The problem it solves
Products often carry two codes: an EAN or UPC barcode for the checkout, and a separate QR code linking to a website for customers. That is two symbols competing for packaging space, and neither does the other's job.
GS1 Digital Link merges them. It is a GS1 standard for writing product identifiers as a web address, so a single QR code can:
- give the checkout the product's GTIN, exactly as an EAN or UPC does,
- give a customer's phone a link to product information, and
- optionally carry batch, serial number and expiry date, which a linear barcode cannot.
What a GS1 Digital Link looks like
The identifiers are written as path segments after numeric application identifiers (AIs) — the same AIs used in GS1-128 shipping barcodes:
https://brand.example/01/09506000134352/10/ABC123?17=271231
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
brand.example |
Your own domain, or GS1's resolver id.gs1.org |
/01/09506000134352 |
AI 01: the GTIN, always written as 14 digits |
/10/ABC123 |
AI 10: batch or lot number (optional) |
?17=271231 |
AI 17: expiry date as YYMMDD, here 31 December 2027 (optional) |
Other common AIs include 21 for a serial number (in the path, after the GTIN) and 15 for a best-before date (as a query parameter).
The GTIN must be 14 digits. Pad shorter GTINs with leading zeros: EAN-13 9506000134352 becomes 09506000134352; UPC-A 036000291452 becomes 00036000291452. The final digit is the GS1 check digit, which must be correct — you can verify it with our barcode generator, which calculates and checks it for EAN-13 and UPC-A.
Why a web address?
Because a phone camera opens web addresses natively. A customer scanning the code lands on whatever page you serve at that URL — ingredients, allergens, instructions, sustainability data, a recall notice, a reorder link. Point-of-sale software, meanwhile, recognises the GS1 Digital Link structure and extracts the GTIN to look up the price, ignoring the domain.
Using your own domain lets you serve the page and change what it shows over time, which you will want to do. The printed URL stays the same; the page behind it is yours to update, which gives you the editability of a "dynamic" QR code without a third party.
Sunrise 2027
GS1 and retailers have set a target, widely referred to as Sunrise 2027, for retail point-of-sale systems to be able to scan 2D barcodes — QR codes with GS1 Digital Link and GS1 DataMatrix — by the end of 2027. GS1 US has driven this in North America, and GS1 member organisations elsewhere run similar programmes.
What it means in practice:
- Retailers are upgrading checkout scanners to 2D-capable imagers.
- Brands can start adding GS1 Digital Link QR codes now, typically alongside the existing EAN or UPC during the transition, since many tills still read only linear barcodes.
- Batch and expiry data at the till opens up new uses: blocking the sale of recalled lots or expired products, and dynamic pricing as products near their date.
Do not remove the linear barcode until every retailer you sell through confirms their scanners read 2D codes.
Building one correctly
- Get your GTINs from GS1. As with any retail barcode, the GTIN must be issued under your GS1 company prefix.
- Choose the domain. Your own (recommended) or
id.gs1.org, GS1's global resolver, which can redirect to a page you register. - Assemble the URL.
https://yourdomain.example/01/+ 14-digit GTIN, plus/10/batchor/21/serialif you need them, plus query parameters such as?17=YYMMDD. - Serve something at that URL. Configure your website to handle
/01/{gtin}paths and show the product page, even if it is a simple one to begin with. - Generate the QR code with our URL QR code generator and download it as SVG.
- Size and place it following GS1's guidance for your packaging type, and keep the quiet zone. Test it on phones and, if you can, on a 2D checkout scanner.
Keep the URL short. Every character adds to the code's density. The domain is the part you control: a short brand domain produces a noticeably smaller code than a long one. See the QR code size guide.
Common mistakes
- Using a 13-digit GTIN in the path. It must be zero-padded to 14.
- A wrong check digit, usually from a typo. The till will reject it.
- Putting a batch number in the query string instead of the path, or an expiry date in the path. Qualifiers (01, 22, 10, 21) go in the path, in that order; data attributes (such as 17 and 15) go in the query string.
- Encoding a short link from a QR vendor instead of a Digital Link URL. The checkout cannot extract a GTIN from
vendor.example/x8Kq. - Nothing served at the URL, so customers who scan get a 404 page.
Frequently asked questions
What is GS1 Digital Link?
A GS1 standard for expressing product identifiers such as the GTIN, batch and expiry date as a web address. Encoded in a QR code, it can be read by retail checkouts for the product number and by phones as a link to product information.
Will QR codes replace barcodes on products?
That is the direction. Retailers are working towards 2D-capable checkouts under the Sunrise 2027 initiative, and a GS1 Digital Link QR code can do a barcode's job. During the transition, most products will carry both.
Can I make a GS1 Digital Link QR code for free?
Yes. Build the URL from your GTIN and paste it into a static URL QR code generator such as ours. The GTIN itself must come from GS1, which is where the cost of retail barcoding lies.
Does a GS1 Digital Link QR code need a special generator?
No. It is a standard QR code containing a correctly structured URL. What matters is that the URL follows the GS1 syntax and the GTIN is 14 digits with a valid check digit.
What is Sunrise 2027?
The industry target for retail point-of-sale systems to read 2D barcodes, such as QR codes with GS1 Digital Link and GS1 DataMatrix, by the end of 2027.
Further reading
- Do QR codes expire? — A QR code itself never expires — but a dynamic code can die when a subscription ends. How to tell which kind you have, and how to get an editable code without the risk.
- How QR codes work, from pattern to payload — A clear technical walkthrough of a QR code: the finder and timing patterns, how text becomes bits in each encoding mode, Reed–Solomon error correction, masking, and how a phone reads it.
- How to scan a QR code on any device — Scan QR codes with the built-in camera on iPhone and Android, from a screenshot or photo, on a Windows or Mac computer — and what to do when a code will not scan.
- QR code design: how to customise without breaking it — Which colours, logos, dot styles and print finishes keep a branded QR code scannable — with the contrast numbers, logo limits and pre-print checklist designers need.