Glossary

GID-96

General Identifier (96-bit)

urn:epc:id:gid
Header: 0x3596 bits

What is GID-96?

A general-purpose EPC scheme not tied to GS1 keys. Uses an EPCglobal General Manager Number instead of a GS1 Company Prefix. Designed for organisations that need EPC encoding without using GTINs, SSCCs, or other GS1 identifiers.

Used for: Non-GS1 applications, proprietary asset tracking, research and prototyping.

Field layout

The first 8 bits are always the header (0x35 = 53 decimal), which identifies this as GID-96.

Defined in GS1 EPC Tag Data Standard v2.3, Section 14.6.12.1 (General Identifier), encoding procedure in Section 14.6.12.1.

BitsFieldDescription
0–7Header0x35 (53) - identifies this encoding as GID-96
8–35General Manager Number28-bit manager number assigned by EPCglobal. Identifies the organisation.
36–59Object Class24-bit object class assigned by the manager. Identifies a category of objects.
60–95Serial Number36-bit serial number. Identifies an individual object within the class.

Source

GS1 EPC Tag Data Standard, Release 2.3, Ratified October 2025 - see Section 14.6.12.1 (General Identifier) and Section 14.6.12.1 for the encoding procedure. Read the EPC encoding guide for a full worked example of decoding hex to URI.