PLANET
USPS's retired tracking barcode for inbound confirmations — the inverse-height sibling of POSTNET.
PLANET Specification
| Character set | Digits 0-9 |
| Data length | 11 or 13 digits + 1 check digit |
| Check digit | Mod 10 check digit, mandatory |
| Density | Fixed — one digit per five bars |
| Module width (X-dimension) | Same physical bar pitch as POSTNET |
| Print ratio | Two heights (inverse of POSTNET convention) |
| Magnification | USPS fixed dimensions |
| Quiet zone | 0.125 inch framing rule |
| Standard | US Postal Service (retired 2013 in favor of IMb) |
| Origin | US Postal Service, 2002 |
Not generated by barcodegen.net
PLANET is documented here for completeness, but our free generator does not produce this symbology. The closest supported format is Code 128.
What Is PLANET?
PLANET (Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique) used the same five-bar, two-or-three-tall structure as POSTNET but inverted the height convention — where POSTNET data uses two tall bars, PLANET uses two short — so sorting equipment could distinguish them on the same mailpiece. It carried 11 or 13 digits of subscriber ID and mailing data for Confirm service (tracking inbound reply mail and outbound campaigns).
Like POSTNET, PLANET was retired when USPS consolidated on the Intelligent Mail barcode in 2013. Its reference value today is the same as POSTNET's: understanding legacy mail archives. The Intelligent Mail barcode (a 4-state code) is the single current USPS postal code.
Common Applications
- USPS Confirm service tracking (retired)
- Inbound reply-mail confirmation (historical)
Related Barcode Types
The US Postal Service's retired height-encoded delivery-point barcode: tall and short bars representing ZIP + delivery point + check digit.
The UK's 4-state postal barcode: bars in four height-tracker combinations, sorting mail with a compact machine-readable postcode line.
A high-density, variable-length linear barcode that encodes all 128 ASCII characters, and the backbone symbology of modern logistics.