What once started out of pure curiosity has grown to become the largest containersite on the net. Ever since I entered the intermodal world in 1990, I wondered how many prefixes would exist worldwide. At that time there were not that many, but the intermodal world has grown ever since and I’m trying hard to keep up in the developments.
All container prefixes should be registered by B.I.C. (Bureau International des Containers) in Paris, France in order to prevent more container owners using the same prefix at the same time. It guarantees the global uniqueness of an owner’s prefix according to ISO standards (ISO 6346) and eases identification.
Unfortunally this registration is not obligatory, so many prefixes are used unregistered and because of that doubles do occur. Officially registered or not, global operated or domestic, at Prefixlist you will find them all.
But Prefixlist contains more. Besides the ultimate list of all prefixes in use worldwide you can find all about ISO codes, Country Codes, explanation of how the Check Digit is calculated, a section of ancient containers (Jurassic page) and Accidents (Shit Happens page). Prefixlist has become the ultimate tool to answer your questions about containers and their origin.
Prefixlist was, is and will remain an independent website about container registration and more. And although independency is very important, Prefixlist likes, needs and wants to co-operate with any official instance, organisation or company in order to keep the data on the website as accurate and reliable as possible. If you feel that any data is inaccurate, please notify us.
Please note: Prefixlist is just a collection, NOT the instance to register your prefix. To register your prefix you need to be at B.I.C.
Prefixlist is also on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. Join the communities there and stay on top of all new developments at the site and in the intermodal world.

Enjoy the experience.