Invalid or Missing GTIN in Google Merchant Center: How to Fix It

Updated October 31, 2026 · By the Merchant Center for Google team

A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the barcode number that identifies a product worldwide: UPC in North America, EAN in Europe, JAN in Japan, ISBN for books. Google uses it to match your offer to the right product.

“Invalid GTIN” vs “Missing GTIN”

• Invalid GTIN is an error: the number has the wrong length or check digit, uses a reserved prefix, or belongs to a different brand. The product is disapproved.
• Missing GTIN is usually a warning: the product can show, but with limited performance, because Google cannot match it to the product catalogue.

How to fix an invalid GTIN

1. Copy the GTIN from the product packaging or from the manufacturer, not from an internal SKU.
2. Submit only digits, without spaces or dashes. Valid lengths are 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits.
3. Check that the brand in your feed matches the brand that owns the GTIN prefix.
4. Don’t invent numbers or reuse one GTIN for several variants: each size and colour has its own GTIN.

Products without a GTIN

Custom-made, handmade, vintage and private-label products often have no GTIN. In that case leave the gtin attribute empty and provide brand and mpn instead, or set identifier_exists to no if the product has no manufacturer identifiers at all.

Find GTIN issues on the go

Merchant Center for Google lists “Invalid GTIN” and other identifier issues in the Issues tab, grouped with every affected product, so you can see at a glance how much of your catalogue is affected.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find the GTIN of a product?

On the barcode on the packaging, in the manufacturer’s product data, or from GS1 if you are the brand owner.

Do I need GTINs for my own brand?

If your products are sold by other retailers, buy GTINs from GS1. If you are the only seller of a private-label or handmade product, you can submit brand and mpn, or identifier_exists = no.

Will a missing GTIN disapprove my product?

Usually not, but it limits performance. An invalid GTIN, on the other hand, disapproves the product.