Barcode Translator/Creator

Barcode Decoder/Encoder

Read on further for an explanation of how to use this barcode translator. We recommend also reading the How To Read A Barcode Tutorial.

When you click the bars above, each set will cycle through the digits 0 through 9. Use it to translate a barcode into numbers or numbers into a barcode. As you do so, you'll be warned if you have chosen an incorrect check digit. Remember, the check digit is the last digit and is represented by the last set of 5 bars.

POSTNET barcodes, like most other barcodes, are machine-readable versions of regular, everyday numbers. Specifically, POSTNET barcodes represent the 5 digits of your zip code, 4 digits of your Zip+4, 2 digits of your delivery point and a 1 digit known as the check digit. Twelve digits, the first 11 describe the delivery address and the last aids the machine (in this case barcode reader) in determining whether what it has read is a valid barcode. 

Each digit of the barcode is displayed using a combination of 5 tall and short bars. That's 5 bars for each of the 12 digits for 60 bars. There is an additional bar at the beginning and the end of the barcode to enclose it for a total of 62 bars.

You should all be familiar with the first 2 (Zip and Zip+4) and know how to locate them in the address block. As for the Delivery Point, that is a two digit number that further narrows the delivery area of your mail piece. In most cases you can get the delivery point from the last 2 digits of the street address. For example, "630 Pennsylvania" might have a delivery point of 30. And "7 Park Place" might have a delivery point of 07. We say "might" because delivery points are actually assigned by the USPS and do not necessarily follow this standard.

The check digit is arrived at by adding up the 11 digits and finding the number that you would add to make the next multiple of 10. For example, 3 + 8 + 6 + 1 + 4 + 5 + 0 + 3 + 5 + 1 + 7 = 43. You would have to add 7 to this to get 50 which is the next multiple of 10. So 7 is the check digit that the barcode reader uses to verify that it has decoded the barcode correctly.

Here is a list of all 10 digits that you can print out and keep with you: