EAN-13 (European Article Number, 13 digits) is the barcode on the back of nearly every retail product sold outside North America. North American products use the equivalent UPC-A; the two formats are interchangeable on modern scanners.
Enter 12 digits and we calculate the check digit. Enter all 13 and we validate it.
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At a glance
| Standard | ISO/IEC 15420 (2009) — ISO/IEC 15420 |
|---|---|
| Symbology family | EAN/UPC, GS1 General Specifications |
| Data capacity | 12 data digits + 1 mod-10 check digit (13 total) |
| Character set | Digits 0–9 only |
| Nominal size (X = 0.33 mm) | 37.29 mm wide × 25.93 mm tall at 100% magnification — GS1 General Specifications §5.2.3 |
| Size range | 80%–200% of nominal (29.83 mm – 74.58 mm wide) |
| Quiet zone | 11×X on the left, 7×X on the right (mandatory) |
| Year introduced | 1977 (Europe), based on UPC-A (1973) |
“GS1 prefixes 020–029, 040–049, and 200–299 are restricted to internal company numbering and shall not be used on items intended to cross point-of-sale.”
What the digits mean
The first 3 digits are the GS1 country prefix (e.g. 50 for the UK, 30–37 for France, 400–440 for Germany, 690–699 for China). The next ~9 digits identify the manufacturer and the specific product. The final digit is a check digit.
If you are creating a product to sell in retail stores, you must register a GS1 prefix — you cannot just invent the first digits. For internal use or proof of concept, any 12 digits work.
Check digit
The 13th digit is calculated from the previous 12 using a modulo-10 algorithm. We compute it for you when you enter 12 digits.
If you paste a full 13-digit EAN we still render it — but if the 13th digit is wrong, scanners will reject the code at the till.
Print size
The retail-standard size is 37.29 mm wide × 25.93 mm tall at 100% magnification. Smaller is allowed (down to 80% per GS1 guidelines) but scan failures rise sharply below that.
Print in black on a white or pale-yellow background. Light text on dark background does not scan with retail laser scanners.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I just invent a 13-digit number?
- Technically the barcode will scan — practically, no. Real retail systems lookup the EAN against the GS1 global database. An invented code will scan as 'unknown product' at the till.
- What's the difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?
- UPC-A is 12 digits, EAN-13 is 13. UPC-A is effectively an EAN-13 with a leading zero. Modern scanners read both.
- Why does my barcode have an extra small bar on the right?
- EAN-13 always shows a tall right-guard bar and the last digit printed to its right. That is part of the spec, not a render bug.