Barcode Validator (EAN, UPC, GTIN)

Validates and normalises EAN, UPC and GTIN barcodes: check digit, format, GTIN-14 normalisation, UPC-E expansion and GS1 prefix allocation. No external lookups; runs offline and deterministically.

What it does

Send a list of barcodes, get one row back for each, in the same order, so the output joins straight onto your input. For every barcode it tells you:

• whether the check digit is correct, and what it should have been;
• the format: GTIN-8, UPC-E, GTIN-12 (UPC-A), GTIN-13 (EAN-13) or GTIN-14;
• the GTIN-14 form, zero-padded, the shape GS1 recommends storing, and the only reliable way to match 12345670 against 00000012345670;
• the UPC-A expansion for UPC-E codes, which cannot be recovered by padding because the compression depends on the last digit's value;
• the GS1 prefix and what it is allocated to, including ISBN, ISSN, coupon and restricted-circulation ranges.

Everything is computed locally from the published GS1 specification. There is no API behind this, nothing to rate-limit, and the same input always gives the same output, so it is safe to call from an agent or a pipeline at any volume.

What it does not do. It does not look products up. A valid barcode means the number is well-formed and its check digit is correct; it does not mean the code has been issued to anyone, or that a product exists. Product lookup requires a licensed commercial database, which this Actor deliberately does not use.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
barcodes	array of strings	yes	n/a	Up to 50,000 per run. Spaces and hyphens are ignored.
failOnEmpty	boolean	no	false	Operator health check; leave off.

{
  "barcodes": ["5449000000996", "036000291452", "9780306406157", "1234567890123"]
}

Output

One row per input, in order. A real row from a real run:

{
  "input": "5449000000996",
  "valid": true,
  "format": "GTIN-13",
  "gtin": "5449000000996",
  "gtin14": "05449000000996",
  "check_digit": 6,
  "expected_check_digit": 6,
  "gs1_prefix": "544",
  "prefix_allocation": "Belgium and Luxembourg",
  "prefix_type": "gs1_member_organisation",
  "is_restricted_circulation": false,
  "source": "GS1 General Specifications (computed locally)",
  "source_url": "https://www.gs1.org/standards/barcodes",
  "license": "Computed from the published GS1 specification; no third-party data",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-09-06T12:00:00+00:00"
}

And a rejection:

{
  "input": "5449000000997",
  "valid": false,
  "check_digit": 7,
  "expected_check_digit": 6,
  "reason": "Check digit is 7; the GS1 modulo-10 algorithm gives 6 for these digits."
}

Field	Type	Description
input	string	Your value, echoed back exactly. Present on every row, including empty ones, so nothing breaks the join.
valid	boolean	Well-formed and check digit correct.
format	string	GTIN-8, UPC-E, GTIN-12, GTIN-13 or GTIN-14.
gtin14	string	Zero-padded to 14. Use this to match across sources.
expected_check_digit	integer	What GS1's algorithm computes. Differs from check_digit exactly when invalid.
reason	string	Why it was rejected. Absent when valid.
gs1_prefix	string	Prefix digits, read correctly for the detected format.
prefix_allocation	string	Which GS1 Member Organisation issued the range, or its special purpose.
prefix_type	string	gs1_member_organisation, restricted_circulation, isbn, issn, coupon, refund_receipt, reserved or demonstration.
is_restricted_circulation	boolean	true for internal codes. These are not globally unique. Do not treat them as product identifiers.
upc_a	string	12-digit UPC-A form, for UPC-E codes.
indicator_digit	string	First digit of a GTIN-14: 0 base item, 1–8 packaging level, 9 variable measure.
also_valid_as	string	Set when an 8-digit code reads validly as both GTIN-8 and UPC-E, which is real ambiguity in the standard, surfaced rather than guessed at.

A note on prefixes and countries

GS1 is explicit that prefixes do not identify a product's country of origin. A company can license a prefix from the GS1 organisation of its choice and manufacture anywhere. So prefix_allocation names the GS1 Member Organisation that issued the number, and the field is deliberately not called country. Tools that label it that way are telling you something false about supply chains.

Pricing

Pay per event. You are charged $0.005 per valid barcode, plus Apify's standard $0.00005 Actor start event.

Invalid barcodes are returned free. You should not pay to be told your own input was malformed.

Example: 1,000 barcodes of which 900 are valid = 900 × $0.005 + $0.00005 = $4.50.

Limits and refresh cadence

• No external source. Nothing to be down, nothing to rate-limit, no cache. Runs are deterministic: identical input, identical output.
• Throughput: up to 50,000 barcodes per run. 50,000 completes in about a minute and a half.
• Coverage: GTIN-8, UPC-E, GTIN-12 (UPC-A), GTIN-13 (EAN-13) and GTIN-14. SSCC-18 logistics labels and ISBN-10 are out of scope.
• Prefix table: GS1 reassigns and adds prefix ranges occasionally. Unassigned ranges are reported as such rather than guessed at.
• Validity is arithmetic, not existence. See What it does not do.

Attribution

Implements the check digit and prefix scheme published in the GS1 General Specifications. No third-party data is fetched, stored or redistributed, and no barcode you submit leaves the run.

Changelog

See the Changelog tab.

Issues

Report problems on the Issues tab. Please include the barcode and what you expected. Breakage is normally fixed within one working day.