A UPC is a 12-digit barcode standard maintained by GS1 and used across North American retail for point-of-sale scanning and catalog matching. It is a subtype of the broader GTIN family — every UPC is also a GTIN-12. The code consists of a GS1 Company Prefix, an item reference number chosen by the brand owner, and a single check digit that validates the whole string.
Why It Matters for Sellers
Amazon requires a valid product identifier for most new listings in the US, and UPC is the identifier most sellers submit. The catch is that Amazon cross-checks the UPC against the GS1 GEPIR database to confirm the prefix belongs to the brand shown on the listing. UPCs bought from third-party barcode resellers frequently fail this check, which blocks new listings and can retroactively suppress live ones. Brand owners who buy UPCs directly from GS1 avoid that risk and also get access to Brand Registry benefits that pay for the GS1 membership many times over.
How to Get a UPC
- Apply for a GS1 US Company Prefix at gs1us.org (prefix length depends on how many products you plan to identify).
- Pay the one-time initial fee plus the recurring annual license fee.
- Assign an item reference number within your prefix for each unique product variant.
- Calculate the check digit using the GS1 algorithm (most tools do this automatically).
- Generate the barcode graphic and register the UPC in the GS1 database.
Alternative: some GS1-accredited resellers issue prefixes under their own umbrella at lower upfront cost, but Amazon strongly prefers UPCs issued directly by GS1.
UPC vs EAN vs GTIN
| Identifier | Digits | Primary Region | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTIN | Umbrella | Global standard | Parent family |
| UPC-A | 12 | US and Canada | GTIN subtype |
| EAN-13 | 13 | Europe and most global markets | GTIN subtype |
| EAN-8 | 8 | Small packaging worldwide | GTIN subtype |
A UPC-A can be represented as an EAN-13 by adding a leading zero, which is why Amazon US and Amazon EU catalogs can share product identity across regions.
How SellerSonar Helps
SellerSonar Product Monitoring tracks every ASIN in your catalog and surfaces suppressions, including the identifier-compliance suppressions that stem from bad UPC data.
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Related Terms
- GTIN — the umbrella standard UPC belongs to
- EAN — the European equivalent of UPC
- ASIN — Amazon’s internal product identifier