Retail · server-powered
UPC-A generator.
UPC-A is the 12-digit retail standard across North America, scanned at virtually every US and Canadian checkout. The final digit is a checksum. This generator validates it so a mistyped code never reaches your packaging.
12 digits, the North-American retail standard.
Standards-based quiet zones are always on. For production packaging, verify a printed sample with a barcode verifier.
Preview
Sample: type to make it yours- Renders on our servers, the one Plume tool that does.
- We keep the code type and content length, never what you encode.
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Valid UPC-A input
Enter 11 or 12 digits. With 11, the tool computes the twelfth, the mod-10 check digit; with 12, it checks the math and refuses to render a wrong code. Only the digits 0 through 9 carry meaning: pasted spaces and hyphens are quietly removed, while letters and other symbols stop the render.
The first digit is the number system: 0, 1, 6, 7, and 8 mark ordinary products, 2 is for variable-weight items priced in store, 3 is for drugs, 4 is for retailer internal use, and 5 introduces coupons. Prefix the whole number with a zero and you have the same GTIN in EAN-13 form.
Working sample: 036000291452 a genuine GTIN-12 ending in its correct check digit, 2
Where UPC-A is used
- US/Canada retail product packaging
- POS and inventory systems
- Amazon and marketplace listings (GTIN-12)
Common errors and how to fix them
- UPC-A must be 11 or 12 digits
- UPC-A has no long or short variants: 12 digits, or 11 if you want the check digit computed. A 13-digit paste usually means the code is actually an EAN-13.
- Incorrect UPC check digit provided
- The closing digit disagrees with the mod-10 sum of the other 11. The on-page checker spells out the expectation in plain words, for example: Last digit should be 1 (the check digit), not 2. Correct it, or enter 11 digits and let the tool finish the number.
- UPC-A must contain only digits
- Delete every non-digit. Watch for a lowercase l or the letter O slipping in where a 1 or 0 belongs.
Size and printing
UPC-A uses the same geometry as EAN-13: a 0.330 mm module and 22.85 mm bars at 100 percent, scalable from 80 to 200 percent for point-of-sale use. Within that tolerance the Module width menu offers 0.33 mm and 0.5 mm, both safe for checkout scanning. Resist trimming bar height, because short bars defeat the omnidirectional scanning the symbol was designed for. The "Where will it be used?" presets cover the common cases; SVG output scales losslessly for packaging plates, and PNG can be rendered up to 600 DPI when your printer needs raster art.
UPC-A questions
Are UPC and EAN barcodes the same?
They are siblings within one ISO symbology (ISO/IEC 15420). A UPC-A number with a leading zero is digit-for-digit the same GTIN as its EAN-13 form, and retail scanners decode both.
Where do I get an official UPC code for my product?
License it through GS1 US or your local GS1 member organization. Marketplaces increasingly verify GTINs against GS1 records, so barcodes bought from prefix resellers can be rejected.
Can I generate a UPC-A barcode for free?
This tool renders UPC-A at no charge: 20 downloads each UTC day, PNG and SVG both included, no account needed, and the output may be used commercially.
Why does Excel show my UPC as 11 digits?
Spreadsheets treat the code as a number and drop the leading zero that many GTIN-12s start with. Format the cell as text and restore the zero before pasting; a genuine UPC-A is always 12 digits including its check digit.