How it works
What a GTIN is, and whether you already have one
A GTIN is the number under a retail barcode. It names a product model, and the EU ecodesign regulation names it through ISO/IEC 15459-6.
A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is the digits your barcode carries, and it comes through GS1, not from a regulator. If a shop scans your product at a till, you already have one.
That answers the question for most exporters of packaged goods. Under the European Union (EU) passport rules, the number names a product model, and it cannot name one single item.
Two mistakes cost money here. The first is to buy a new identifier because a supplier says EU law demands one. The second is to assume the number you hold answers every passport rule. It does not answer a rule that names each single item.
A GTIN is the number under your retail barcode
The barcode on a carton of wine holds a GTIN. The barcode is the picture, and the GTIN is the number. GS1 counts more than 10 billion barcode scans each day.
A linear barcode carries that number and nothing else. It holds no batch number, no date and no sustainability data. A two-dimensional barcode, such as a QR code, can hold more. See data carriers.
| Name | What it means |
|---|---|
| GTIN | Global trade item number, the GS1 name for the number |
| EAN | Another name for the same number |
| UPC | Universal Product Code, another name for the same number |
GS1 says that some types of GTIN differ in length, and in nothing else.
The number comes through GS1, and not from a regulator
GS1 describes itself as a neutral, not-for-profit organisation that maintains a system of standards. It works through 120 member organisations, and it supports more than two million companies. GS1 New Zealand is the New Zealand organisation.
GS1 also states what it is not. It is not a service provider, and it is not a legal advisor. GS1 New Zealand is a standards body, and it is not a regulator.
So cite GS1 for what a standard does, but not for what the law requires.
How to find out if you already have one
Three checks answer it.
- Look at the pack. The digits under the barcode are the GTIN.
- Ask the person who orders your labels or manages your product data.
- Check a marketplace listing, because a marketplace uses the number to verify the product.
If nobody in your company can say which number belongs to which product, fix that first. The Institute of Grocery Distribution published an interview with GS1 UK in March 2026. It names the same problem: product data is in more than one system, and ownership is unclear. Clean allocation of the number comes before any passport work.
A GTIN names a model, not one item
Two identical e-bike batteries from one production run carry the same GTIN. The number names the model. It cannot tell a recycler which battery is in their hand.
GS1 keeps rules that state when a product change forces a new GTIN. GS1 says those rules are about 40 years old.
To name one production run you add a batch number. To name one single item you add a serial number. Both sit in the data carrier beside the GTIN, and neither sits inside the GTIN. See product identifiers and how a passport works.
The ecodesign regulation names the GTIN, and never names GS1
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is the EU law that creates the digital product passport. Annex III(c) names the GTIN, under ISO/IEC 15459-6. So the regulation names the type of number you already hold.
ESPR Article 1(2) excludes food, and EU law counts a drink as food. If you export wine, read this section for the number, and not for a duty. See food and feed are excluded.
The regulation names no vendor scheme. A search of the full text, including the recitals and every annex, returns no hit for any of these terms:
- GS1
- Digital Link
- IEC 61406
- digital object identifier
- ISO/IEC 18004, which is the QR code standard
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| The regulation | Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, in force since 18 July 2024 |
| Where the GTIN appears | Annex III(c), under ISO/IEC 15459-6 |
| Status of that rule | Interim, under Article 10(1)(c) |
| How long it runs | Until the references of harmonised standards are published |
So ESPR recognises the GTIN, and it does not require a GS1 Digital Link web address. A supplier who tells you the law demands that address is wrong about the law. Your EU customer can still ask for it as a condition of sale. See GS1 Digital Link and how a passport differs from a barcode.
A model number cannot answer the battery rule
One passport duty in EU law is already settled. It comes from the battery regulation, and not from ESPR. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 is in force. The passport duty in Article 77 applies from 18 February 2027.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| The regulation | Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, in force |
| Article 77(1) | A battery passport for three categories of battery, from 18 February 2027 |
| Article 77(3) | A unique identifier for each battery |
Article 77(1) names exactly three categories of battery. They are each light means of transport battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kilowatt hours, and each electric vehicle battery. A light means of transport battery is an e-bike or e-scooter battery, and it carries no size threshold.
Your e-bike battery carries a GTIN like any other product. From that date each battery also needs its own identifier. A GTIN alone cannot do that job, because a GTIN names the model. See batteries.
No delegated act has set the level for any product group
ESPR is a framework regulation. It creates no passport duty for any specific product. A passport duty reaches a product group only through a delegated act under Article 4. As at 14 August 2026 the European Commission has adopted no such act for any group.
So nobody can tell you yet if an ESPR passport for your product must name a model, a batch or one single item. A supplier who states your level today states a guess. See what a delegated act is and how to read the timeline.
EN 18219:2026 is the European standard for unique identifiers, and the Commission cited it in July 2026. Its text is paywalled and unread here. This site thus publishes no count of the identifier schemes it permits. See EN 18219 and identifier schemes: what is verified.
What to do with the number you already have
Four steps use the number well.
- Keep one GTIN for one product model. Keep the allocation clean.
- Name the person who owns the number and the system that holds the record.
- Ask any supplier who cites a legal requirement to name the article.
- Ask your EU importer what it needs, and when.
The last step matters most. A customer request can reach you long before a law does, and your importer cannot supply data that only you hold. See what this means for New Zealand exporters and economic operator identifiers.
Step 2 needs a decision about a system. A spreadsheet holds the allocation while the product count stays small. The work gets harder when one product record must serve some buyers and stay current. OwlQR, a New Zealand company that publishes this site, builds product record software. Ask any provider how its system keeps one number for one model.