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FEDERAL REGISTER · RULEMarch 5, 2026FINAL — NOT YET EFFECTIVE

Revising the National Drug Code Format and Drug Label Barcode Requirements

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Document details are published in the U.S. Federal Register; SPEQ surfaces them for reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FDA or the Office of the Federal Register. The authoritative text is on federalregister.gov.

Document type
Rule
Agency
Health and Human Services Department
Published
March 5, 2026
Effective
March 7, 2033
Document number
2026-04368
ABSTRACT

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is issuing a final rule to standardize the format of the National Drug Code (NDC). Under this final rule, all FDA-assigned NDCs will be required to be 12 digits in length with 3 distinct segments and 1 uniform format. The first segment is a 6-digit labeler code, the second segment is a 4-digit product code, and the third segment is a 2-digit package code. Additionally, we are revising the drug product barcode label requirements to permit the use of other data carriers that meet the standards of this final rule.

Abstract as published in the Federal Register.

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