Do I need separate numbers for EAN and UPC?

No. One GTIN identifies the product. Retailers' systems pad or trim the digits as needed.

Where do I get a GTIN?

The company prefix inside the number is assigned by your national GS1 member organisation. No generator can create a legitimate prefix for you.

Is the check digit part of the GTIN?

Yes. The last digit is always the mod-10 check digit and belongs to the number.

No. A GTIN stays valid as long as your GS1 licence is active. If the licence lapses, the numbers return to the pool and may eventually be issued to another company.

How many GTINs do I get with a licence?

It depends on the prefix length you licence — typically 10, 100, 1 000 or 10 000 item references. Several GS1 offices also sell single-number licences for very small ranges.

Amazon rejects my EAN – why?

Amazon checks the GTIN against the GS1 registry. Numbers bought from a reseller are registered to the original licence holder, so the brand name does not match and the listing is refused. Only a licence in your own company name resolves this.

Do I need a GTIN to sell on my own website?

Not legally, but Google Merchant Center and most marketplaces require one for branded products. For unbranded or handmade items an internal number is usually accepted.

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GTIN vs. EAN vs. UPC

The three terms describe the same family of numbers seen from different eras and regions. GTIN is the umbrella term GS1 uses today; EAN and UPC are historic names for specific lengths.

The short answer

Every EAN and every UPC is a GTIN. The difference is the number of digits and where the number came from.

GTIN-8 – formerly EAN-8, for very small packs.
GTIN-12 – formerly UPC-A, the North American retail number.
GTIN-13 – formerly EAN-13, the worldwide retail standard.
GTIN-14 – formerly EAN-14/ITF-14, for cases, cartons and pallet layers.

Converting between them

A GTIN-12 becomes a GTIN-13 by adding a leading zero; a GTIN-13 becomes a GTIN-14 by adding a packaging indicator in front and recalculating the check digit. In databases, GS1 recommends storing every GTIN right-aligned in a 14-digit field, padded with zeros.

Which one do you print?

The number is data, the barcode is the carrier. Consumer units in Europe carry an EAN-13 symbol, in the USA usually a UPC-A. Cases and cartons carry an ITF-14 symbol holding the GTIN-14. When batch, best-before or serial data must travel with the item, use GS1-128 or GS1 DataMatrix.

Reading the number: what the digits actually mean

People routinely misread a GTIN. The leading digits are the GS1 prefix of the member organisation that issued the company prefix — they say nothing about where the goods were produced. A product with a 400–440 prefix was registered through GS1 Germany; it may well be manufactured in Vietnam. The company prefix that follows is between 7 and 10 digits long depending on how many numbers your licence covers, and the shorter the prefix, the more item references you can assign.

GS1 prefix: issuing organisation, e.g. 400–440 Germany, 30–37 France, 50 United Kingdom, 00–13 USA and Canada.
Company prefix: licensed to one company; length varies with the licence size.
Item reference: assigned by you, never re-used casually.
Check digit: mod-10, always the final digit.
Prefixes 02 and 20–29: restricted distribution, valid only inside your own operation.

One product, one GTIN — when a new number is required

The rule GS1 applies is simple in principle: if the consumer or the trading partner can distinguish the item, it needs its own GTIN. Getting this wrong is the most common cause of rejected listings and mismatched stock.

New GTIN: different net quantity, different pack count, different formulation, different flavour, colour or size.
New GTIN: a promotional pack with extra content ('25% more free').
Same GTIN: pure artwork refresh with identical content and quantity.
Same GTIN: a change of printing plant or a new supplier for the same specification.
Case and consumer unit always carry different numbers — the case is a GTIN-14 built from the consumer unit's GTIN-13.

Storing GTINs in your own systems

Most real-world GTIN problems are data problems, not barcode problems. GS1 recommends storing every GTIN right-aligned in a 14-character text field, zero-padded, so a GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13 and GTIN-14 all become directly comparable. Never store a GTIN in a numeric column: leading zeros disappear, and above 15 digits spreadsheet software silently rounds the value.

In Excel, format the column as text before pasting, or prefix values with an apostrophe.
When exporting CSV, quote the field so the importing system does not re-interpret it as a number.
Validate the check digit on import — it catches most typos and truncations instantly.
Keep the original 12- or 13-digit form for printing, and the padded 14-digit form for matching.

Common misconceptions

A short list of statements you will hear regularly, and what is actually true.

'The barcode contains the price.' It does not. The till looks the price up from the GTIN in its own item file.
'The first three digits are the country of origin.' No — they identify the GS1 office that issued the prefix.
'I can buy a single cheap EAN online.' Resold numbers from pre-2002 prefixes are not licensed to you and are refused by Amazon, most retailers and GS1's verification service.
'EAN and GTIN are different numbers.' They are the same number under two names.
'A longer barcode holds more information.' The information sits in the database; the GTIN is only a key.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need separate numbers for EAN and UPC?: No. One GTIN identifies the product. Retailers' systems pad or trim the digits as needed.
Where do I get a GTIN?: The company prefix inside the number is assigned by your national GS1 member organisation. No generator can create a legitimate prefix for you.
Is the check digit part of the GTIN?: Yes. The last digit is always the mod-10 check digit and belongs to the number.
Does a GTIN expire?: No. A GTIN stays valid as long as your GS1 licence is active. If the licence lapses, the numbers return to the pool and may eventually be issued to another company.
How many GTINs do I get with a licence?: It depends on the prefix length you licence — typically 10, 100, 1 000 or 10 000 item references. Several GS1 offices also sell single-number licences for very small ranges.
Amazon rejects my EAN – why?: Amazon checks the GTIN against the GS1 registry. Numbers bought from a reseller are registered to the original licence holder, so the brand name does not match and the listing is refused. Only a licence in your own company name resolves this.
Do I need a GTIN to sell on my own website?: Not legally, but Google Merchant Center and most marketplaces require one for branded products. For unbranded or handmade items an internal number is usually accepted.