Due to the rapid increase in the worldwide transportation of goods via containers by road, rail and sea, and recognising the need to maintain the highest levels of safety in the handling, stacking and transportation of containers, the Container Safety Convention was initiated.

The CSC regulations provide for the inspection, approval and maintenance of containers and also include uniform international safety standards for all modes of container surface transport.

The CSC provisions state that containers must be of a size such that the enclosed area of the four outer bottom corners is either at least 150 square feet or 14 square metres, or at least 75 square feet, or 7 square metres if fitted with top corner fittings. (Corner fittings are defined as an arrangement of apertures and faces at the top and/or bottom of a container for the purposes of handling, stacking and/or securing.)

Containers used for international transport are also required to display a valid safety plate (CSC plate), which is attached to the side of the container. The CSC plate records the date of manufacture, identification number, maximum gross weight and the allowable stacking weight of containers.