GS1 Digital Link and Sunrise 2027
Retail is moving from the 50-year-old EAN-13 to 2D codes that carry the product identifier and a web address in one symbol. Here is what changes and what to do about it.
Enter a GTIN to build the Digital Link URI
The URI preview is free. Downloading creates a dynamic GS1 code in your dashboard: every scan tracked, the destination editable after printing, and resolution on your own domain — the form the EU's no-lock-in rules expect.
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- Dynamic GS1 code — edit the destination after printing
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What Sunrise 2027 actually is
GS1 — the body that issues the barcode numbers on retail packaging — has set the end of 2027 as the point by which retail point-of-sale systems worldwide should be able to scan 2D codes as well as traditional linear barcodes.
It is not a ban on EAN-13. It is the moment the industry becomes able to accept something better, which means brands can start putting a single code on packaging that works at the till and gives the shopper something when they scan it with a phone.
For anyone redesigning packaging between now and 2027, the practical question is whether to design in a 2D code now rather than retrofit one later.
What a Digital Link looks like
A GS1 Digital Link is a web URL with the product identifier embedded in a standardised path. Rather than encoding just the number 05901234123457, the code carries something like:
https://example.com/01/05901234123457
The /01/ segment is the application identifier for a GTIN — the same AI used inside GS1-128 and GS1 DataMatrix. Any GS1-aware system reads the GTIN straight out of the URL, while a phone browser simply follows the link.
That is the elegance of it: one symbol, two audiences. The checkout extracts an identifier; the shopper gets a web page. Additional identifiers can follow the same pattern — batch under /10/, expiry under /17/, serial under /21/.
QRCodeStack generates Digital Link codes via the GS1 type in the dashboard — on your own custom domain as https://yourbrand.com/01/{gtin}, the canonical form GS1's own examples use.
Built on the ratified standard, not an approximation
Most QR platforms treat "GS1 support" as putting a GTIN somewhere in a URL. The standard asks for more, and the difference is machine-visible:
- Conformant URI syntax. Codes are generated against GS1 Digital Link URI Syntax release 1.7.0 (ratified August 2026): 14-digit GTINs, key qualifiers in the mandated path order, data attributes like expiry in the query string where the standard puts them.
- A GS1-conformant resolver. Our resolution endpoints publish a Resolver Description File at the well-known location, answer
linkTyperequests, and serve RFC-9264 linksets — the discovery protocol a conformance checker actually probes for. - Your domain, not ours. The whole point of Digital Link is that a brand's GTIN resolves on the brand's own domain. With a custom domain, the URL printed on your packaging is yours — which is also what the EU's Digital Product Passport rules mean by "without vendor lock-in".
We track the GS1 standards for changes automatically — when a new release publishes, we verify our output against the ratified text.
What brands actually gain
- A customer relationship from packaging. The scan can land on ingredients, provenance, recipes, care instructions or a reorder page.
- Regulatory headroom. Digital labelling requirements keep expanding, and a link scales where printed panels do not.
- Batch-level traceability. Encoding batch and expiry makes recalls precise instead of blanket.
- Actual measurement. A dynamic destination means you can see how many people scanned, from where, and change what they get without reprinting.
- One code instead of several. Replaces the EAN plus whatever separate marketing QR code has been bolted on beside it.
How to prepare
- Confirm you hold a GS1 licence. Digital Link is built on your GTIN, so a GS1 company prefix is the prerequisite. Resold barcode numbers will not work.
- Decide what the scan should do. The URL is the product experience — treat it as a landing page, not an afterthought.
- Use a destination you can change. Packaging outlives campaigns. A static URL printed on a million units is a decision you cannot revisit.
- Talk to your retailers. Scanner readiness varies by chain and territory; some are ready now, others are not.
- Keep the EAN-13 for now. Through the transition, most packaging carries both. Dual-marking is the norm until POS coverage is universal.
The destination choice is the one that matters most. See dynamic QR codes for why an editable destination matters when the artwork is fixed for years.
Selling into the EU? The same 2D code is about to carry a regulatory job too — see our guide to the EU Digital Product Passport, including the battery QR mandate that lands 18 February 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EAN-13 being switched off in 2027?
No. Sunrise 2027 is the target date for retail point-of-sale systems to be capable of reading 2D codes. Linear barcodes continue to work, and most packaging will carry both through the transition.
What is the difference between a GS1 Digital Link and a normal QR code?
A Digital Link is a QR code (or Data Matrix) whose URL follows a GS1-standardised structure with the GTIN embedded in the path. A checkout system extracts the product identifier from it; a phone just opens the link. A normal QR code carries an arbitrary URL that no retail system can interpret.
Do I need a GS1 licence for Digital Link?
Yes. The whole thing is built on a GTIN, which must be licensed from GS1 to be globally unique. If you are using resold or invented barcode numbers, they will not work.
Should I use QR or Data Matrix for Digital Link?
QR for anything a shopper scans, because every phone camera reads it natively. Data Matrix where space is extremely tight or industry practice already favours it, such as pharmaceutical and medical device labelling.
Can I add batch and expiry to a Digital Link?
Yes. Additional application identifiers extend the URL path — batch under /10/, expiry under /17/, serial under /21/ — which is what makes batch-level traceability and precise recalls possible.
What happens if a shopper scans it with an older phone?
It opens the URL like any other QR code. That is the point of the design — the code degrades gracefully to being an ordinary web link.
What can the code link to — and can I change it later?
Anything a URL can carry: product details, manuals, videos, promotions, sustainability certificates, batch-level recall notices. With a dynamic GS1 code the destination stays editable after printing, so the same printed code can point at a product page today and a Digital Product Passport record when regulation requires one.
How much does a GS1 Digital Link QR code cost?
The generator on this page is free, no account needed. Tracked, editable dynamic GS1 codes start at $5/month on the Starter plan, and every price is public on our pricing page — no quote forms. Your GS1 Company Prefix is licensed separately from GS1 and is the only other cost.
Will it scan at the checkout and on phones?
Phones: yes — every built-in camera app reads QR codes. Checkouts: 2D-capable imaging scanners read it; older single-line laser scanners cannot, which is why packaging carries both codes through the transition and why retail POS is upgrading ahead of Sunrise 2027.
What size should the printed code be?
Big enough for the data it carries and the scan distance — as a rule of thumb, at least 2x2 cm for packaging scanned at arm's length, larger when you add batch and serial data. Our QR code size guide covers print sizes, quiet zones and testing.
Putting a 2D code on packaging?
Packaging outlives campaigns. A dynamic destination means you can change what the scan does years after the artwork is locked — and count every scan.
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