Abstract: Embodiments include determining seed codes for various numbers of padding bits to be used to pad least significant bit (LSB) positions of a variable length message. Thus, a transmitter having a uniform length cyclic redundancy code (CRC) calculator may accept variable length messages and pad them with various numbers of padding bits to make padded messages having lengths equal to that of the calculator. Then the calculator may calculate the CRC for the padded message using an appropriate seed code as an initial code, so that the CRC for the padded message is equal to a CRC calculated for the variable length message using a calculator having a length equal to the length of the variable length message. Since the CRC calculated by the uniform length calculator is the correct CRC for the variable length message, it may be used by a receiver to verify that a message received is variable length message.