Do I need a QR code on my product by 2027?
Short answer: no law requires one for most products, and your UPC keeps working. But retail checkout is moving to QR-style barcodes, and getting there early is cheap, useful today, and a good look in front of buyers. Here is the real picture.
Last checked Sep 2026.
What Sunrise 2027 is
Sunrise 2027 is GS1's global target for retail point-of-sale systems to be able to read 2D barcodes (QR codes and GS1 DataMatrix) by December 31, 2027. It is a voluntary, industry-led readiness goal for checkout hardware, and the industry is moving on it: retailer pilots are live in dozens of countries, and scanners that read 2D codes keep spreading. Your 1D UPC or EAN barcode keeps scanning on that date and every date after it.
Why brands are adding a code before 2027
Three reasons, none of them fear-based. First, a 2D code is useful today. It can open a product page, an ingredients list, a reorder link, or care instructions on a shopper's phone, which is more than a UPC can do. Second, it makes a good impression. A retail buyer or a marketplace reviewer who sees a correctly built, scannable QR code next to your UPC sees a brand that has its packaging in order. Third, moving early is calm and cheap. You add the code on your next print run, on your own schedule, instead of relabeling in a hurry the week a retailer you sell through starts asking for it.
What it asks of your packaging
Sunrise 2027 is a target for what checkout hardware should be capable of reading. As of this writing, no major retailer has published a supplier requirement for 2D barcodes on general-merchandise packaging, so the pace is yours to set. If a vendor tells you 2027 is a hard deadline for your product line and you're outside the regulated categories below, ask them to point to the specific retailer requirement.
Brands that add a 2D code during the transition keep printing their existing 1D barcode next to it until most checkout hardware reads 2D (see our dual marking guide). GS1's own materials describe that crossover happening gradually as retailers upgrade scanners, so your UPC stays on the label for now and the QR code joins it.
Where a real legal deadline does exist
A small number of categories have binding legal requirements. Worth knowing if your product falls into one:
- US pharmaceuticals (FDA DSCSA): serialized GS1 DataMatrix codes are required on prescription drug packaging. The FDA has extended a small-dispenser exemption to November 27, 2027.
- EU Digital Product Passport (ESPR): a legally binding, category-by-category rollout. Batteries are first, with a deadline of February 18, 2027; textiles and furniture follow around 2027–28, electronics through 2030. The QR code is the expected carrier, and GS1 Digital Link is a recommended (not mandated) way to build it.
Outside pharma and EU-regulated product categories, we're not aware of any legal requirement tying your barcode format to a 2027 date. If that changes (a major retailer publishes a supplier mandate, for instance), we'll update this page when it happens.
What we couldn't verify
The dates and requirements above come from GS1's and regulators' own published materials as of mid-2026. Retailer-by-retailer supplier requirements change, and we haven't independently confirmed every major retailer's current position. If you sell into a specific large retailer, check their supplier portal directly rather than relying on this page alone.
How Codestamp handles this
Where Codestamp fits on your label
You already own a barcode number and a UPC that scans. Keep both. Codestamp gives that same number a QR code that can do more, and nothing you paid for has to change.
Your GTIN
Your product's barcode number, bought once from GS1 ($30 for one number) and yours for good. We never sell numbers: yours is all you need.
Your UPC
The stripes every checkout reads today. It stays on your label and keeps working in 2027 and after. No rush, and no wasted labels.
Add Codestamp
Your number in a GS1-standard QR code, free on our domain or yours from $9/mo. Checked and scan-tested, so it works the first time.
Every scan
A phone opens your product page, or one we host. Newer checkouts read your GTIN. Change where it points anytime. The label stays put.
You could do it yourself. Here is what you get with us.
GS1 runs a free shared link service, and any QR generator can hold a web address. Codestamp builds the address to the GS1 format and scan-tests the code, so it is right every time. You get one place to change where every code points after printing, a hosted product page if you have none, and your own name on the code from $9/mo. Your first 3 products are free on our shared domain.
Free for your first 3 products. No credit card, no time limit.