yard.
Two things matter at the box: who owns it and whether the number is valid. Everything here supports that.
Core validation
On-device ISO 6346 check
The check digit gets calculated right on your phone using the weighted value formula from the ISO spec. Bad number? You'll know before you type it anywhere.
Registry confirmation
BIC-backed owner lookup
Got signal? The prefix gets looked up against the BIC registry in Paris. You'll see the registered owner, country, and container specs.
Field record
Local audit trail
Every scan stays on the phone with a timestamp. When someone asks "did you check that box?" you've got the receipt.
Deployment posture
Simple device management
No logins, no API keys, no credentials on the device. If a phone gets dropped in the yard, nobody's losing sleep over what was on it.
Early access
See the dent. Log it on the same unit.
After you've confirmed the prefix and check digit, flip to the damage view. The iPhone's LiDAR sensor picks up surface deformation on the panel — dents, bowing, creasing — and ties it to the container you just verified.
No more photographing damage and hoping you labeled the right box. The condition note lives on the same record as the ID check.
Hardware
iPhone Pro w/ LiDAR
Status
Field testing
Use case
Interchange & survey
Where it fits
Designed for real operations.
You're already checking boxes. This just makes the answer faster and the record cleaner.
Gate operations
Pre-gate confirmation
Confirm the prefix and check digit before the truck clears the gate. Catch it here, not three systems downstream.
Surveys
Container identity before condition notes
Lock in the owner and unit number before you start writing up condition. The survey report is only as good as the ID on top of it.
Inventory
Yard audit passes
Walk the row, scan each box, confirm the prefix matches what's supposed to be in that slot. Beat re-keying 200 container numbers by hand.
Compliance
Defensible inspection history
Timestamped scans with verified container IDs. When a claim shows up six months later, you've got more than a blurry photo and a sticky note.
Standards and trust
Built on the code the industry already recognizes.
Every intermodal container on earth carries the same code format: three letters for the owner, a category letter, six digits, and a check digit calculated from the rest. That's ISO 6346 — it's been the standard since 1995 and it's painted on every box you'll ever touch.
PrefixCheck doesn't invent anything new. It just does the math and the lookup faster than you can. The prefix goes to BIC BoxTech — the registry maintained by the Bureau International des Containers in Paris — and the check digit gets validated using the same weighted-value formula the spec defines.
Standards compatibility only. PrefixCheck is not presented here as an official BIC product or endorsement.
Code anatomy
ISO 6346 breakdown
MSC
Owner prefix
U
Category
663987
Serial
0
Check digit
What PrefixCheck confirms first
Each letter gets a numeric value, multiplied by powers of 2, summed, divided by 11. If the remainder doesn't match the check digit, the number is bad.
What registry lookup adds
With signal, the prefix hits BIC BoxTech and comes back with the registered owner, country of registration, tare weight, and size/type code.
Pilot intake
When the code looks off, settle it fast.
If your team is still eyeballing container codes at the gate or hand-keying unit numbers off clipboards, we should talk. Tell us what's breaking and where — we'll follow up directly.
Best fit
- Port terminal operators
- Survey and inspection teams
- Depot and yard operations with reconciliation headaches