What Is a CSC Plate? Learn to Read Your Container’s Passport

Every container used in international transport carries a metal plate on its door that is often overlooked: the CSC Safety Approval Plate. It shows that the container is structurally safe and has been examined regularly. A container with a missing plate or an overdue examination date can be turned away at the port before loading.

What is CSC?

CSC stands for the International Convention for Safe Containers, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1972. The aim of the Convention is to prevent containers from collapsing or breaking apart structurally during transport and stacking. In the countries that are party to the Convention, containers used in international transport must be built to an approved design and must carry a valid Safety Approval Plate.

What does the plate say?

The plate is usually fixed permanently on the left-hand door. Its heading is always "CSC SAFETY APPROVAL". The lines below it show the following:

1. Country of approval and approval reference — a code showing which administration approved the design. For example, the format F/BV/… denotes an approval by Bureau Veritas on behalf of France.
2. Date of manufacture (month/year).
3. Identification number — the number given to the container by the manufacturer or the owner.
4. Maximum Operating Gross Mass — the highest mass the container may reach together with its cargo, in kg and lbs.
5. Allowable Stacking Mass for 1.8 g — the total load that may be stacked on top of the container.
6. Transverse racking test load value — the force the side walls must withstand while the ship rolls.
7. If the design differs from the standard, the end/side wall strength and stacking with one door off values.

Alongside these values, the container’s examination status appears on the plate or right next to it. This is where you find the answer to "is it valid?".

How do you check validity?

CSC requires one of two examination schemes:

• Periodic Examination Scheme (PES): The first examination is carried out no later than 5 years after manufacture, and subsequent ones at most every 30 months. The next examination date is marked on the plate or on a decal fixed next to it. A common method in the field is the "REINSPECT BEFORE DATE PUNCHED" decal, on which the month and year boxes are punched. If the punched date has passed, the plate is not valid.
• Approved Continuous Examination Programme (ACEP): The container is examined regularly at on-hire and off-hire interchanges and during repairs, under a programme the owner has had approved by the administration. In this case the plate carries the word "ACEP" and the programme number instead of a date. For details, see our ACEP guide.

If the plate is missing, illegible or expired

If you will use the container in a fixed location as storage or an office, CSC is not required. But if the container will be used in international transport:

1. The container’s structural condition (corner posts, bottom side rails, corner castings, floor, doors) is examined by a competent inspector.
2. Any defects are repaired first. A container with structural defects cannot pass a CSC examination.
3. If it is found fit, the next examination date is marked and an examination certificate is issued.

If the plate has been lost entirely, whether it can be reissued depends on the design approval and the manufacturer’s information. This varies from container to container, so the identification details must be verified first. You can check whether the container number is correct in seconds with our check digit tool.

CSC examination at Uskont

Uskont carries out CSC and ACEP examinations with its IICL-certified workshop and its International Inspection Company (UDŞ) status. You can see what the certificate we issue at the end of an examination looks like in the anonymised samples on our inspection page. We respond to quote requests within 12 hours.