Since its launch in 1998, MISRA C has become established as the most widely used set of coding guidelines for the C language throughout the world. Originally developed within the automotive industry, it has now been embraced within many other industries where development of robust software is a critical imperative, either for safety or commercial reasons.This paper discusses the thinking and motivation which has led to the publication of the latest version, MISRA C:2012. It also addresses questions companies who have invested heavily over a number of years in developing software in compliance with previous versions, as well as companies that are new to MISRA will be asking.