FEFCO codes explained

FEFCO codes are the four-digit shorthand the corrugated trade uses to name box styles. Quote one to a converter and you have described a construction exactly, in four characters.

How to read a code

The first two digits are the group — the family of construction. The last two identify the style within that group. 0201 is style 01 of group 02, the slotted boxes. There is no pattern connecting the last two digits across groups; they are catalogue numbers, not a formula.

A few codes carry a decimal suffix — 0229.1, 0425.1, 0427.1 — which sit alongside the base code in the catalogue as related constructions.

Each code also carries an erection marking saying how the box is meant to be set up: M for manual, A for automatic, M/A for either. It matters when you are choosing between two styles that look similar on paper but only one of which is designed to run on a case erector.

The nine groups

Group	What it covers	Codes in the standard	Built here
`01xx` Commercial rolls and sheets	Rolls, sheets and simple cut blanks. Not boxes — the raw material and flat pieces the rest of the catalogue is made from.	11	11
`02xx` Slotted boxes	One piece with a glued, stitched or taped manufacturers joint plus top and bottom flaps. Shipped flat, closed using the flaps.	36	36
`03xx` Telescopic boxes	More than one piece, characterised by a lid and/or bottom that telescope over the body.	25	24
`04xx` Folder boxes and trays	Usually one piece of board. The bottom is hinged to form two or all side walls and the cover; locking tabs, handles and display panels can be incorporated.	86	66
`05xx` Slide boxes	Several pieces that slide into one another in opposite directions — sleeves and inner frames.	10	10
`06xx` Rigid boxes	Two separate end pieces and a body, requiring stitching or a similar operation before use.	11	11
`07xx` Ready-glued cases	Delivered glued and shipped flat, ready to use after a simple setting up.	42	33
`08xx` Retail and e-commerce packaging	Shelf-ready, display and despatch constructions aimed at retail and online order fulfilment. New in the 12th Edition.	49	4
`09xx` Interior fitments	Partitions, dividers, pads, liners and other components used inside another case.	55	49

That is 325 codes in the 12th Edition catalogue. 244 of them are implemented here.

How a box is dimensioned

Corrugated is quoted as three internal dimensions in a fixed order: length × width × height, where length is the longer side of the opening, width the shorter, and height the depth from the opening down. The 12th Edition writes these as L, W and H. Older material and some suppliers still write B for breadth in place of W, which is the same measurement under an earlier notation.

A handful of styles need a fourth figure. An overlap slotted container is written as something like 355 × 205 × 120/40 mm, where the 40 is the overlap. Our 0202 template exposes it as its own parameter for that reason.

If you are unsure which of the three readings a supplier has quoted you, the measuring guide sets out the difference between inside, outside and crease-to-crease, and how far apart they end up.

What a code does not tell you

A FEFCO code fixes the construction. It says nothing about the board. The same 0201 in E flute and in BC double wall are different products with different costs, different stacking strength and different dielines — the caliper changes every allowance in the blank. Pick the code first, then the board grade, and expect the second choice to move the geometry.

Nor does a code fix the print, the joint method, or the flute direction. Those are specified alongside it.

Where our codes come from

Codes and constructions are taken from the FEFCO Code, 12th Edition (2022). Every code shown on this site is a real one from that catalogue; automated checks prevent an invented code being displayed. All geometry is generated from our own parametric code — no drawings are reproduced.

How much of it is verified. Of the 244 implemented codes, 107 have been compared side by side with the published plate and carry the green “checked against the plate” badge. The rest carry an amber badge: they fold, they close and they export cleanly, but the blank has not yet been matched to the drawing in detail.

Group 05 is the best covered, with 8 of its 10 built codes plate-checked. Group 08 is the weakest at 0 of 4. Whichever badge a template carries, cut and fold a sample before committing to a die.

Browse every code

There is a page for each of the 244 codes built here, with its construction, its blank and whether it has been checked against the plate. Browse them all, grouped — or jump to a group:

01xx Commercial rolls and sheets — 11 built
02xx Slotted boxes — 36 built
03xx Telescopic boxes — 24 built
04xx Folder boxes and trays — 66 built
05xx Slide boxes — 10 built
06xx Rigid boxes — 11 built
07xx Ready-glued cases — 33 built
08xx Retail and e-commerce packaging — 4 built
09xx Interior fitments — 49 built

The codes people ask for most

0201 — Regular Slotted Container. The default shipping box.
0200 — Half Slotted Container. An 0201 with no top flaps.
0203 — Full Overlap. Every flap runs the full breadth, so the top and bottom are two complete layers.
0427 — the roll end tuck top mailer, the subscription-box shape.
0409 — one-piece tray with glued corners and a hinged lid.
0422 — self-locking double-wall tray, no glue and no tape.

Folding cartons are numbered separately, under ECMA rather than FEFCO. The FAQ covers the difference.

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