UPC-A
The North American retail barcode, and the ancestor of all of them.
- Type
- Linear (1D)
- Encodes
- 12 digits, including a check digit
- Relation to EAN-13
- An EAN-13 with a leading zero is a UPC-A
- Managed by
- GS1
UPC-A came first. It was the format that made retail scanning work at all, and the rest of the family grew around it — EAN-13 is the same scheme extended by one digit so that numbering could be issued worldwide rather than just in North America.
That relationship is practical rather than historical trivia. A UPC-A is an EAN-13 whose leading digit is zero, so systems that store thirteen digits can hold both, and a scanner reading one can report it either way. If a twelve-digit code and a thirteen-digit code seem to disagree by a leading zero, that is usually why.
You meet it on products sourced from or packaged for the North American market, which in practice means a great many things on European shelves too.
Where you meet it
The North American retail barcode.
Can a phone scan UPC-A?
Yes, as standard. The keyboard reads UPC-A without any setup and types the digits into the field you are in.
How to scan it with your phone
- 1
Install Barcode & QR Scanner Keyboard from Google Play and enable it as a keyboard.
- 2
Open Settings → Scanning engine and choose TRAKWIND Scan.
- 3
Tap the barcode key on the keyboard and point the camera at the code.
The value is typed into whatever field you were already in — a spreadsheet, an ERP screen, a web form. There is nothing to integrate.
Read it with the phone in your pocket
Free on Google Play. No licence, no extra hardware, and nothing to connect.