How to manually calculate an EAN-13 Check Digit

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An EAN-13 is the European analogue to the 12-digit Universal Price Code (UPC) found on most American consumer products. An EAN-13 starts with a two-digit number that identifies the country or region numbering authority that issued it, whereas a UPC begins with one digit.

Otherwise, the formats are the same.

EAN13 Anatomy

EAN13 Anatomy

An EAN-13 also contains a five-digit manufacturer code, a five-digit product code and a check digit. This last digit is calculated according to an algorithm and serves to validate an EAN-13.

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Calculating the check digit manually can be tedious, but is nonetheless simple.

Procedure

Write down an EAN-13. For example, 5010017088439 is the EAN-13 from a European consumer product.

  • Number the digits in the EAN from right to left, ignoring the check digit (the last digit), which you will compute.
  • The number without the check digit is 501001708843.
  • Number the digits 1 through 12, counting “3” as the first digit and “5” as the last, in this example.
  • Add the odd digits: 3 + 8 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 12.
  • Multiply the answer by 3: 12 x 3 = 36.
  • Add the digits in even positions: 4 + 8 + 7 + 0 + 1 + 5 = 25.
  • Add the results from previous steps: 36 + 25 = 61
  • Subtract the number from the next multiple of 10. In the example, the next multiple of 10 after 61 is 70, so you should subtract 61 from 70: 70 - 61 = 9. This is the check digit in the EAN!
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