Barcode Number Search
Type a barcode number into a search box, and you’ll get one of two things: a product or nothing at all.
This page explains where to run a barcode search, why so many results come back empty, and what to do if the empty result is your own product.
Where to search a barcode number
Any 12-digit UPC or 13-digit EAN can be looked up for free in several places. They don’t all hold the same records, so a number missing from one may appear in another.
- International Barcodes Database — product records registered by the brand owners themselves.
- IBN Verified— the International Barcode Network Registry, showing who a number is registered to.
- Zebra Scanner — a phone app that searches both barcode databases and online stores.
If you want to check whether a number is valid rather than find out what it belongs to, use our GTIN validator. That’s a different job, and it recalculates the check digit to tell you whether the number is well-formed, not whether a product exists.
Why a barcode number search comes back empty
An empty result rarely means the number is fake. Much more often it means nobody has ever registered it.
Barcode numbers carry no product information on their own. The digits identify; they don’t describe. A search only works if someone has put the product details somewhere a search can reach, and most small producers never do.
Two other explanations are common. Some phone apps only search online shops such as Amazon rather than barcode databases, so anything not listed for sale online looks invisible to them. And a brand-new product may simply not have reached the market yet.
If the missing product is yours
This is the useful part. If you search your own barcode number and find nothing, shoppers and retailers looking it up find nothing, too.
Registering fixes it. You enter your barcode number and product details once, and they appear on the public databases that search engines and scanner apps draw from. Your product shows up instead of a blank.
Registration is free with every retail barcode we sell, and there’s nothing to renew. Full details are on our barcode registration page.
Bought your barcode somewhere else? You can register it as a paid service.
What a barcode number search won’t tell you
Worth knowing before you go looking.
It won’t always name the owner. Unregistered numbers trace back at best to whoever holds the company prefix, which may be a business with no connection to the product on the shelf.
It won’t prove a number is free to use. An empty result doesn’t mean nobody is using the number. It means nobody has registered it. Never assume an unfound number is available.
It won’t cover every marketplace. No single database sees everything.
Ready to buy?
Every number in our retail barcode packages is checked against our own database before we sell it, comes with free registration, and is yours permanently for a one-off price. From $39.
Questions? Email us. We’re a small team, and we answer our own emails, Monday to Friday.
Frequently asked questions
How do I search a barcode number? Enter the 12- or 13-digit code into a barcode database such as the International Barcodes Database or IBN Verified, or scan the code with an app like Zebra Scanner. No barcode reader is needed; the digits printed under the bars are enough.
Why does my barcode number search return no results? Almost always because the number has never been registered. Barcode numbers contain no product information on their own, so a search only finds something if the brand owner has entered their details somewhere public.
Can I find out who owns a barcode number? Sometimes. A registered number shows its owner. An unregistered one traces, at best, to the company prefix holder, who may not be the one who sells the product.
Is barcode lookup free? Yes. The databases above are free to search, and the phone apps are free to use.
How do I get my product to appear in a barcode number search? Register the number with your product details. It’s included free with every barcode we sell, and available as a paid service for numbers bought elsewhere.
What’s the difference between a barcode search and a GTIN check? A search asks what product a number belongs to. A GTIN check asks whether the number itself is mathematically valid: the right length with a correct check digit. A number can be perfectly valid and still return nothing.