Contact card QR codes: what goes in a vCard QR, and how to keep it scannable
A contact QR code on a business card, badge or slide lets someone tap <i>Add to contacts</i> instead of typing your number. Under the hood it is a vCard, the same text format your phone uses to export contacts.
A minimal vCard that every phone reads
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Rivera;Sam;;;
FN:Sam Rivera
ORG:Example Studio
TITLE:Designer
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+447700900000
EMAIL:[email protected]
URL:https://example.com
END:VCARDNis structured: family;given;additional;prefix;suffix. Phones use it to sort the contact.FNis the display name. vCard 3.0 requires bothNandFN.- Write phone numbers in international form (
+44…) so they work abroad. - Lines are separated by CRLF; generators handle that.
Escaping
In values, a comma, semicolon or backslash must be written \, \; \\, and a line break as \n. An unescaped semicolon in a company name like Smith; Sons shifts every later field.
Size is the enemy of scanning
Every character adds modules. A full vCard with two addresses, three numbers, a note and a photo can push a QR code past version 20 (97×97 modules), which is unreadable when printed 2 cm wide on a business card.
| Content | Typical size | Business card? |
|---|---|---|
| Name, phone, email | ~110 bytes, version 6–7 | Yes, comfortably |
| + company, title, website | ~190 bytes, version 8–9 | Yes at 2.5 cm+ |
| + address, second phone, note | ~350 bytes, version 12–14 | Marginal; use level L or M |
| + embedded photo | kilobytes | No. Never embed photos |
If you need lots of details, put a link to a contact page or a hosted .vcf file in the code instead; the code stays tiny and you can update the details later.
MECARD vs vCard
MECARD:N:Rivera,Sam;TEL:+447700900000;EMAIL:[email protected];; is a shorter format from early Japanese phones. It makes a smaller code, but support for fields beyond name, phone and email is patchier. vCard 3.0 is the safer default today; use MECARD only when every byte counts.
Checklist before printing
- Scan with both an iPhone and an Android phone and actually tap Add to contacts.
- Use error correction M for plain print; L if the vCard is long and the code must be small.
- Keep dark modules on a light background and a white border of 4 modules. See QR code not scanning.
- Remember the code is public: do not include a home address or personal number you would not print on the card itself.
Related
Scan a QR code from a screenshot or picture · Wi-Fi QR code format · QR code not scanning / error correction · QR code generator
Questions
What format does a contact QR code use?
Usually vCard 3.0: BEGIN:VCARD, VERSION:3.0, N, FN, TEL, EMAIL, URL and END:VCARD, one field per line.
Why won't my business card QR code scan?
Most often the vCard is too long, making a dense code printed too small. Trim fields, use error correction L or M, or encode a link instead.
Can I put a photo in a vCard QR code?
Technically, but it makes the code far too big to scan. Leave photos out.
vCard or MECARD?
vCard 3.0 for the widest support; MECARD only when you need the smallest possible code with just name, phone and email.
Do contact QR codes work without internet?
Yes. The details are inside the code, so the phone saves them offline.
Is my contact information uploaded when I make the code here?
No. Tooltern draws the QR code in your browser and sends nothing to a server.
Published · updated .