Standards/gs1-databar-limited

GS1 DataBar Limited

Type1D Linear

Completeness82%high

Overview

GS1 DataBar Limited is the smallest single-row member of the gs1-databar family. It encodes a 14-digit GTIN like the other GTIN-only DataBar variants, but trades capability for size: it is restricted to GTINs whose indicator (leading) digit is 0 or 1, it is not omnidirectional, and it is not approved for point-of-sale use [1, 2]. It is intended for very small items — predominantly healthcare and small-package GTINs — scanned by handheld equipment rather than supermarket slot scanners.

For family history, RSS lineage and positioning against ean-13 / upc-a, see the base entry gs1-databar. This page focuses on Limited's two defining constraints: the indicator-digit 0/1 restriction and the non-omnidirectional / non-POS design.

History

The variant began as RSS Limited under AIM's original Reduced Space Symbology specification, renamed when GS1 adopted the DataBar family in 2007 [3]. It is standardised in ISO/IEC 24724 (current edition 2011) [4]. The design goal was the smallest possible 1D DataBar symbol for small healthcare and retail items where every millimetre matters and where the item is not scanned at front-of-store POS [2].

Technical specification

Indicator-digit restriction [1, 5]:

Limited encodes a 14-digit GTIN whose leading (indicator) digit is 0 or 1. This restricted number range is precisely what keeps the symbol so compact — it cannot represent GTINs with any other indicator digit.

Compact single-row structure [6]:

The symbol is 74 modules of bars/spaces built from two data characters, each 26 modules wide (seven bars and seven spaces each), separated by an 18-module check character (seven bars, seven spaces).
Overall envelope is 79X wide (a 1X leading space, the data, and a 5X trailing space) by 10X high, where X is the module width [6].
Error detection uses a modulo 89 (mod 89) check character [6].

Not omnidirectional / not POS [2]:

DataBar Truncated, DataBar Stacked, and DataBar Limited are not omnidirectional and are not approved for POS use — they must be read by handheld linear/CCD/laser scanners or imagers that present the symbol in a fixed orientation.
Limited carries no Application Identifiers beyond the GTIN — for attributes use gs1-databar-expanded; for a POS-omnidirectional small symbol use gs1-databar-stacked (Stacked Omnidirectional).

Use cases

Healthcare small items — the primary use: small medical-device and pharmaceutical packages where only a GTIN is needed and the item is scanned by handheld equipment, not retail POS [1, 3].
Very small retail packages identifying a single GTIN where omnidirectional checkout reading is not required [2].
General "smallest-footprint GTIN-only" marking — though for genuinely space-constrained cases GS1's own guidance now points toward gs1-datamatrix or a GS1 QR Code instead [5].

Implementations

C / C++ — zint/zint — ~771★, active 2026. libzint generates GS1 DataBar Limited [7].
Java + ports — zxing/zxing — ~34 000★, active 2025. Decodes the DataBar family.
Label / scanner stacks — Seagull BarTender, Cognex, Scandit, Technoriver document and support Limited generation and decoding [1, 6].
Handheld scanners — linear, CCD and laser handhelds and 2D imagers read Limited; omnidirectional slot scanners are not its target (see gs1-databar).

Comparison

vs. gs1-databar-stacked (Stacked Omnidirectional) — Stacked Omnidirectional encodes a full 14-digit GTIN with no indicator restriction, is omnidirectional and POS-approved. Limited is restricted to indicator 0/1, single-row, and not POS/omnidirectional — smaller, but checkout-incapable [1, 2].

vs. gs1-databar-expanded — Expanded carries the full GS1 Application Identifier chain and is variable-length; Limited is the opposite extreme — GTIN-only, fixed, smallest [2].

vs. DataBar Omnidirectional / Truncated / Stacked — Omnidirectional is the full-size POS GTIN symbol; Truncated and (non-omni) Stacked share Limited's non-POS status. Limited is distinguished by being the most compact single-row form and by the indicator-digit 0/1 ceiling [2].

vs. ean-13 / upc-a — Limited fits where EAN/UPC cannot, but offers no POS-omnidirectional reading, so it does not replace EAN/UPC at retail checkout; it serves a separate handheld-scanned small-item niche [2].

vs. gs1-datamatrix — when an item is small enough to need Limited, GS1's own guidance increasingly recommends switching to GS1 DataMatrix or GS1 QR Code, which pack more data into less area and are imager-readable [5].

Fun facts

GS1's documentation effectively positions Limited as a stopgap: the same FAQ that explains its small footprint also advises that if size is the concern, use GS1 DataMatrix or GS1 QR Code instead — a rare case of a symbology's own reference material steering implementers toward a different code [5].

The whole point of the indicator-digit 0/1 ceiling is geometry, not policy: limiting the encodable number range is exactly what lets the symbol collapse to its 79X-wide envelope [6].

Status

Active but niche. Standardised in ISO/IEC 24724:2011, public domain [4]. It remains supported across barcode libraries and handheld scanners, but its addressable use is narrow (non-POS small healthcare/retail items) and GS1's guidance plus the broader 2D migration roadmap (see gs1-databar) channel new space-constrained projects toward gs1-datamatrix / QR. No formal deprecation [5].