If you’ve seen “GS1 Sunrise 2027” mentioned by a retailer partner or packaging vendor and aren’t sure what it actually requires you to do, you’re not alone. It sounds like a hard deadline, but it’s really a market-readiness target: by the end of 2027, GS1 wants retail point-of-sale systems worldwide able to scan 2D barcodes, not just the linear UPC/EAN codes on shelves today.
This guide walks through what GS1 Digital Link barcodes are, what changes on your packaging, and the practical steps to add a compliant 2D barcode without disrupting the barcode scanning you already rely on.
Quick Answer
GS1 Sunrise 2027 is a global initiative for retail checkout systems to be able to scan GS1-compliant 2D barcodes (GS1 DataMatrix or QR codes built on the GS1 Digital Link standard) by the end of 2027, in addition to the traditional 1D UPC/EAN barcode. It’s not a switch-off date — the classic barcode keeps working. The practical move for brands is to start adding a properly structured GS1 Digital Link QR code to packaging now, alongside the existing UPC, so you’re ready whenever your retail partners are.
How to Add GS1 Digital Link to Your Packaging
Confirm you have valid GTINs for your products. A GS1 Digital Link barcode is built around your product’s GTIN, so you need a legitimate, GS1-issued number. If you’re already selling with a UPC, you likely have this through a GS1 Company Prefix membership, which lets you generate many GTINs but requires an annual renewal fee. If you only need a handful of numbers, GS1 US also sells individual GTINs directly — a one-time fee per GTIN with no annual renewal and no separate company prefix membership required — which is often the more cost-effective route for a small product line.
Build the Digital Link URI. The standard format encodes your GTIN behind application identifier ’01’ — for example, a link resolving to https://id.yourbrand.com/01/09506000134352 — and can optionally carry a batch/lot number (AI 10), expiration date (AI 17), or serial number (AI 21) depending on what you want to expose.
Generate the QR code using a GS1-aware barcode generator or your packaging/artwork software’s GS1 module, which validates the GTIN check digit and formats the AIs correctly. Don’t hand-build a generic QR that just links to your homepage; it won’t carry the structured data POS systems and GS1 resolvers expect.
Set up resolution so the code actually leads somewhere useful. You can rely on the shared GS1 resolver (id.gs1.org) or self-host resolution on your own domain, routing scanners to a product page with sourcing, ingredient, recycling, or promotional content depending on who’s scanning.
Keep your existing UPC/EAN barcode on the pack during the transition, and place the new 2D code near it following the placement and size guidance in the GS1 General Specifications so retail scanners can pick up either one reliably.
Test before you print at scale. Scan the code with a phone, a retail-style laser/imager scanner if you can access one, and any brand-side traceability tools, to confirm the GTIN resolves correctly and the linked page loads.
What’s Actually Inside a GS1 Digital Link Barcode
A GS1 Digital Link barcode isn’t just a QR code with a URL in it — it’s a URL built to a defined structure so the same code can serve multiple audiences from one print. At checkout, a POS scanner reads the embedded GTIN the same way it reads a UPC today. In the warehouse, a logistics scanner can pull batch/lot or serial data if you’ve included it. And when a shopper scans it with their phone, they land on a webpage you control, showing whatever content you’ve chosen to attach: ingredients, care instructions, sustainability claims, recall status, or a loyalty offer.
That’s the core shift from today’s separate-purpose codes (a UPC for the register, maybe a marketing QR code elsewhere on the pack) to one 2D barcode doing both jobs. GS1’s retail POS guideline currently recognizes three acceptable 2D formats for point of sale: GS1 DataMatrix, QR Code with GS1 Digital Link, and DataMatrix with GS1 Digital Link — for most consumer packaged goods, QR Code with GS1 Digital Link is the practical choice since it’s also the most phone-friendly.
Tips / Common Mistakes
Don’t remove your UPC yet. GS1 has said the linear barcode isn’t being abolished, and retailers are transitioning their scanning infrastructure at different paces — dropping the UPC before your retail partners are ready to scan 2D at every lane will get your product rejected at intake or checkout.
Don’t confuse a plain marketing QR code with a GS1 Digital Link barcode. If it doesn’t encode the GTIN using the correct GS1 application identifier structure, it won’t work at point of sale even if it scans fine with a phone.
Don’t build a barcode on an invalid or duplicate GTIN. Whether you got your number through a Company Prefix or an individually licensed GTIN, it needs to be a legitimately issued, unique number — barcodes built on fabricated or reused numbers can fail retailer compliance checks even if the code itself scans.
Don’t guess at code size and placement. Follow the minimum symbol size and quiet-zone guidance in the GS1 General Specifications — an undersized or poorly placed 2D code next to curved packaging edges or shrink wrap is a common reason scans fail in testing.
Do budget real testing time. Print a small run, scan it across a few different devices and, if possible, an actual retail scanner, before committing to a full packaging run.
Explore more: more packaging compliance guides.
GS1 Digital Link FAQs
Is the UPC barcode going away in 2027?
No. Sunrise 2027 is a target for retail checkout systems to be able to scan 2D barcodes alongside the existing UPC/EAN — it isn’t a shutoff date for linear barcodes. GS1 has indicated that after the transition, from 2028 onward, brands will have the choice of using a 1D barcode, a 2D barcode, or both, depending on their retail partners’ readiness.
Do I need a GS1 Company Prefix membership to create a GS1 Digital Link barcode?
Not necessarily. A GS1 Digital Link barcode needs a valid GTIN, which most brands get through a GS1 Company Prefix (an annually renewed membership that lets you generate many GTINs). But if you only need a small number of product identifiers, GS1 US also sells individual GTINs directly for a one-time fee with no annual renewal and no ongoing membership required. If you already have GTINs from either route, you can reuse them to build GS1 Digital Link codes.
What’s the difference between a regular QR code and a GS1 Digital Link QR code?
A regular QR code can link to any URL you choose, with no required structure. A GS1 Digital Link QR code follows a defined syntax that encodes your GTIN (and optionally batch, expiry, or serial data) using standardized application identifiers, which is what lets retail POS systems and GS1 resolvers read it the same way they read a barcode.
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