Used by 700,000+ people
Free PLANET Code barcode generator.
PLANET Code is the retired USPS barcode that tracked letters and flats through Confirm. Enter 11 digits; the generator adds the check digit.
How to create a PLANET Code barcode
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01
Type the 11 digits
Enter digits only; the generator appends the check digit as digit 12.
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02
Render at 300 dpi
Set Resolution (dpi) to 300 and Module width to 7 Pixel: 0.59 mm bars, 21.4 per inch. The default 96 dpi preview draws full bars taller than the 3.43 mm USPS allowed.
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03
Print at 100% with clear margins
Place the PNG unscaled. USPS required a light background 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) beside the bars and 1/25 inch (1.02 mm) above and below.
What is PLANET Code?
PLANET Code is a USPS barcode of 12 or 14 digits: POSTNET inverted, with three tall bars per digit instead of two. From 2002, Confirm subscribers printed it on letters and flats to learn where and when USPS scanned them. The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) has replaced it.
From Confirm tracking to legacy tests
Subscribers printed it on outgoing mail and on reply mail; reply pieces also needed a POSTNET barcode. USPS sent them the scan data.
Tracking new mail needs the IMb instead. A PLANET Code still serves to reproduce archived pieces or to test scanners and software that decode it.
Three tall bars per digit catch misreads
Every digit has exactly three tall bars, so a single misread bar leaves a group that matches no digit.
USPS held it to POSTNET's sizes: full bars 0.125 inch and half bars 0.050 inch high (each ±0.010 inch), 22 ±2 bars per inch. The drawing meets them.
12 digits online, 14 in TEC-IT software
The free generator saves PNG, GIF or JPG; SVG and higher print resolution come with a plan. Lists of numbers go into a data sheet after a free sign-in.
TBarCode SDK and TFORMer Server also make the 14-digit version, check digit included.
PLANET Code at a glance
- Type
- Tall and short bars, POSTNET inverted
- Length
- 12 or 14 digits; online 12
- Bars
- 5 per digit plus 2 frame bars: 62 or 72
- Check digit
- Mod 10: all digits sum to a multiple of 10 (46 + 4 = 50)
- Quiet zone
- 1/8 inch at the sides, 1/25 inch above and below (USPS)
How USPS retired PLANET Code
- 22 September 2002: Confirm starts with PLANET Code.
- 2008: USPS keeps it as long as POSTNET earns automation prices.
- 2010: a Postal Bulletin announces both retirements.
- 22 January 2012: IMb Tracing replaces Confirm; PLANET Code lasts until a subscription expires.
- 28 January 2013: POSTNET loses automation prices; the standards updated 27 January have no PLANET Code rule.
Related USPS barcodes
Two tall bars per digit; it carried the ZIP Code.
Draws the 65-bar IMb that replaced both.
USPS parcel tracking in GS1-128.
Frequently asked questions
Learn more about PLANET Code.
Does USPS still accept PLANET Code?
Can I create a 14-digit PLANET Code here?
What did the PLANET Code digits mean?
Can barcode scanners read PLANET Code?
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