One QR code on the product, every piece of data behind it. GS1 Digital Link turns the barcode you already print into a web link, and it is the standard the EU Digital Product Passport rules point to. Retail is moving to 2D codes under GS1's Sunrise 2027, so the code you print next season should already resolve.
Key takeaways
One code, every destination: the same scan serves the till, the customer's phone and a customs officer, depending on who scans and what they ask for.
14 digits: every GTIN is written as 14 digits, zero-padded on the left. GTIN-8, -12 and -13 in your systems need converting before they go in a URI.
A resolver you own or contract: the service that reads the scan and redirects it. Without one, a Digital Link is a plain URL.
Sunrise 2027: by the end of 2027 point-of-sale systems worldwide should read 2D codes. Packaging redesigned before then should carry one.
Brand owner or retailer: who does what
Two roles split the work. The brand owner encodes the URI and runs or contracts the resolver. The retailer reads the code at the till. A retailer with private-label products holds both roles.
Brand Owner
Full Digital Link responsibility- Ensure all GTINs are expressed in 14-digit format
- Generate the GS1 Digital Link URI with the correct Application Identifiers
- Encode the URI into a QR code or Data Matrix on packaging artwork
- Set up or contract a GS1-conformant resolver to handle redirects
- Manage linksets, defining which destinations are served for each product
- Maintain resolver uptime and keep destination URLs current
Retailer
POS and scanning readiness- Upgrade POS scanners to read 2D codes (QR, Data Matrix)
- Configure POS software to extract GTIN from a GS1 Digital Link URI
- Decide on POS mode: GTIN-only extraction or full data capture (batch, expiry)
- For private-label products, assume brand-owner responsibilities above
- Coordinate transition timing with suppliers during the co-location period
What is GS1 Digital Link?
GS1 Digital Link is the GS1 standard that writes a product identifier, usually the GTIN, as a web address. Scan the code and a resolver decides where to send you. It is not a law and carries no deadline; the EU Digital Product Passport rules and the retail move to 2D codes are what make it urgent. It sits alongside the laws in the regulation guides because those laws point at it. Three parts have to be in place: the URI syntax, the resolver, and the linkset behind each product.
The URI: your GTIN written as a web address
Terms to know · GS1 Digital Link
A web URI standard that encodes product identification (like a GTIN) into a scannable QR code, connecting physical products to multiple online data sources including regulatory passports, consumer info, and supply chain data.
A Digital Link URI puts the GTIN and its qualifiers, batch, serial number, expiry, into the path of a web address, each introduced by its GS1 Application Identifier.
From the first code you print. A URI that breaks the syntax does not resolve.
Convert every GTIN to 14 digits, build the URI in the standard syntax, and run it through the GS1 conformance tools before it goes to artwork.
URI structure breakdown
Each path segment is one Application Identifier, so the address reads for a person and parses for a machine.
Why 14 digits? The standard normalises every GTIN format to one length. A 13-digit GTIN 5060012345678 becomes 05060012345678 in the URI, so every system reads it the same way.
Common Application Identifiers
Primary identifiers
Qualifier identifiers
The resolver: where a scan goes by default
The resolver is the web service that receives the scanned URI, reads its Application Identifiers and redirects to the right destination for that link type, language and device.
Without it, a Digital Link is a static URL. With it, one code serves many destinations, provided the resolver meets the GS1 resolver specification.
A scan that asks for nothing in particular gets the default link, usually the product page. The brand owner sets it.
How the resolver works
The resolver reads the link type the client asks for, the Accept-Language header, the device, and any rule the brand has set. A till asking for gs1:pip is sent one way; a phone asking for the default is sent another.
One code, several destinations: the linkset
A linkset is the list of destinations behind one Digital Link URI, each typed with a standard link relation: gs1:pip for the product page, gs1:hasRetailers for stockists, gs1:recallStatus for safety notices.
The linkset is what separates a Digital Link from a QR code that points at one page. One identifier can serve a different experience per scanner, country and purpose.
In practice
On each scan the resolver looks up the GTIN's linkset and picks the entry that fits the request: product page, safety data sheet, recycling guide, passport, retailer locator.
For a brand under ESPR or PPWR, the linkset is where the passport URI is registered. An inspector asks for the passport link type and gets the compliance data; a customer scanning the same code gets the product page.
Linksets are JSON-LD documents under IETF RFC 9264, published at the resolver's /.well-known/gs1resolver endpoint, so conformance checkers and other systems find them without asking.
GS1 and the Digital Product Passport: why passports use GS1 Digital Link
The EU Digital Product Passport has to be reachable from a data carrier on the product, and the ESPR, PPWR and battery rules all point at the GS1 identifier system for it. A GS1 Digital Link QR code is the carrier that serves every reader at once: the till reads a GTIN, the customer reads the passport, an inspector reads the compliance file.
What that changes in practice:
- One code for every rule: a new regulation is a new link type in the linkset. The code on the packaging never changes.
- Batch-level recalls: the resolver flags one batch and sends its scanners to the recall notice; every other batch keeps resolving to the product page.
- Market-specific content: a scan in France is sent to French content and EU data; the same product scanned elsewhere is sent to what applies there.
The identifiers Tappr generates in Brand Cloud resolve through GS1 Digital Link by default, on a code you own; Passport Builder is the page they open. Tappr is a GS1 solution partner in the Netherlands and Germany; the standards bodies are listed with the other partners.
GS1 Digital Link questions, answered
Can we use our own domain for the GS1 Digital Link?
Do we need to replace all our 1D barcodes now?
What is a GS1 Digital Link QR code?
What happens if a customer scans our code and the resolver is down?
Official sources
- GS1 Digital Link Standard: Core specification for URI syntax, resolver requirements, and conformance criteria
- GS1 Digital Link URI Syntax specification: Detailed technical rules for constructing conformant URIs with Application Identifiers
- GS1 Sunrise 2027 / 2D Barcodes in Retail: Industry roadmap for the global transition from 1D to 2D barcodes
- GS1 Resolver Conformance Specification: Requirements for building and certifying a GS1-conformant resolver service
- IETF RFC 9264: Linkset: The underlying internet standard for representing sets of typed links in JSON format