Document
The PID, printed or stuck on.
A QR with the resolution URL and the ID as text on one line. The registry guarantees it: random, with check symbols, collision-free.
If it fails: If it is lost or copied, the other two routes come into play.
The open SSCC
The open identity of what travels.
One number for every unit in transit, free and forever, bound to the object by its physical signature and with a sealed history anyone can verify. No permission, no fee and no personal data.
This is a PID PID-1-7QC3-Z79D-G6RZ-8E
€0 to enrol and resolve
Enrolling a unit and resolving its PID costs nobody anything, forever. No account and no fee.
60 random bits
Nothing inside: no date, no issuer, no sequence. Nobody can enumerate the database or infer volumes.
0 personal data
The registry describes units, not people. The label content (names, addresses, phone numbers) never goes in.
1 daily Bitcoin anchor
Every UTC day is closed into a Merkle tree, signed and anchored with OpenTimestamps. No tokens, no wallets.
Check it now
Paste a PID.
Format and check symbols are verified in your browser, without sending anything. If it is valid, we ask the registry whether it exists and what state it is in.
Nothing you type here is stored. The format check never leaves your browser.
What travels
Anything that moves as a single piece gets the same identity.
A unit in transit has no permanent issuer, changes state and hands along the way and lives from hours to months. The parcel is the first profile; next come the loaded pallet, the container load, the tote, the mail bag and the suitcase, and the art crate.
parcelParcel
Box, envelope or closed package. Full profile, levels 0 to 3.
pallet_loadLoaded pallet
The stacked, wrapped load, not the wooden pallet.
container_loadContainer load
What travels inside; the container is context.
toteTote or returnable
Totes, cages, roll containers and returnable packaging.
bagMail bag or luggage
The bag tag is per trip; the suitcase is not.
crateTransport crate
Art, instruments, machinery.
The shipping container (BIC code) and the vehicle (VIN, plate) already have an issuer and a registry: they get no PID. They come in as context, as a link or as a custodian. What gets a PID and what does not
The three routes to uniqueness
What travels carries no document. We give it one, and bind it to the object in three ways.
A person has a document and a biometric. A unit receives its document at enrolment, is recognised by its physical signature and is told apart by its history. No route is enough alone; together they are more than person-based KYC has, because the sealed history does not exist there.
Biometrics
The physical signature of the unit.
Geometry, weight, 3D shape, cardboard texture in fixed patches, tape, label layout (never its content), appearance and damage. Kept in a sealed record: its birth certificate.
If it fails: If someone copies the label onto another box, the signature does not match.
History
The sealed chain of sightings.
Every new capture of the same unit becomes a chained record. Opening, consolidating or repacking creates a new linked PID: the lineage.
If it fails: Two identical boxes cannot have the same history.
The open SSCC
GS1 says what it is and which shipment it is in. PARCID says which one it physically is, and whether it is still the same.
The SSCC is the logistics number of a shipping unit. It is useful and will stay useful. But without a GS1 prefix you cannot have one, and with one you still cannot bind it to the physical box. PARCID covers both.
| Aspect | SSCC (GS1) | PID (PARCID) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An 18-digit number for a logistic unit | An opaque identifier for a physical unit in transit |
| What it costs | Needs a GS1 company prefix, with a fee | Free, for anyone, no account |
| What is inside | The issuer’s prefix and a serial: it can be enumerated | 60 random bits: it reveals nothing |
| Lifetime | Can be reused after a period | Perpetual: never reassigned |
| Registry | No public registry resolves it | Public resolution by web, QR and API |
| Bond to the object | None: the label can be stuck on another box | Physical signature sealed at enrolment |
| History | Outside the number | Sightings and lineage, sealed and anchored in Bitcoin |
And they work together.
If your unit already carries an SSCC, enrol it as a link: it comes in as a first-class key and resolves at /00/{SSCC}, with the physical signature and the history the number lacks. The PID sits underneath as the perpetual key. If you have no GS1 prefix, the PID gives you a unique, perpetual, resolvable number for every unit, for free.
PARCID does not issue SSCCs and the PID is not a GS1 key.
Model
Identity is free. Claims about it are services.
Enrolling a unit and resolving its PID costs nobody anything, forever. Claiming “this is the same unit”, “this capture is real and current” or “this is how it was at that time” are services provided by operators.
Free forever
Enrol and resolve
- Enrolment: capture → PID + owner key + sealed record
- Public resolution by web, QR or API
- SSCC as an entry key, resolved at /00/{SSCC}
- Lineage at enrolment (open, consolidate, split, repack)
- Inclusion proof, daily Bitcoin anchor and public CC0 export
Operator services
Claim and keep
- Sighting with comparison and explanation
- Passive liveness: “this capture is real and current”
- 1:1 comparison between two captures or two IDs
- 1:N identification of an unlabelled unit (later)
- Record of the lineage operation and evidence custody
A common base
It does not replace tracking or the SSCC. It links them.
Tracking says where it goes. The SSCC says which logistic unit it is and which shipment it travels in. PARCID says which physical unit it is, what state it was in and whether it is still the same. The three are linked; none replaces the others.
Any sensor can enrol
Stations, phones with the SDK, third-party devices and the API. Every enrolment says how it was captured and at what assurance level.
Compatible with GS1 Digital Link
A publicly linked SSCC resolves at /00/{SSCC} to its PIDs, stating whether an identified operator linked it or it is self-declared. The PID is not a GS1 key and does not claim to be one.
One side is enough
The forwarder enrols and its customer resolves; the shop enrols and the carrier compares. One uses it and the other sees it.
Guarantees
Four commitments that do not depend on us.
Open
Public format, resolution and export. The resolver, the API and the verifier are published under Apache-2.0 so anyone can run a mirror.
No personal data
The registry describes units, not people. Evidence that might contain personal data is encrypted and read only by whoever holds the unit’s key.
Verifiable without the registry
Every record enters an append-only ledger; each day closes into a Merkle tree, a signed and chained statement and a Bitcoin anchor. Your browser can check all of it.
Committed handover Conditions proposed
The operator commits to hand the registry over to a non-profit entity. If it stops publishing the daily anchor for 90 days, any mirror may carry on.
Who it is for
For everyone who handles something that travels.
Forwarders and parcel lockers
Receipt with a record, consolidation with lineage, and a PID the end customer can resolve.
Logistics providers
Loaded pallets and container loads with an identifier that survives changes of label, carrier and warehouse.
Shops and marketplaces
Enrol what goes out so it can be compared with what comes back, with or without a GS1 prefix.
Carriers and posts
Mail bags and totes with a history, sightings at every handover and, later, unlabelled items.
Airports and ground handling
The bag tag changes on every trip; the suitcase can keep its PID.
Insurers
Liveness proofs and explained comparisons for claims with doubtful images.
Developers
Free API with no account, open specification, public-domain verifier and Apache-2.0 code.
Individuals
Give their own shipment an identity, for free, and check any PID they receive.
Build on an open registry.
The free API needs no account to enrol or resolve. The specification is public and open for comments.