GS1 Digital Link and Amazon Transparency in 2026: one GTIN, three requirements

Three audiences now expect a code on your pack: the retail checkout, Amazon and, step by step, EU regulators. All three start from the same asset, your GTIN. This guide shows what each one asks of you, where the requirements meet and what to do first.

Key facts at a glance

• Amazon Transparency gives every unit a unique code that Amazon checks before the item reaches the customer (Amazon, 2026).
• GS1 Digital Link is an open GS1 standard that stores a GTIN and a link in one 2D code (GS1, 2026a).
• Amazon joined GS1 as a Premier Solution Partner (Ravi, 2026).
• Retail checkouts should read 2D codes by the end of 2027 (GS1 Germany, 2026).

How Amazon Transparency protects your listings

Amazon Transparency is a serialization service and anti-counterfeiting program. You put a unique code on every unit you manufacture, and Amazon uses that code to check that only authentic, correct items reach customers (Amazon, 2026). Amazon reports more than 90,000 enrolled brands and more than 2.7 billion verified units, based on internal data from May 2026.

What the program offers:

• Checks on single units. Protection works per item, not per batch.
• Verification for shoppers. With Amazon-issued codes, customers can verify a product in the Amazon Shopping or Transparency app, and the product can earn a Transparency badge.
• Coverage in 10 stores. The US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Australia, India and Japan are protected.

Two code options (Amazon, 2026):

• Amazon-issued codes are unique, alphanumeric and non-sequential. They are the only option that supports app verification and the badge.
• Existing serial codes reuse serial numbers you already print. They must be unique per unit for a GTIN or SKU, 7 to 20 characters long and externally scannable as 1D, QR or 2D codes. You share every serial number with Amazon.

Who can enroll and what it costs

Requirements (Amazon, 2026; Amazon Brand Protection, 2026):

• a Brand Registry account with the rights owner role
• an active, registered trademark
• a GTIN for each product, such as a UPC, ISBN or EAN
• unique codes on every unit you manufacture, wherever it is sold

Costs: Enrollment, subscription and minimums are free. You pay per code. The US page lists $0.05 for the first 1,000,000 codes per year, $0.03 up to 10,000,000 and $0.01 above that (Amazon, 2026).

Start of protection: It begins once your product passes Amazon's operational performance review (Amazon, 2026).

What GS1 Digital Link adds

GS1 Digital Link writes your GTIN into a web address that fits in a 2D code. A scan gives a checkout the GTIN and can open online content such as instructions or certificates. You can change that content later without touching the printed code (GS1, 2026a).

• Serial ready. Optional qualifiers add a batch /10/ and a serial number /21/, each up to 20 characters (GS1, 2026b).
• Your domain. The standard lets you use your own domain (GS1, 2026b).
• Dual marking. The linear EAN barcode stays, and products usually carry both codes during the transition (GS1 Germany, 2026).

Three jobs, one GTIN

Think of your pack as a set of jobs, each done by a code:

• The checkout needs the GTIN in a 2D code that stores can read by the end of 2027 (GS1 Germany, 2026).
• Amazon needs unique codes per unit and a GTIN for each enrolled product (Amazon Brand Protection, 2026).
• Your customers can reach fresh online content through a Digital Link without a reprint (GS1, 2026a).
• Regulators expect a data carrier tied to a persistent unique product identifier for products under a digital product passport (European Parliament & Council, 2024).

The GTIN is the part that never changes. A Digital Link carries it in its address path (GS1, 2026b), and Transparency asks for it per product. Get it right once and every job builds on it.

Signs that the systems are moving together

• Amazon Transparency is now a GS1 Premier Solution Partner (Ravi, 2026).
• Amazon says that unit-level serialization combined with GS1's 2D barcode format lets one barcode authenticate a product in Amazon stores and scan at any retailer's checkout (Ravi, 2026).
• Amazon also says serialization is not required for Sunrise compliance, so you can sequence the steps to fit your range (Ravi, 2026).
• Both sides work with unit-level serials: a Digital Link serial holds up to 20 characters, and Amazon's existing serial option takes 7 to 20 characters.

