An EAN is a barcode standard maintained by GS1, most commonly issued as EAN-13 (13 digits) and used across Europe, the UK, and most global retail markets outside North America. It is a subtype of the GTIN family — every EAN is also a GTIN. The 13-digit code combines a GS1 Company Prefix, an item reference number chosen by the brand, and a single check digit that validates the string.
Why It Matters for Sellers
Amazon’s European marketplaces (UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, SE, PL, BE, IE) default to EAN as the product identifier for new listings. Amazon validates the EAN against the GS1 GEPIR database, and codes that were not issued directly by GS1 to the brand shown on the listing frequently get rejected or later suppressed. Sellers expanding from the US to Europe often already have UPC-A codes, which can be converted to EAN-13 simply by prefixing a zero — Amazon accepts this conversion, so a single GS1 US license can cover both regions.
How to Get an EAN
- Apply for a Company Prefix from the GS1 national office that serves your country (GS1 UK, GS1 Germany, GS1 France, etc.).
- Pay the joining fee and annual license fee — pricing scales with the number of prefix digits.
- Assign an item reference number within your prefix for each unique variant.
- Calculate the EAN-13 check digit (the GS1 tools do this automatically).
- Register the EAN in the GS1 database and use it as the “Product ID” when creating an Amazon EU listing.
EAN vs UPC vs GTIN
| Identifier | Digits | Primary Region | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTIN | Umbrella | Global standard | Parent family |
| EAN-13 | 13 | Europe and most global markets | GTIN subtype |
| EAN-8 | 8 | Small packaging worldwide | GTIN subtype |
| UPC-A | 12 | US and Canada | GTIN subtype |
A UPC-A becomes a valid EAN-13 by adding a leading zero. This is why a single GS1-issued code can identify the same product on both Amazon US and Amazon EU.
How SellerSonar Helps
SellerSonar Product Monitoring tracks every ASIN in your EU catalog and alerts on suppressions, including the identifier-compliance suppressions triggered by EAN validation failures.
Start your free SellerSonar trial today.
Related Terms
- GTIN — the umbrella standard EAN belongs to
- UPC — the North American equivalent of EAN
- ASIN — Amazon’s internal product identifier