Country Code Prefix

What is a ‘Barcode Country Code Prefix’?

A Barcode Country Code Prefix (also called a GS1 Prefix) is the first few digits of a UPC or EAN-13 barcode number. They indicate where the barcode number originally came from (ie. which GS1 or UCC regional office), however they say nothing about where the product comes from. The country code for NZ is “94”, this means that barcodes starting with “94” were originally issued by GS1 New Zealand.

Do you supply barcodes with the ’94’ NZ Country Code Prefix?

No we don’t (only GS1 New Zealand can legally supply ’94’ barcode numbers).

Our barcodes start with ’06’ or ’07’ which indicate that they originally came from the UCC/GS1-US. Our barcodes can be legally used on retail products in New Zealand and any other country worldwide.

If you see barcode resellers selling EAN numbers starting with the NZ country code ’94’, watch out! They are almost certainly selling fake, made up numbers, because GS1 New Zealand has legal authority over all the ’94’ barcode numbers.

Does the Country Prefix Matter?

No, not really. Barcodes from any country can be used on products from any country. If you want to indicate that your product was made in NZ, you can print “Made in New Zealand” on your product packaging.

Many people mistakenly believe that the first few digits of the barcode numbers show the country of origin of the product. However, the barcode number says nothing accurate about the product’s country of origin. The only thing that these first few digits show is which country the barcode number itself was issued in. This means products that come from any specific country can have any barcode number on them. Please see GS1’s website about this.

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In countries where GS1 exists, the ONLY legal way to get to start with these assigned country codes is to join GS1 – this means completing their membership forms and paying a joining fee and annual membership fees to GS1 – which is VERY expensive (GS1 only license the numbers to you – so you have to pay their annual fees every year for the rest of your product life). Please read this article by Peter Strong (head of the Council of Small Business of Australia) on ‘shadow regulators.’ These are not for profit organisations that have monopolistic control over the business community.

In countries where there is a non-GS1 Standards Body, the country-specific numbers can be obtained from that body, or the International Barcodes Network agency in that country.

If you want to demonstrate that your product is made in your own country, e.g., New Zealand, then the best way to do this is to print “Made in New Zealand” or similar on the product. This is an advertising claim and must be provable if challenged. (Some manufacturers also print “Made in New Zealand” directly above the barcode to help customers).

The myth of the barcode number showing the country of origin of the product has been thoroughly debunked. Please see this Snopes article on the origins of this misconception as well as a debunking of it.

All barcodes and barcode systems are designed for international use, so there are virtually no restrictions based on the country of origin worldwide. See our barcode acceptance page for an up to date list of the few shops worldwide that have barcoding restrictions.

We are a member of an international network of barcode sellers that have customers in more than 120 countries using our barcodes without any problems.

Below is a list of country codes from GS1 organisations and other Standards Agencies around the world: