EAN-8 barcode generator

This EAN-8 barcode generator builds the short, eight-digit code GS1 allocates when a pack is too small for a full EAN-13 label. Enter 7 digits and the 8th, the check digit, is added for you.

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The short code for packs too small for EAN-13

EAN-8 exists for one reason: some packaging is too small to fit a 13-digit EAN barcode at a size a scanner can still read, so GS1 defined this short EAN barcode as an eight-digit alternative. A lip balm tube, a small tin of mints or a single-serve sachet are the usual candidates.

Before you print: apply for a real EAN-8 barcode number

Unlike EAN-13, which a company builds from its own GS1 company prefix, an EAN-8 number has to be requested directly from GS1 for each product that genuinely needs one - there are far fewer 8-digit numbers to go around, so GS1 checks the packaging really is too small first.

This generator draws the barcode for any 7 digits you type; it does not request a number from GS1 for you, so apply there first for a real product.

Type 7 digits, get a complete EAN-8 barcode

Check digit calculator

First 7 digits

24001236

The example starts with 2, one of the two prefixes (0 or 2) GS1 sets aside for restricted circulation numbers used only in a company's own stores, never assigned to anyone else - a safe made-up example.

Small packs that actually use EAN-8 barcode

Cosmetics sachet

A single-use sample sachet too small for a 13-digit code carries its own short number.

24001236

Sweet tin

A tin of mints from the fictional Ember Fest brand, sized for a pocket rather than a shelf.

24009058

Single-dose medicine pack

One tablet strip inside a larger box may need its own code if it is ever sold apart from the box.

20051143

Terms this page uses

RCN-8: GS1's name for an EAN-8 restricted circulation number - one whose control never leaves the issuing company.
GS1-8 prefix: The first digit, 0 or 2, that marks a code as an EAN-8 restricted circulation number rather than a globally unique GTIN.
Check digit: The 8th digit, calculated from the other 7, that lets a scanner catch a misread or mistyped number.
GTIN-8: The globally unique version of an 8-digit code, licensed by GS1 rather than assigned in-store; not what a restricted circulation number is.

Sources

Checked September 2026

EAN-8 allocation rules and fees are set by each GS1 member organisation; confirm the current process with GS1.

EAN 8 barcode questions

No: EAN-8 numbers are not shortened EAN-13 numbers, they are a separate set that GS1 allocates one at a time for genuinely small packaging.

There are far fewer 8-digit numbers than 13-digit ones, so GS1 reserves them for packaging that has no room for anything longer.

Yes: the two symbols look and measure differently, so any till scanner reads either one without being told which to expect.

Switch to a normal EAN-13 number built from your own GS1 company prefix and stop using the EAN-8 once the smaller pack is discontinued.

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