The smart container number checker.
Most validators just say invalid and stop. This one goes further: it catches and fixes the OCR misreads — O↔0, I↔1, B↔8 — that break a scanned container number, the same logic inside Vantage's 5-stage AI validation. Paste a number, get an instant verdict, and a likely correction when the scan went wrong. Runs entirely in your browser. No signup, no upload.
Just need the check digit? Use the basic ISO 6346 calculator. Comparing yard management systems? See how Vantage compares.
Why a checker that fixes, not just flags.
A container number is four letters and seven digits, and that final digit is a modulo-11 check digit computed from the first ten characters. When a scanner misreads a single character — a faded 0 read as O, a rusted 8 read as B — the check digit no longer matches and the number is rejected. A plain validator stops there. In a real yard, that means a clerk re-typing under pressure, or a wrong number slipping into the gate log.
Step 1 — Validate
The eleventh digit is recomputed from the first ten characters using the ISO 6346 modulo-11 formula and compared to what you typed. Match means the number is internally consistent.
Step 2 — Auto-correct
If it fails, the checker tries a single-character repair on the confusables OCR mistakes most — O↔0, I↔1, B↔8, S↔5, G↔6, Z↔2, A↔4 — keeping the first four positions letters and the last seven digits, then re-validates. One clean candidate is shown as the likely correct number.
This is one stage of a 5-stage AI validation.
The auto-correct above is the same edit-distance recovery Vantage runs on every scan — but it's only the middle of the pipeline. In the app, a container number is read, cross-checked, math-validated, repaired, and learned from, automatically, before it ever reaches the gate log.
On-device read.
The phone in the clerk's pocket reads the plate. Works offline, no kiosks, no fixed cameras at the gate.
Cloud-validated.
Advanced cloud AI assists on degraded images — rust, fog, faded paint — when the on-device read is ambiguous.
ISO 6346 math check.
The modulo-11 check digit, applied automatically. Bad reads never make it into the gate log in the first place.
Edit-distance recovery.
This tool's exact auto-fix: the visual confusions OCR loves most — O↔0, I↔1, B↔8, S↔5, Z↔2 — repaired, then re-validated.
Self-learning dictionary.
Every clerk correction trains the next read. Your yard's specific containers get easier to scan over time.
The full chain.
Read → cross-check → math → repair → learn. Try one link of it free above — the other four come with the app.
Run the whole pipeline on a phone.
Vantage YMS — from $149/mo, 14-day free trial, no setup fee. First scan typically under 10 minutes after sign-up.
Frequently asked
Does this fix OCR misreads in a container number?
Yes. If a number fails the ISO 6346 check digit, the checker tries a single-character repair on the visual confusions OCR makes most — O↔0, I↔1, B↔8, S↔5, G↔6, Z↔2, A↔4 — keeping the first four positions letters and the last seven digits, then re-validates. If exactly one corrected candidate passes the check digit, it's shown as the likely correct number. This is the same edit-distance recovery logic inside Vantage's 5-stage AI validation.
Does it run in my browser?
Yes. The checker runs entirely in your browser in JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or stored — you can disconnect your network and it will still validate and auto-correct.
A valid check digit means the container is real, right?
Not necessarily. A valid check digit confirms the number is internally consistent, not that it belongs to a real, registered container. Vantage YMS pairs this with your appointment data so a valid-but-unexpected container gets flagged at the gate, not after the fact.
Does this work for trailer numbers and US domestic intermodal?
This checker covers ISO 6346 sea/ocean containers (four letters, seven digits). Vantage YMS itself reads container numbers, trailer numbers, license plates, and chassis numbers — but that's a job for the app, not this tool. Just need the check digit on a clean number? Use the basic calculator.
Stop re-typing misread numbers.
Vantage YMS — from $149/mo, 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime. First scan typically under 10 minutes after sign-up.