diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/google/zxing/oned/UPCEWriter.java b/core/src/main/java/com/google/zxing/oned/UPCEWriter.java
index 2a62a871d..90d76c46a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/google/zxing/oned/UPCEWriter.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/google/zxing/oned/UPCEWriter.java
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public final class UPCEWriter extends UPCEANWriter {
         break;
       default:
         throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-            "Requested contents should be 8 digits long, but got " + length);
+            "Requested contents should be 7 or 8 digits long, but got " + length);
     }
 
     checkNumeric(contents);