UPC-A Barcode Generator
The twelve-digit retail barcode used across the United States and Canada. It is the North American counterpart to EAN-13 and scans on the same equipment.
Put a zero in front of a UPC-A and you have the equivalent EAN-13, carrying the same check digit and identifying the same product. Modern tills read both without being told which is which. The two formats differ in how the digits are laid out, not in what they identify.
- North American retail
- Point of sale
- Grocery
- Product labeling
Preview
Format Guide
UPC-A — Universal Product Code (12 digits).
Enter 11-12 digits
What is UPC-A?
UPC-A is the twelve-digit retail barcode of the United States and Canada, and the oldest barcode in continuous retail use. It carries a company prefix, an item number and a check digit, and it is the North American member of the same GS1 numbering system as EAN-13: the same product, sold on both continents, differs only by a leading zero.
Technical characteristics
- Length
- Exactly 12 digits, fixed
- Structure
- Number system digit, company prefix, item reference, check digit
- Check digit
- Modulo 10, calculated by the generator
- Character set
- Digits only
- Relationship to EAN-13
- UPC-A is an EAN-13 whose leading digit is zero
A UPC-A is an EAN-13 wearing a hat
The two are the same number space. Put a zero on the front of a twelve-digit UPC-A and you have a valid thirteen-digit EAN-13 identifying the same product, and the check digit is unchanged because the leading zero contributes nothing to the sum.
That is why modern point-of-sale equipment reads both without being told which is which, and why a North American product sells in Europe on the same barcode. The formats look different because the digits are laid out differently, not because they identify things differently.
Getting a number to put in it
As with EAN-13, the number is allocated rather than chosen. You obtain a company prefix from GS1 and assign item numbers within it. Generating the image costs nothing and proves nothing.
UPC-E, and what zero suppression really does
On packs too small for a full UPC-A there is UPC-E, which prints eight digits instead of twelve. It is not a different number and not a shorter product code: it is the same UPC-A with runs of zeros squeezed out under a defined rule, which the scanner reverses before passing the number on.
The consequence people trip over is that not every UPC-A can be compressed. The zeros have to fall in the right places, so if you want the option of a small pack later, it is worth considering when you assign item numbers rather than after the range is set.
UPC-A FAQs
Will a UPC-A barcode scan outside North America?
Yes. Tills that read EAN-13 read UPC-A, because it is the same numbering system with a leading zero implied.
Where do I get a UPC number?
From GS1, which licenses company prefixes. A barcode drawn from digits you chose yourself will scan, but the number is not yours to use in retail.
What is UPC-E?
A compressed form that suppresses zeros to fit a six-digit symbol onto small packaging. It expands back to a full UPC-A when scanned.
How many digits does the field take?
Eleven or twelve. Eleven means the check digit is computed for you; twelve means you supplied it and it is used unchanged. The editor refuses anything else rather than padding or truncating, because a UPC that is silently corrected is worse than one that does not appear.