Welcome to GS1 US Data Hub Help Center

Did you license a GS1 US GTIN and want to create a barcode? Learn how to work with this GTIN in GS1 US Data Hub.

This article explains the actions you can take when a product is in the PreMarket status, and what questions you should ask before setting the product's status to In Use.

Think of this status as the “Pre-production stage.” Your product is set to PreMarket when you assign the GTIN and save the product detail record. You can "retract" the GTIN by clicking the Retract PreMarket GTIN button. This will retract the GTIN and make it available to be assigned again. The product detail record will be deleted.

Note: Per the GS1 General Specifications: “an allocated GTIN shall not be reallocated to another trade item.” So there are questions to consider before you click the Retract PreMarket GTIN button. Refer to the GS1 General Specifications, section 4.3.5, for more details.

While the product is in the PreMarket status, you can modify product attributes - except for Packaging Level. Also, while the product is in the PreMarket status, you can click the View Barcode button to generate a “For Placement Only” - or FPO – PNG barcode symbol file so you can send to your packaging designer, to ensure it fits properly on your product artwork. This watermark barcode symbol is NOT the final artwork for your packaging, but it can be useful to testing the placement of the barcode symbol on your packaging.

Before You Move to In Use Status:

Before you change the product’s status from the PreMarket to In Use status, here are three questions to consider:

1. Are the product attributes and packaging final?
   
2. Are you ready to produce and sell this product to consumers?
   
3. Are you ready to start sharing this information with trading partners?
   

If you answer “Yes” to each of the questions, you're ready to set the status to In Use.

When you are ready to launch your product into the marketplace, click the Set Status to In Use button. Think of In Use as your “Production” stage. The product and the assigned GTIN are now permanently linked to each other. As the GS1 General Specifications states: “An allocated GTIN shall not be reallocated to another trade item.” Certain attributes, such as net weight and unit of measure, cannot be changed. If these attributes change, you should archive the current product, then create a new product and assign a new GTIN.

For more details, view the What Fields Can Be Changed article.

As the default option, an In Use product is shared with all GS1 US Product View/Use subscribers and with global marketplace via the GS1 Registry Platform. You can change these sharing options.

In GS1 US Data Hub, when you set the status to In Use, you can now generate a scannable barcode image that you can download. You can also export the barcode definitions to send to a GS1 Standards Professional Barcode and Image Print Vendor.

Want to Learn More?

View the Understanding the Product Lifecycle instructional module in the Help Center.

View the Product Create/Manage User Guide in the Help Center.