What Are Amazon Transparency Codes?
By Todd Welch, founder of T-Code Manager. Published October 11, 2026.
An Amazon Transparency code is a unique code that goes on every single unit of an enrolled product. No two units share a code. Amazon checks the codes, and once protection is active for a product, units with a missing or invalid code can be blocked from shipping.
Transparency is Amazon's product serialization and anti-counterfeiting program. As of October 2026, Amazon's Transparency page says more than 90,000 brands are enrolled and more than 2.7 billion units have been verified as genuine.
How a Transparency code works
An Amazon-issued Transparency code is a unique, non-sequential, alphanumeric code. It's printed as a small square 2D barcode on the unit or its packaging.
That's the big difference from a UPC or an FNSKU. Those identify a product. A Transparency code identifies one physical unit.
Amazon checks codes in two places:
- FBA: Amazon scans the codes when your units arrive at a fulfillment center.
- Seller-fulfilled (FBM): you give Amazon the codes when you confirm shipment of the order.
Customers can scan the code with the Amazon Shopping app or the Transparency app to check that the product is genuine.
Who needs Transparency codes
The brand owner enrolls the product. After that, Amazon expects a valid code on every unit listed or shipped, no matter who sells it. That covers:
- The brand selling its own products through FBA or FBM
- Authorized resellers and wholesalers of the brand
- Prep centers and 3PLs that label units for brand clients
- Manufacturers that apply codes during production
If you resell an enrolled brand, the codes come from the brand, not from you. Usually either the units arrive already labeled or the brand shares codes with you to apply. Ask the brand how they want it handled.
How a brand enrolls
Amazon lists these requirements for brands. Check Amazon's Transparency page for the current list, because it can change.
- An Amazon Brand Registry account with the rights owner role
- An active registered trademark
- A GTIN, such as a UPC or EAN, for each product you enroll
- The ability to put a code on every unit you make, wherever it's sold
Brands that already print their own unique serial codes can connect those to Transparency instead of using Amazon-issued codes.
What Transparency codes cost
Amazon doesn't charge to enroll, and there's no subscription. Brands pay for the codes they order.
As of October 2026, Amazon's Transparency page lists $0.05 per code for the first 1,000,000 codes in a year, $0.03 per code from there up to 10,000,000 and $0.01 per code after that. The tiers count codes ordered within a year, and the count resets each year on the date your account was created. Amazon also notes that fees vary by volume and geography, so check the current rates before you budget.
Where sellers get hurt
The program is simple. Running it every day is where it goes wrong.
- Running out. Codes come in batches. If nobody watches the count, you find out you're out when a shipment is half packed.
- Duplicates. Each code is for one unit. Two people printing from the same CSV file can put the same code on two units.
- Losing track of FBM codes. Every unit on every FBM order needs its own code at confirmation. Without a log, you can't say which code went to which order.
- Spreadsheets. Amazon gives you codes as files. Tracking which ones are used, across products and people, breaks down fast in a spreadsheet.
How T-Code Manager helps
I built T-Code Manager for our own warehouse after years of fighting these exact problems. You upload your code files once. Your team scans a product and prints labels, or dispenses codes for an FBM order, and each code is marked used the moment it goes out.
The dashboard shows how many codes every product has left, and low-stock emails warn you before you run out. If you apply codes for other brands, see how it works for 3PLs and prep centers.
Start a free 14-day trial. No credit card required. Or see pricing.