No, you cannot continue to use your GS1 GTINs™ if you are no longer a member in good standing of the issuing GS1 Member Organisation. If you are no longer complying with the terms and conditions of your GS1 Member Organisation (e.g. you no longer pay the fees), you may not use the related GS1 GTINs™ anymore. Note that the data in our database about your GS1 GTINs™ will be limited and no longer up to date. The number will be marked as ‘inactive’ which means that, for example, a marketplace will not be able to check the full extent of the data it needs. For GS1 GTINs™ made into a barcode, printed on a physical product and already in circulation on existing inventory, please reach out to your local GS1 Member Organisation for guidance.

The creator or manufacturer of a product assigns its GS1 GTIN™. To sell a product created or manufactured by another company, you must use the existing GS1 GTIN™ that has been assigned to that product. If you don’t know a product’s GS1 GTIN™, you should contact the product’s supplier or manufacturer to find the GS1 GTIN™ for that product. If the product does not yet have a GS1 GTIN™, you may assign a GS1 GTIN™ to it.

No, you can never give, sell, or transfer in any way a GS1 GTIN™ to another company. Each GS1 GTIN™ is persistently associated with your company. When you get a GS1 GTIN™ from a GS1 Member Organisation, you accept and sign specific terms and conditions, which specify that you cannot give or sell your GS1 GTINs™ to another company. The GS1 standards provide for very limited exceptions where a transfer is possible, e.g. due to a split or merger of a business in going concern. In any of these cases, you always must inform your local GS1 Member Organisation and provide proof so they can ensure our records are accurate. Please reach out to your GS1 Member Organisation for guidance

No, you can never reuse a GS1 GTIN™ once you’ve assigned it to a product. A GS1 GTIN™ is linked to one single product, so you can’t use the same GS1 GTIN™ for another product. Uniquely and unequivocally identifying a product helps your customers, partners and others in the supply chain to recognize it, both online and in-store, forever.

If your product has changed, it probably needs a new GS1 GTIN™. A GS1 GTIN™ is a product identifier used to uniquely distinguish one single product. So, generally, if a product changes, you must get a new GS1 GTIN™ for the new product. If these changes to the product: • make a difference for the consumer purchasing the product, • are needed to implement a new legal requirement or a change in the design, or • have a substantial impact to the supply chain (e.g., how the product is shipped, stored, received) then, a change to a new GS1 GTIN™ is required. Changing the GS1 GTIN™ enables to differentiate the new product if necessary. For example, if you sell t-shirts, and you change the image on your T-shirts, you’ll need a new GS1 GTIN™ so customers and online marketplaces can tell the two products apart. • Not sure if a product needs a new GS1 GTIN™? Consult our online “decision tool” (gs1.org/1/gtinrules/en/decision-support), or our GS1 GTIN™ management standard (gs1.org/1/gtinrules/en/).

No, each product needs its own unique GS1 GTIN™. Each product needs its own unique GS1 GTIN™, and only one GS1 GTIN™. Identifying your product and its variants (like size and colour) helps your customers, your partners and others in the supply chain recognise it, both online and in-store.