2D Barcodes at Retail POS Implementation Guideline 1.1.0
The guideline that defines which 2D carriers are usable at a checkout lane and states the 2027 goal, ratified December 2025, and what it means for artwork already at a printer.
Affects artwork already at a printer? No
Does this affect artwork already at a printer?
No. A guideline release does not invalidate a symbol that already satisfies it, and this one restates the transition rule that keeps linear barcodes in place rather than removing anything.
What it is
Release 1.1.0 of the 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline was ratified in December 2025. Release 1.0.0 was published in May 2024.
It is the document behind most of what people mean by "Sunrise 2027". Three things in it matter to a brand:
- Which symbols count. Three carriers are approved for retail point of sale: GS1 DataMatrix carrying GS1 element strings, a QR Code carrying a GS1 Digital Link URI, and a Data Matrix carrying one. A plain QR Code pointing at a marketing page is not usable at a lane and does not count.
- Dual marking. Until 90% of point-of-sale scanning solutions can read a retail 2D barcode and capture the GTIN from it, a product carrying one has to also carry a linear barcode.
- The goal itself. The end-of-2027 target for lane readiness is stated here, as an ambition rather than a requirement.
The date
GS1's own page for the document records the ratification as December 2025, with no day, so this entry shows a month. The precision is the source's, not ours.
GS1's version archive lists the same release as published on 22 December 2025, and the PDF is stamped 15 December. Three artifacts, three answers, and only one of them is labelled ratified. That is the one an entry about a ratification should carry.
Sources
Every factual claim about GS1 above is from one of these. Where the research did not support a claim, the claim was deleted rather than softened.
- 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline, Release 1.1.0
https://ref.gs1.org/guidelines/2d-in-retail/1.1.0/Read 13 AUG 2026 - 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline — version archive
https://ref.gs1.org/guidelines/2d-in-retail/archiveRead 13 AUG 2026
Run one of your own products through it
The fastest way to understand any of this is to put one of your own SKUs through it and look at the print files.
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