Two kinds of barcode, two different rules
Sellers often mix these up, so start here. A retail barcode is the one that appears on the pack and is read by a shop till, a distributor or a marketplace. An internal barcode is one you create for your own godown, workshop or shop floor.
A retail barcode must carry a globally unique number, and that number has to come from GS1. An internal barcode only has to be unique inside your business, and you can make it today without asking anyone.
What GS1 India does
GS1 is the international body that runs the numbering system behind product barcodes. In India the member organisation is GS1 India. It allots a company prefix to your business and keeps the numbers from clashing with anyone else's, anywhere in the world.
A barcode generator, including the barcode generator on this site, only draws the stripes. It cannot give you a number that belongs to you. The ownership of the number is what a retailer or marketplace is really checking.
GTIN, EAN-13 and the company prefix
GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number. The 13-digit GTIN is what most Indian shelves use, and it is printed as an EAN-13 barcode. Shorter and longer GTINs exist, but 13 digits is the one you will meet most often.
A GTIN-13 is built from three parts:
- Company prefix: assigned to you by GS1, and unique to your business.
- Item number: the digits you choose yourself, one per product.
- Check digit: the last digit, calculated from all the others. See the check digit guide for the arithmetic.
Here is an invented example. Say a company prefix is 8901234, which is 7 digits. That leaves 5 digits for item numbers and 1 for the check digit, giving 13 in total. Your first product might be 8901234 00001 plus its check digit, your second 8901234 00002 plus its check digit, and so on.
The longer your prefix, the fewer item numbers you have left. Ask GS1 India how many numbers your prefix gives you before you plan a large catalogue.
In India you will often see numbers starting with 890. That block belongs to GS1 India. It tells you where the number was registered, not where the product was made.
One number for each distinct product
As a rule of thumb, anything a buyer would see as a different product needs its own GTIN. A 250 g pack and a 500 g pack get different numbers. A mango pickle and a lime pickle get different numbers. Reusing one number for several variants is the most common mistake, and it causes wrong stock counts and rejected listings.
The same product keeps the same number for its whole life. If you only change the artwork, you normally keep the number. If you change what is inside or the pack size, check with GS1 India whether it needs a new one.
What marketplaces ask for
Many online marketplaces ask for a GTIN, an EAN or a UPC when you list a product, so that the same product is not listed twice under different names. Some categories are stricter than others.
Some marketplaces also describe options for products that genuinely have no GTIN, such as handmade goods or your own private-label items. Those options, their conditions and the documents they want vary by marketplace and category, and they change over time.
So do not rely on a blog post, including this one. Open the seller help pages for the marketplace you sell on, find the section on product identifiers, and read the current wording. If a rule is unclear, ask their seller support in writing.
Barcodes you can make without a licence
For stock control you can use Code 128 with any SKU you like, such as SHIRT-BLU-M or RACK-A12. Nothing needs registering, because the code only has to make sense inside your own walls.
These are good for:
- Shelf, bin and rack labels in a warehouse.
- Carton or batch labels before dispatch.
- Repair tags, asset tags and returns tracking.
- Your own billing or stock software, if it reads barcodes.
The catch is simple: do not put a made-up 13-digit number on a pack and treat it as an EAN. It can collide with a real product somewhere else, and a retailer's system may treat it as that other product. If you need many internal labels, the bulk barcode generator makes a sheet from a list. For help choosing a symbology, read which barcode type to use.
A short order of work
- Decide whether the barcode is for a shelf or marketplace, or only for you.
- If it is for retail, contact GS1 India and confirm what you need and how numbers are allotted.
- Check the marketplace's own identifier rules before you pay for anything.
- Make a product list with one row per variant, and assign item numbers in order.
- Generate the codes, print a test label, and read it with the scanner to confirm the number matches.
Keep a simple sheet of which number belongs to which product. Six months later it will save you a lot of arguments.
Questions people ask
Can I just make up an EAN-13 number for my product?
You can draw one, but it is not yours. A made-up number may belong to another product, and shops or marketplaces can reject it or confuse it with that product. Use numbers from your GS1 India prefix for retail.
Do I need a GTIN to sell on a marketplace?
It depends on the marketplace and the product category. Some require one and some describe alternatives for items without one. Read the current seller help pages and confirm with their support.
Is Code 128 allowed for my own inventory?
Yes. Code 128 can hold letters and digits, and for internal use you do not need a licence or registration. It is not meant for retail till scanning of packaged goods.
Does a number starting with 890 mean the product was made in India?
No. It means the number was registered through GS1 India. The product itself may have been made elsewhere.
Will this site give me a number that GS1 recognises?
No. The generator draws a barcode from the digits you enter. Licensed numbers come only from GS1 India, so confirm the details with them directly.
Updated 2026-10-14 · Written by the CodingMarble team