UPC-E barcode
A UPC-E is a shortened UPC barcode for small packs. It carries a full 12-digit UPC number with some of its zeros left out, so only six digits need bars.
Easily confused with
How to read it
GS1’s specification allows UPC-E only for 12-digit numbers that begin with 0 and have four or five zeros in set places. Those zeros are dropped when the barcode is printed and put back by the scanner or the shop’s software, so the till works with the full 12 digits; GS1 says there is no six-digit UPC-E barcode. The eight digits printed under it are the leading 0, the six digits the bars carry, and the check digit, which has no bars of its own: it is carried in the mix of patterns of the six. GS1’s example is 012345000058, printed as 0 123455 8. It has no centre guard and ends in a longer guard pattern. Keyence’s guide gives it eight digits against the UPC-A’s 12.
Also searched as: 8 digit barcode, short barcode, small barcode on cans, upc e, upc-e, zero suppressed upc.
These pages say what each code and its parts mean under the standard that defines it. A barcode identifies an item; it doesn’t say where the item was made or whether it is genuine, and the label and the maker are the place to look for that.
Look-alikes
A UPC-A has 12 digits and guard bars in the middle as well as at the ends. EAN-8 also has eight digits, but they are its own short numbers from GS1, not a compressed UPC, and it keeps the centre guard bars.
Read next
- Next in Barcodes and QR codesGS1 DataBar (produce sticker barcode)GS1 DataBar is a family of narrow barcodes for items too small for a UPC or EAN. On a produce sticker it is the small stacked barcode beside the PLU number, carrying a 14-digit product number.
- The same shape in Smoke and CO alarm soundsLow-frequency 520 Hz alarm (sleeping rooms)A fire alarm in a sleeping room that sounds a low buzz in place of a high-pitched beep. It is the three-beep fire alarm rhythm at 520 Hz, which NFPA 72 requires of alarms provided to wake people in sleeping areas.
More barcodes and QR codes
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- GS1 General Specifications Standard, Release 26.0, ratified January 2026, GS1 AISBL, §2.1.3.2; §5.2.2.4; §5.2.5
- EAN | Basics of Barcodes, Barcode Information & Tips, KEYENCE Corporation, UPC
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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