Missing or incorrect GTIN in Merchant Center: how to fix it

What it usually looks like on a store

On the store side the gap shows up in the product admin and the product markup: a barcode field left empty, a SKU typed into the barcode field, a GTIN missing its leading zero or failing its check digit, or handmade items given made-up numbers where identifier_exists should be set to false instead.

What Google says

One or more unique product identifier values (GTIN, MPN, brand) are missing or not recognized as valid. Depending on country and category you may need to provide identifiers or state that none exist. One-of-a-kind or vintage items can set identifier_exists to false. GTINs must be valid numbers of 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits.

One or more of the values you’ve submitted for unique product identifier (UPI) attributes are either missing or aren't recognized as a valid identifier.Google, How to fix: Missing or incorrect GTIN

Add a brand and either a GTIN or MPN. If this product is one-of-a-kind or vintage, you don’t need to add an identifierGoogle, How to fix: Missing or incorrect GTIN

0, 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits (UPC, EAN, JAN, or ISBN)Google, How to fix: Invalid value [gtin]

Also seen as: "Invalid value [gtin]", "Incorrect GTIN", "Invalid GTIN in unsupported format", "Limited performance due to missing value: GTIN [gtin]", "Missing value [gtin]", "Limited performance due to missing identifiers [gtin, mpn, brand]".

How to fix it

Based on Google's help pages, in plain language:

Provide an accurate GTIN, or both MPN and brand, for each product.
For one-of-a-kind or vintage products, set identifier_exists to false.
Use the GTIN allocated by the manufacturer and follow the formatting rules.

What to check on your website

These are the checks we run that relate to this issue. A problem in any of them can be enough on its own.

Brand and product identifiers: Product markup includes a brand, and any GTIN (UPC/EAN/ISBN) has a valid check digit.
Product structured data: Each product page has valid Product markup (JSON-LD or microdata) with a name, image and offer.

Requesting a review

Google says it may take some time (24 to 72 hours for invalid value) for changes to show on Needs attention.

Questions

Can a website scan fix "Missing or incorrect GTIN"?

Partly. We check your product pages' markup for the related fields (brand and product identifiers, product structured data), but the fix itself is in your product data in Merchant Center or your feed app.

Sources

Checked against Google's help pages on 2026-10-08. Listvane is an independent tool made by Great Work LLC. It isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google. Google and Google Merchant Center are trademarks of Google LLC.

"Missing or incorrect GTIN" in Merchant Center: what it means and how to fix it