Do QR codes expire?

The short answer

A QR code is just a picture of some text. Often that text is a link. The picture itself has no end date. Nothing inside it counts down.

So why do people say their code “expired”? It is almost always one of two things:

1. The code points to a middle-man link owned by a QR company, and that company turned it off.
2. The web page the code opens was moved or deleted.

Two kinds of QR code

Static code. Your real link is inside the code. The phone reads it and opens your page directly. No company sits in the middle. This kind of code works for as long as your page works.

Dynamic code. The code holds a short link that belongs to a QR company. When someone scans it, the company’s server sends them on to your page. This lets you change the page later and count scans. But if the company’s plan ends, or the free trial runs out, the short link can stop. Then every printed code stops too.

Read more in Static vs dynamic QR codes.

“Why is my QR code deactivated?”

If you scan your code and see a page saying it is paused, disabled or deactivated, it is a dynamic code. The service that made it has switched it off. Often the free trial ended.

What you can do:

• Log in to that service and see if you can turn it back on.
• Or make a new static code with your real link inside. It will not stop again. You will need to reprint it.

How to check which kind you have

Scan the code with your phone camera. Look at the link that shows up before you tap it.

• If it shows your own website (like yourshop.com/menu), it is a static code. It will not expire.
• If it shows a link from a QR company, it is probably dynamic. It works only while that company keeps it on.

Do codes made in Canva or other design apps expire?

It depends on how the app makes the code. Use the check above. Scan it and look at the link. If you see your own link, the code does not expire.

Other things that break a code

Even a static code can stop working if:

• the web page it opens is deleted or moved,
• your domain name expires,
• the print is torn, faded, wet or covered,
• the code is printed too small or with too little contrast.

None of these are the code “expiring”. Keep your page live and your print clean, and the code keeps working.

How QRVivid codes work

QRVivid only makes static codes. Your link goes straight into the code. It does not pass through our servers. So your code keeps working even if QRVivid shuts down one day.