Free SSCC Label Generator & Check Digit Calculator

An SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) is an 18-digit GS1 identifier for a logistics unit — most often a pallet, but also a carton, tote, or parcel. It uniquely identifies that one physical unit so it can be scanned at every handoff: shipping, receiving, cross-dock, and proof of delivery. It travels in a GS1-128 barcode under Application Identifier (00), and the same number appears on ASNs and EDI 856 messages so systems can match the physical pallet to the electronic notice.

Serial Shipping Container Code. “Container” here means any logistics unit being shipped (a pallet, case, or parcel) — not specifically an intermodal shipping container. Intermodal containers use a different identifier entirely, the ISO 6346 container number, which has its own check-digit math.

18 digits, in four logical parts: an extension digit (one digit, chosen freely by the company to extend capacity), the GS1 Company Prefix (4–12 digits, licensed from GS1), a serial reference (the remaining digits, assigned by the company so that prefix + serial always totals 16 digits), and a mod-10 check digit computed from the first 17. The barcode form adds Application Identifier (00) in front, which is why printed labels read (00) followed by 18 digits.

GS1 mod-10: take the first 17 digits, multiply them alternately by 3 and 1 starting with 3 at the rightmost of those 17, sum the products, and the check digit is the smallest number that brings the sum up to a multiple of ten — (10 − sum mod 10) mod 10. This tool shows the full calculation on any code you paste, and the same math powers the repair suggestions: a candidate fix is only offered if it makes the arithmetic pass.

Yes. Production SSCCs must be built on a GS1 Company Prefix licensed to your company from GS1 — that is what makes them globally unique and accepted by trading partners. This tool computes valid check digits for any prefix you enter, but it cannot tell whether a prefix is licensed to you. Codes generated with the demo prefix are mathematically valid and clearly marked for testing and layout work only.

The SSCC carried in a GS1-128 (formerly UCC/EAN-128) barcode with Application Identifier (00) — often called an SSCC-18 barcode because of the 18 digits. GS1-128 is a Code 128 barcode with a leading FNC1 character that marks it as GS1 data. On a standard GS1 logistics label it is the bottom-most barcode, printed with quiet zones either side and the human-readable digits underneath.

Amazon Vendor Central shipments use SSCC pallet and carton labels inside ASN/EDI 856 flows — the SSCC on the label must match the ASN exactly, which is why validation matters before printing. Amazon FBA, by contrast, uses Amazon's own FBA box and pallet IDs rather than SSCCs. If a routing guide asks for an “SSCC-18 label,” it is the GS1-128 (00) label this tool generates.

No. An SSCC identifies a logistics unit like a pallet; an ISO 6346 container number (e.g. CSQU3054383) identifies an intermodal shipping container, with a different structure and a different check-digit algorithm. If you are working with container numbers, IMO numbers, or SCACs, use our free Container Number Validator — same deterministic approach, different math.

GS1 licenses prefixes through national member organizations, priced by capacity tier: an initial license fee plus an annual renewal, both rising with how many identifiers the prefix can generate. In the US, entry tiers start in the low hundreds of dollars with smaller renewals, while high-capacity prefixes run into the thousands — check GS1 US's current pricing before budgeting, because tiers change. And beware third-party “cheap UPC” resellers: codes not licensed to your company fail retailer and marketplace verification.

Capacity is pure arithmetic. Prefix length plus serial reference always totals 16 digits, and the extension digit multiplies everything by ten: a 6-digit prefix leaves 10 serial digits — 100 billion possible SSCCs — while a 12-digit prefix leaves 4, for 100,000 including the extension digit. The full table is on this page. Most companies never exhaust even a long prefix, but remember the same prefix also mints your GTINs and GLNs, so size the tier for all three.

Not quickly. GS1's General Specifications require that an SSCC not be reallocated to a new logistics unit until at least 12 months after shipment, and many industries and trading partners require substantially longer holds. In practice, with the serial capacity even short prefixes provide, the safe policy is simple: never reuse — increment forever. The batch generator on this page numbers serially for exactly that reason.

For internal use, yes — any 18-digit code that passes the mod-10 check will scan, and this tool clearly marks demo-prefix output as test labels for exactly that workflow. For anything that crosses a company boundary, no: retailers, 3PLs, and marketplaces validate that the embedded prefix is licensed, and an unlicensed SSCC can collide with the legitimate holder's numbers. Note that GS1 US's single-GTIN option (barcodes sold one at a time) does not include a company prefix, so it cannot produce SSCCs — pallet labeling is a prefix-tier feature.

Sunrise 2027 is the retail industry's target for point-of-sale systems to scan 2D barcodes (QR codes carrying GS1 Digital Link) alongside the classic UPC. It applies at the consumer checkout, not the warehouse: SSCC pallet and case labels remain GS1-128 linear barcodes under current specifications, and ASN/EDI 856 flows are unchanged. The practical effect for logistics teams is upstream — product packaging gains 2D codes whose identifiers resolve to online data, the same direction the EU's Digital Product Passport is pushing. Your pallet label printer is safe; your product-data pipeline is the thing to modernize.

GS1-128 is Code 128 with rules on top. Technically it is a Code 128 symbol that leads with the FNC1 function character, which declares that the data inside follows GS1 Application Identifier syntax — like AI (00) for an SSCC. Plain Code 128 can encode any text with no agreed meaning; GS1-128 turns the same bars into structured, globally understood fields. That FNC1 is why generic barcode fonts often fail routing-guide compliance: the bars look right, but scanners don't read the data as GS1. This tool emits true GS1-128: Start C, then FNC1, then the (00) payload.