diff --git a/epserde/src/impls/deref.rs b/epserde/src/impls/deref.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11351b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/epserde/src/impls/deref.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Inria
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 OR LGPL-2.1-or-later
+ */
+
+/*!
+
+Blanket implementations for references and single-item containers
+
+*/
+
+use crate::prelude::*;
+use ser::*;
+
+macro_rules! impl_ser {
+    ($type:ty) => {
+        impl<T: CopyType> CopyType for $type {
+            type Copy = <T as CopyType>::Copy;
+        }
+
+        impl<T: TypeHash> TypeHash for $type {
+            #[inline(always)]
+            fn type_hash(hasher: &mut impl core::hash::Hasher) {
+                <T as TypeHash>::type_hash(hasher)
+            }
+        }
+
+        impl<T: AlignHash> AlignHash for $type {
+            #[inline(always)]
+            fn align_hash(hasher: &mut impl core::hash::Hasher, offset_of: &mut usize) {
+                <T as AlignHash>::align_hash(hasher, offset_of)
+            }
+        }
+
+        impl<T: SerializeInner> SerializeInner for $type {
+            type SerType = T;
+            const IS_ZERO_COPY: bool = <T as SerializeInner>::IS_ZERO_COPY;
+            const ZERO_COPY_MISMATCH: bool = <T as SerializeInner>::ZERO_COPY_MISMATCH;
+
+            #[inline(always)]
+            unsafe fn _serialize_inner(
+                &self,
+                backend: &mut impl WriteWithNames,
+            ) -> ser::Result<()> {
+                <T as SerializeInner>::_serialize_inner(self, backend)
+            }
+        }
+    };
+}
+
+macro_rules! impl_all {
+    ($type:ident) => {
+        impl_ser!($type<T>);
+
+        impl<T: DeserializeInner> DeserializeInner for $type<T> {
+            type DeserType<'a> = $type<<T as DeserializeInner>::DeserType<'a>>;
+
+            #[inline(always)]
+            unsafe fn _deserialize_full_inner(
+                backend: &mut impl ReadWithPos,
+            ) -> deser::Result<Self> {
+                <T as DeserializeInner>::_deserialize_full_inner(backend).map($type::new)
+            }
+            #[inline(always)]
+            unsafe fn _deserialize_eps_inner<'a>(
+                backend: &mut SliceWithPos<'a>,
+            ) -> deser::Result<Self::DeserType<'a>> {
+                <T as DeserializeInner>::_deserialize_eps_inner(backend).map($type::new)
+            }
+        }
+    };
+}
+
+impl_ser!(&T);
+impl_ser!(&mut T);
+
+#[cfg(any(feature = "std", feature = "alloc"))]
+mod std_impl {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "std"))]
+    mod imports {
+        pub use alloc::boxed::Box;
+        pub use alloc::rc::Rc;
+        pub use alloc::sync::Arc;
+    }
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    mod imports {
+        pub use std::rc::Rc;
+        pub use std::sync::Arc;
+    }
+    use imports::*;
+
+    impl_all!(Box);
+    impl_all!(Arc);
+    impl_all!(Rc);
+}
diff --git a/epserde/src/impls/mod.rs b/epserde/src/impls/mod.rs
index b57dadf..934d355 100644
--- a/epserde/src/impls/mod.rs
+++ b/epserde/src/impls/mod.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ and [`DeserializeInner`](crate::deser::DeserializeInner) for standard Rust types
 
 pub mod array;
 pub mod boxed_slice;
+pub mod deref;
 pub mod iter;
 pub mod prim;
 pub mod slice;
diff --git a/epserde/tests/test_std.rs b/epserde/tests/test_std.rs
index 41ab120..03593f8 100644
--- a/epserde/tests/test_std.rs
+++ b/epserde/tests/test_std.rs
@@ -5,11 +5,22 @@
  */
 
 use epserde::prelude::*;
+use std::rc::Rc;
+use std::sync::Arc;
 
 fn test_generic<T>(s: T)
 where
     T: Serialize + Deserialize + PartialEq + core::fmt::Debug,
     for<'a> <T as DeserializeInner>::DeserType<'a>: PartialEq<T> + core::fmt::Debug,
+{
+    test_generic_split::<T, T, T>(s, |value| value)
+}
+fn test_generic_split<Ser, Deser, OwnedSer>(s: Ser, deref: impl Fn(&Ser) -> &OwnedSer)
+where
+    Ser: Serialize,
+    Deser: Deserialize + PartialEq<OwnedSer> + core::fmt::Debug,
+    OwnedSer: core::fmt::Debug,
+    for<'a> <Deser as DeserializeInner>::DeserType<'a>: PartialEq<OwnedSer> + core::fmt::Debug,
 {
     {
         let mut v = vec![];
@@ -19,11 +30,12 @@ where
         schema.0.sort_by_key(|a| a.offset);
 
         cursor.set_position(0);
-        let full_copy = unsafe { <T>::deserialize_full(&mut std::io::Cursor::new(&v)).unwrap() };
-        assert_eq!(s, full_copy);
+        let full_copy =
+            unsafe { <Deser>::deserialize_full(&mut std::io::Cursor::new(&v)).unwrap() };
+        assert_eq!(&full_copy, deref(&s));
 
-        let full_copy = unsafe { <T>::deserialize_eps(&v).unwrap() };
-        assert_eq!(full_copy, s);
+        let full_copy = unsafe { <Deser>::deserialize_eps(&v).unwrap() };
+        assert_eq!(&full_copy, deref(&s));
 
         let _ = schema.to_csv();
         let _ = schema.debug(&v);
@@ -34,11 +46,12 @@ where
         unsafe { s.serialize(&mut cursor).unwrap() };
 
         cursor.set_position(0);
-        let full_copy = unsafe { <T>::deserialize_full(&mut std::io::Cursor::new(&v)).unwrap() };
-        assert_eq!(s, full_copy);
+        let full_copy =
+            unsafe { <Deser>::deserialize_full(&mut std::io::Cursor::new(&v)).unwrap() };
+        assert_eq!(&full_copy, deref(&s));
 
-        let full_copy = unsafe { <T>::deserialize_eps(&v).unwrap() };
-        assert_eq!(full_copy, s);
+        let full_copy = unsafe { <Deser>::deserialize_eps(&v).unwrap() };
+        assert_eq!(&full_copy, deref(&s));
     }
 }
 
@@ -50,3 +63,16 @@ fn test_range() {
     struct Data(std::ops::Range<i32>);
     test_generic(Data(0..10));
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn test_containers() {
+    test_generic::<Box<i32>>(Box::new(10));
+    test_generic::<Arc<i32>>(Arc::new(10));
+    test_generic::<Rc<i32>>(Rc::new(10));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_references() {
+    test_generic_split::<&i32, i32, i32>(&10, |n| *n);
+    test_generic_split::<&mut i32, i32, i32>(&mut 10, |n| *n);
+}