Where to Use Code 39: Practical Locations and Applications for Beginners

Where is Code 39 used?

Code 39 is predominantly used in internal operational environments where the need is to tag, track, and scan alphanumeric IDs rather than meet retail or GS1 standards. It’s common in warehouses, manufacturing, maintenance, and government property management. Below are practical locations and applications with real-world examples to help beginners picture where Code 39 fits.

Warehouses and distribution centers

Code 39 is commonly printed on bin, rack, shelf, and pallet labels. These labels are scanned during put-away, picking, and cycle counting. Example: a medium-sized warehouse might label storage locations as A1-12 (encoded as *A1-12*), allowing pickers to quickly confirm location IDs against a warehouse management system (WMS).

Manufacturing floors and assembly lines

Use Code 39 for work-in-progress (WIP) tags, job numbers, lot identifiers, and routing tickets. Example: a furniture manufacturer may include a Code 39 barcode on each unfinished piece to track it through sanding, painting, and assembly stations.

Maintenance and asset management

Facilities and maintenance teams apply Code 39 to fixed assets and tools for inventory and service tracking. Example: the maintenance team in a hospital tags medical carts and service ladders with Code 39 labels so technicians can scan a tag and instantly view maintenance history.

Government, defense, and public-sector inventory

Organizations with long-standing asset registers often use Code 39 because of its legacy support and readability. Example: a municipal government might tag city-owned vehicles and park equipment with simple alphanumeric IDs encoded in Code 39 for audits and insurance records.

Small retailers and workshops (back-of-house)

While consumer-facing retail packaging typically uses UPC/EAN codes, small shops use Code 39 for internal processes such as repair orders, returns, and internal stockrooms. Example: a bicycle repair shop labels customer bikes and parts with internal job IDs in Code 39 while they are stored for service.

Laboratories and clinics

For non-critical specimen racks, trays, or internal supplies, Code 39 provides a readable solution. Example: a small clinic labels sample trays with patient or batch IDs using Code 39 to track samples through simple lab workflows.

Where not to use Code 39

• Retail POS and consumer packaging: Use UPC/EAN (for consumer goods) or GS1 standards if selling through retail channels, as Code 39 isn’t GS1-compliant.
• High-density data needs: If you must encode long numeric strings or multiple data elements in limited label space, use Code 128 or 2D barcodes (Data Matrix, QR) for better density.
• Outdoor, harsh environments without proper label material: If labels will be exposed to extreme weather, chemicals, or abrasion, choose durable materials and adhesives or consider metal plates with laser-etched codes; Code 39 itself is fine, but label material and printing method are critical.

Environmental and placement considerations

• Choose label materials suited to the location: thermal-transfer polyester for cold or oily environments, durable vinyl for outdoor use, or metal plates for heavy-duty assets.
• Ensure adequate quiet zones (blank space) around the barcode and sufficient barcode height for your scanner distance and angle.
• Test scan performance under site conditions: low light, dust, dirt, and scanning speed used during operations.

Practical examples of placement

• Pallet labels affixed to the short edge for fork truck drivers to scan easily.
• Bin labels mounted at eye level with both barcode and human-readable text for quick manual checks.
• Asset tags placed on the flat, accessible surface of equipment near the service panel or data plate.

Final recommendations for beginners



Start with non-customer-facing applications when piloting Code 39. Test labels in the actual environment, verify scanner compatibility, and document label standards (size, font, placement). If you later need denser encoding or retail compliance, plan for migration to an alternative symbology, but for many internal tracking tasks Code 39 remains a practical, easy-to-adopt solution.