ISBN Barcode Guide

How book barcodes, ISBNs and price add-ons fit together.

The barcode on a book is an EAN-13 of its ISBN-13. Books have their own GS1 prefixes, 978 and 979, nicknamed Bookland, so a book trade scanner and a supermarket till read the same barcode. The ISBN is printed in text above the barcode (with hyphens that separate the registration group, publisher and title), and the EAN-13 digits are printed underneath.

In North America the main barcode is often followed by a smaller 5-digit add-on, the EAN-5, which carries the suggested retail price. Its first digit is the currency, 5 for US dollars and 6 for Canadian dollars, and the remaining four the price: 51995 is $19.95. 90000 means there is no suggested price. Most other markets leave the add-on off or leave it blank. Magazines and journals use 977 with their ISSN instead, often with a 2-digit add-on for the issue number.

Parts of a book barcode

Part	Example	What it means
ISBN text above the barcode	ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7	The book's ISBN-13 with hyphens
Bookland prefix	978	Books (979 for newer ISBNs; 979-0 for printed music)
Registration group	0	Language area or country of the publisher (0 and 1 are English-speaking)
Publisher and title	306-40615	Assigned by the ISBN agency and the publisher
Check digit	7	GS1 mod 10 over the first 12 digits
Price add-on (EAN-5)	51995	Optional: US dollars, $19.95

5-digit price add-on codes

Used mainly by the North American book trade.

Add-on	Meaning
5xxxx	Suggested price in US dollars: 51995 = $19.95
6xxxx	Suggested price in Canadian dollars: 62499 = C$24.99
90000	No suggested retail price
(none)	Fine for most markets outside North America

ISBN-10 to ISBN-13

Step	Example
Start with the ISBN-10	0-306-40615-2
Drop the old check digit	030640615
Add 978 in front	978030640615
Calculate the GS1 check digit	9780306406157

Good to know

Placement

The barcode usually goes in the lower right of the back cover, on a white box if the cover is dark or busy. Leave the quiet zones clear and don't let the bars wrap around the spine.

One ISBN per format

Paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook editions each need their own ISBN, and a new edition with substantial changes needs a new one. A reprint with no changes keeps its ISBN.