Barcode Country Code Prefix

What is this, and what does it mean?

The first few digits on EAN-13 barcode numbers indicate the country of origin of the barcode number. Our barcode numbers start with 06 or 07, which indicates that the barcode numbers originally come from the US. However, it is important to note that this is only the country of origin of the barcode number – it says nothing about the country of origin of the product. We supply these 06 and 07 numbers to customers worldwide, including many in Canada, USA, NZ, Australia, UK, Europe, India & Singapore, and they use them without any problems.

Our barcodes can be used worldwide—we have customers in 120+ countries who use thousands of our barcode numbers without problems.

A few retailers have extra barcoding restrictions – see https://canadabarcodes.ca/barcode-acceptance/   for details.

Barcode numbers beginning with specifically assigned country codes are the barcode numbers that come directly from GS1 in a specific country OR are issued by an official standards agency in that country.

In countries where GS1 exists, the ONLY legal way to get to start with these assigned country codes is to join GS1 – this means completing their membership forms and paying a joining fee and annual membership fees to GS1 – which is VERY expensive (GS1 only license the numbers to you – so you have to pay their annual fees every year for the rest of your product life). Please read this article by Peter Strong (head of the Council of Small Business of Australia) on ‘shadow regulators.’ These are not-for-profit organisations that have monopolistic control over the business community.

The country-specific numbers can be obtained from countries with a non-GS1 Standards Body or the International Barcodes Network agency.

Many people mistakenly believe that the first few digits of the barcode numbers show the product’s country of origin. However, the barcode number says NOTHING accurate about the product’s country of origin. The only thing these first few digits show is the country of origin of the barcode number itself. So, products from any specific country can have any barcode number on them.

If you want to demonstrate that your product is made in your own country, e.g., Canada, the best way to do this is to print “Made in Canada” or something similar. This is an advertising claim and must be provable if challenged. (Some manufacturers also print “Made in Canada” directly above the barcode to help customers).

The myth of the barcode number showing the product’s country of origin is an old myth that has been thoroughly debunked. Please see this Snopes article on the origins of this myth and its debunking.

All barcodes and barcode systems are designed for international use, so there are virtually no restrictions based on the country of origin worldwide. Any specific examples of stores placing any restrictions on barcodes can be seen here.

We are a member of an international network of barcode sellers with customers in more than 120 countries using our barcodes without problems.

Below is a list of country codes from GS1 organisations and other Standards Agencies around the world: