--- title: "Free GS1 Digital Link QR Code Generator" description: "Free GS1 Digital Link QR code generator — encode GTINs, batch numbers, and expiry dates for retail and supply chain. Sunrise 2027 ready. No sign-up required." canonical: https://reroutehq.com/tools/gs1-barcode-qr-code --- # Free GS1 Digital Link QR Code Generator Upgrade from traditional barcodes to GS1 Digital Link QR codes. Encode your GTIN, lot number, serial, and expiry in a single scannable code for retail and supply chain. GS1 Digital Link QR codes are the next generation of retail barcodes. They replace traditional 1D barcodes (like EAN-13 and UPC-A) with a 2D QR code that carries the same GTIN data — so it works at checkout — plus additional attributes like batch/lot number, serial number, and expiry date, plus a URL linking to rich product information online. The GS1 Sunrise 2027 initiative requires major retailers worldwide to accept 2D barcodes at point of sale. If you sell products in retail, switching to GS1 Digital Link now prepares you for that deadline while also enabling digital product experiences — provenance data, recall notices, nutritional info, and more — all accessible from the same code on the packaging. This generator creates QR codes using the GS1 Digital Link URI syntax, compatible with retail POS scanners that support the standard. All codes are generated in your browser — your product data is never stored on any server. It helps to be precise about what a Digital Link QR code is: a picture of a URL that carries your GTIN and optional attributes in its path. For that URL to do anything useful when scanned, something has to answer it — a resolver. The resolver parses the GTIN out of the path, looks up the destinations registered for it, and redirects: a shopper's plain scan goes to your default destination, while a request naming a specific link type (product information, allergen data, a recall notice) goes to that destination instead. Same printed code, different answers. reRoute operates a conformant GS1 resolver, available on a paid plan: you claim a company prefix, register GTINs under it, and attach destinations keyed by GS1 link types. The resolver answers plain scans, link-type requests, and linkset requests — returning every registered destination as RFC 9264 JSON when a retailer or marketplace system asks — and publishes a resolver description for GS1 tooling to discover. That linkset behaviour is the practical test separating a real resolver from a tool that merely generates GS1-shaped URLs. One honest caveat: your GS1 company prefix itself is licensed from your local GS1 member organisation — nobody else can issue one, including us. Prefix claims inside reRoute are self-asserted; we keep each prefix unique within our system so no one else can register GTINs under it after you claim it, but we do not verify ownership against GS1's registry. Bring the prefix GS1 issued you. Timing-wise, keep the linear barcode on pack alongside the QR code through the transition — Sunrise 2027 is an industry initiative rather than a law, and checkout hardware upgrades unevenly. The brands moving now are the ones whose artwork cycles are long: getting the 2D code onto packaging this cycle means the printed base is ready as retailer scanners catch up. If you are earlier in the process, start with the guides: our explainer on what GS1 Digital Link actually is at /resources/what-is-gs1-digital-link, and the packaging-readiness walkthrough for Sunrise 2027 at /resources/gs1-digital-link-packaging-2027. ## How to make one 1. **Enter your GTIN** — Input your product's Global Trade Item Number (GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, or GTIN-14). This is the core identifier that POS scanners read. 2. **Add optional attributes** — Optionally enter your batch/lot number, serial number, expiry date, and a resolver URL that links to your product's digital information page. 3. **Customize and download** — Adjust the QR code design to fit your packaging requirements. Download in high-resolution PNG or SVG for use in your print production workflow. ## Why use this - **Checkout-Ready GTIN Encoding** — The code carries your GTIN in standard GS1 Digital Link URI syntax, so POS systems that support the standard can ring it up like a traditional barcode. - **More Data Than a Linear Barcode** — Encode batch/lot number, serial number, and expiry date alongside the GTIN — attributes an EAN-13 or UPC-A physically cannot carry. - **One Code, Many Destinations** — With a resolver, the same printed code answers a shopper with a product page, a regulator with compliance documents, and a retailer system with structured linkset data. - **Sunrise 2027 Preparation** — Get 2D codes into your artwork cycle now, while keeping the linear barcode alongside, so