Updated 2nd November 2026. A plain-English summary of the published rules, not legal advice: your carrier or customs agent has the last word.

Checklist: get your Shopify store ready for the EU product identifiers

From 1st November 2026, every product you send to a shopper in the EU from outside the EU in a parcel worth up to EUR 150 is declared with up to three product identifiers. Your carrier files the declaration, so it will ask you for them. Work through this list for every variant you ship to the EU: SKU, manufacturer reference, barcode, HS code and country of origin.

For every variant

1. SKU (M-PID). Give every variant its own SKU, with no duplicates and no placeholders such as N/A.
2. Manufacturer reference (NS-PID). The maker's model or part number, your own reference if you make the product, or the barcode. In Shopify, add it to the variant as a barcode of the type NS-PID, after the product barcode; on a variant with no product barcode, keep it in a variant metafield instead.
3. Barcode (S-PID). Add the EAN, UPC or ISBN wherever the product has one and check its digits. Note the products that have none: they are declared with the exception Y081.
4. HS code. At least the first 6 digits, which are the same worldwide. Similar products usually share one.
5. Country of origin. Where the product was made, not where you ship it from.

Then

1. Ask your carrier or shipping platform how it wants the identifiers: through its API, on the commercial invoice or in an upload file.
2. Check that new products and variants get the same five values before you sell them to the EU.

Which products count

Goods you sell to consumers in the EU and ship from outside it in parcels worth up to EUR 150.

Common questions

Check your catalogue

PIDReady is a Shopify app that checks every variant for the three identifiers, the HS code and the country of origin, helps you fill the gaps one by one or in bulk, and downloads a file for your carrier. The free plan does every fix, for any size of store.

Questions about the rule, app or no app? Email support@pidready.com: we reply within one working day.

More guides

• The full guide to the EU product identifiersWho needs them, the key dates, and what each of the three is.
• How to add an NS-PID barcode in ShopifyWhere the maker's code goes in Shopify, and why it comes after your product barcode.
• Can't buy a Shopify shipping label to the EU? The missing identifierWhy Shopify stops an EU label from 1st November 2026, and the two ways to fix it, one product or hundreds.
• Customs description for EU parcels: what Shopify sends, and how to fix itWhy a parcel comes back for an 'insufficient description', what EU customs reject, and what to write instead.
• HS codes for Shopify stores shipping to the EUWhat an HS code is, why customs need it, where to find yours and where it goes in Shopify.
• Country of origin on Shopify: what to enter for EU customsWhere a product was made, not where you ship it from, and how to fill it for many variants.

See all guides

Sources

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022 of 30th April 2026 (EUR-Lex). It was published in the Official Journal on 1st July 2026 with 30th June in its title; the Official Journal's corrigendum of 3rd July 2026 corrected that date to 30th April.
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 of 21st September 2026 (EUR-Lex): the Union handling fee is EUR 2 per item. Published in the Official Journal on 22nd October 2026; it applies from 1st November 2026.
• European Commission, guidance on the temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee, version of 5th October 2026