Book a call Book a call
Ask Aeroz

Type the question you actually came here with.
GS1 standard · checked 24 October 2026

One code, one web address. GS1 Digital Link, explained.

GS1 Digital Link is a GS1 standard that writes a product's GS1 identifiers, such as its GTIN, batch and serial number, as a web address. Printed in a QR code or stored on an NFC chip, the same link can serve the checkout scanner, the shopper's phone and a regulator's passport viewer.

Start a Readiness Audit →How a tap works
  • GS1 DIGITAL LINK · ANATOMY (EXAMPLE)
  • domainid.example.com
  • /01/GTIN 09506000134352
  • /10/batch ABC123
  • /21/serial 12345
  • one URImany answers
Checked 24 October 2026

Each line names the source it was checked against.

What it is
A GS1 standard for expressing GS1 identifiers as web addresses. The path carries Application Identifiers and their values: /01/ for the GTIN, /10/ for the batch or lot, /21/ for the serial number. GS1 Digital Link standard
Resolvers
The domain in the link points to a resolver, which sends each request to the right content, such as product information, a recall notice or a digital product passport, and can list every link available for the item. GS1 resolver standard
Sunrise 2027
GS1 US's Sunrise 2027 goal is for US retail point-of-sale systems to scan 2D barcodes, such as QR codes carrying GS1 Digital Link and GS1 DataMatrix, by the end of 2027. GS1 US
In regulation
The EU Battery Regulation requires a QR code on each battery that gives access to its passport from 18 February 2027, and ESPR passports must be reachable from a data carrier on the product. GS1 Digital Link is one widely used way to make that carrier a resolvable web address. Reg. (EU) 2023/1542, Art. 13(6), 77; Reg. (EU) 2024/1781
The rule

  • The GTIN, always

    Every GS1 Digital Link URI starts from a primary key, usually /01/ and the 14-digit GTIN.

  • Batch and serial when you need them

    Add /10/ for the batch or lot and /21/ for the serial number to point at one lot or one unit.

  • A domain that lasts

    The link can use the brand's own domain or GS1's resolver at id.gs1.org, so the code keeps working when a website changes.

  • Readable by the till

    A scanner can read the identifiers out of the URI, so one QR code can serve checkout and still open a web page.

Guides

Retail, passports and authentication: the pages that build on GS1 Digital Link.

Retail

GS1 Sunrise 2027 for retail

2D barcodes at the point of sale by the end of 2027.

Read the guide →Medicines

GS1 DataMatrix

The 2D symbol on medicines and medical devices.

Read the guide →Tap

How a tap opens a passport

NFC and GS1 Digital Link, step by step.

Read the guide →Carrier choice

NFC vs QR for product passports

When the printed code is enough, and when it is not.

Read the guide →Events

EPCIS 2.0

The event record behind the link.

Read the guide →EU DPP

EU Digital Product Passport

What the passport behind the link must hold.

Read the guide →
Where Aeroz fits

  • A resolver you control

    Aeroz runs a GS1 Digital Link resolver at id.aeroz.io, so each link answers with the right page for a shopper, a pharmacist or a regulator.

  • Printed and embedded

    The same GS1 Digital Link URI goes in the QR code and on the NFC chip, so a scan and a tap open the same record.

  • A copied code can be flagged

    The chip adds a response that changes on every tap, so a copied QR code on a fake can be told apart from the genuine unit.

Questions
What is GS1 Digital Link?

GS1 Digital Link is a GS1 standard that expresses product identifiers such as the GTIN, batch and serial number as a web address, for example https://id.example.com/01/09506000134352/10/ABC123. Encoded in a QR code or on an NFC chip, one link can serve retail checkout, consumers and regulators.

What is GS1 Sunrise 2027?

GS1 Sunrise 2027 is the GS1 US goal that US retail point-of-sale systems can scan 2D barcodes, such as QR codes with GS1 Digital Link and GS1 DataMatrix, by the end of 2027. It is an industry target, not a law, and UPC barcodes can stay on pack beside the 2D code during the transition.

Is a GS1 Digital Link QR code different from an ordinary QR code?

Yes. An ordinary QR code holds any text or web address. A GS1 Digital Link QR code holds a web address built to the GS1 standard, so a checkout scanner can read the GTIN and other identifiers out of it and a resolver can send the phone to the right product information.

Does GS1 Digital Link authenticate a product?

No. A GS1 Digital Link URI identifies a product and points to information about it; printed in a QR code it can be copied like any print. Authentication needs something a printed copy cannot carry, such as a secure NFC chip that answers each tap with a fresh, signed response.

Sources: GS1: GS1 Digital Link · GS1: resolver standard · GS1 US: Sunrise 2027 · Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Checked 24 October 2026. Not legal advice.

How a tap worksChip capabilitiesStandards
Further reading

From the Aeroz blog

More answers: Questions on standards, data carriers and NFC in the compliance FAQ

Key facts · GS1 Digital Link

GS1 Digital Link expresses GS1 identifiers as a web address. GS1 US's Sunrise 2027 aims for US retail checkouts to scan 2D codes by the end of 2027.

Standard
GS1 Digital Link
Key
/01/ GTIN
Carriers
QR · DataMatrix · NFC
POS target
end of 2027