packaging is ready as retail POS moves to 2D by end of 2027. - **Free, Client-Side Generation** — The generator runs entirely in your browser — GTINs, batch numbers, and expiry dates are never stored on any server, and static codes cost nothing. - **Conformant Resolver When You Need It** — On a paid plan, reRoute answers plain scans, link-type requests, and linkset requests with RFC 9264 JSON, and publishes a resolver description for GS1 tooling. ## Where GS1 Digital Link QR Codes Are Used Food and beverage brands encode expiry dates and batch numbers so the same code serves checkout, date-checking, and stock rotation — and links shoppers to ingredients, allergen, and nutrition data that never fits on the label. Recall readiness is one of the strongest cases: because the code resolves through a resolver rather than pointing at a fixed page, a recall notice can be attached to the affected GTIN — or batch — after the product has shipped, and every code already in the field starts surfacing it. Regulated categories — cosmetics, chemicals, supplements — use link types to route compliance documents, safety data sheets, and certifications from the same code that handles the consumer scan. Marketing teams get an on-pack channel that does not require new artwork per campaign: the default destination behind the code can move from product page to promotion to sustainability story while the printed pack stays unchanged. Exporters and marketplace sellers benefit from the linkset side: retailer and marketplace systems that consume Digital Links in bulk can query every registered destination for your GTINs as structured JSON, straight from your resolver. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a GS1 Digital Link QR code? GS1 Digital Link is a standard that encodes product identifiers (like GTINs) into a URL-based QR code. It can be scanned at point of sale like a traditional barcode, but also links to rich product information online. ### Why switch from traditional barcodes to GS1 QR codes? GS1 QR codes carry more data (batch, expiry, serial), link to digital content (product pages, recalls, provenance), and are required by the Sunrise 2027 initiative for retail globally. ### Can it be scanned at a cash register? Yes, if the point-of-sale system supports GS1 Digital Link. Major retailers are upgrading their scanners as part of the 2027 migration. The QR code contains the GTIN so it functions like a traditional barcode. ### What data can I encode? GTIN (product identifier), batch/lot number, serial number, expiry date, and a resolver URL that links to product information, recalls, or provenance data. ### Is this compliant with GS1 standards? The generator creates QR codes using the GS1 Digital Link URI syntax. For full compliance, work with your GS1 member organization to register your resolver domain. ### Do I need a GS1 company prefix? Yes, for retail use. GTINs are built on a company prefix licensed from your local GS1 member organisation — nobody else can issue one, including reRoute. If you only need internal or closed-system codes, you can encode identifiers without one, but products crossing a retail checkout need genuine GS1-issued GTINs. ### Does reRoute verify that I own my GTINs? No. Prefix claims in reRoute are self-asserted — we keep each prefix unique within our system so no one else can register GTINs under it after you claim it, but we do not verify ownership against GS1's registry. We would rather say that plainly than imply a verification that does not happen. ### What is a resolver, and do I need one? A Digital Link QR code is a picture of a URL; the resolver is the service that answers it — parsing the GTIN from the path and redirecting each request to the right registered destination. Without one, the URL in your code leads nowhere useful. reRoute operates a conformant resolver on a paid plan; see /pricing for tiers. ### What is a linkset? The machine-readable list of every destination registered for a GTIN, returned as RFC 9264 JSON when a system requests it instead of a redirect. It is how retailer and marketplace systems consume Digital Links in bulk — and the quickest test of whether you are dealing with a conformant resolver or just a GS1-formatted URL generator. ### Is Sunrise 2027 a legal requirement? No. It is a GS1 industry initiative asking retail point-of-sale systems to read 2D barcodes by the end of 2027 — the pressure is commercial, from large retailers, rather than statutory. Brands are moving now mainly because packaging artwork cycles are long. ### Should I remove the linear barcode from my packaging? Not yet. Keep the EAN/UPC alongside the QR code through the transition, since checkout hardware upgrades unevenly. GS1's migration guidance anticipates both codes coexisting on pack for years.