Your timeline for 2026 and 2027

• July 20, 2026: The European Commission lists this as the date the digital product passport registry becomes operational (European Commission, 2026).
• February 18, 2027: The passport becomes mandatory for certain batteries.
• Q3 and Q4 2027: The Commission plans to adopt delegated acts for textiles, aluminum and tyres. After adoption, companies get a transition period of at least 18 months.
• End of 2027: Retail checkouts should read 2D codes (GS1 Germany, 2026).

The legal basis is Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (European Parliament & Council, 2024):

• Covered products need a digital product passport (Article 9(1)). It is linked through a data carrier on the product, its packaging or accompanying documents (Article 10(1)).
• Annex III lists the GTIN under ISO/IEC 15459-6 among the passport data. The delegated act for each product group decides which data carriers apply (Article 9(2)).

Where to start

• Audit your GTIN data. Transparency needs a GTIN for every product you enroll (Amazon Brand Protection, 2026).
• Confirm your Brand Registry role and trademark. You need the rights owner role and an active, registered trademark (Amazon, 2026).
• Pick one pilot product. GS1 Germany recommends testing data creation, printing and scanning on a single product or product group (GS1 Germany, 2026).
• Decide on a code type. Amazon-issued codes unlock app verification and a possible badge. Existing serial codes reuse what you already print but offer neither (Amazon, 2026).
• Reserve space on the pack. GS1 Germany's guide places the 2D code within 50 mm of the center of the linear barcode (GS1 Germany, 2025, section 4.1.2).
• Choose the domain behind your codes. Your own domain keeps control of where each scan leads (GS1, 2026b).

Where this leaves brands

Your GTIN is the asset that carries across the checkout, Amazon and the EU passport. Amazon has said it wants a single barcode that authenticates a product in its stores and scans at any retailer's checkout (Ravi, 2026). Brands that get their GTIN data right and test a serialized 2D code on one product are ready for whichever route fits their range.

References

Amazon. (2026). Amazon Transparency. Sell on Amazon. https://sell.amazon.com/brand-registry/transparency

Amazon Brand Protection. (2026). Proactively protect your brand and customers from counterfeits. https://www.amazonbrandprotection.com/na-en/eligibility

European Commission. (2026). Digital product passport. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport_en

European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. Official Journal of the European Union, L 2024/1781. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj/eng

GS1. (2026a). GS1 Digital Link. https://www.gs1.org/standards/gs1-digital-link

GS1. (2026b). GS1 Digital Link standard: URI syntax (Release 1.7.0). https://ref.gs1.org/standards/digital-link/uri-syntax/

GS1. (2026c). Learn about 2D barcodes powered by GS1. https://www.gs1.org/standards/barcodes/2d

GS1 Germany. (2025). Implementierungsleitfaden für 2D Codes am Point-of-Sale des Einzelhandels [Implementation guide for 2D codes at the retail point of sale]. https://www.gs1-germany.de/fileadmin/gs1/fachpublikationen/gs1-implementierungsleitfaden-fuer-2d-codes-am-pos-nov-2025-final.pdf

GS1 Germany. (2026). 2D-Code: Die Zukunft im Einzelhandel [2D code: The future of retail]. https://www.gs1-germany.de/branchen-themen/zukunft-2d-code/

GS1 US. (2026). What is GS1 Sunrise 2027? https://www.gs1us.org/industries-and-insights/by-topic/sunrise-2027

Ravi, M. (2026, January 8). Preparing for GS1 Sunrise 2027: A perspective on the retail industry's next evolution. Trustworthy Shopping at Amazon. https://trustworthyshopping.aboutamazon.com/preparing-gs1-sunrise-2027