Do QR codes expire?

The short answer, by kind of code

Whether a QR code expires depends on where its content lives. A static code holds the content itself: the web address, the WiFi login, the contact card. A dynamic code holds a short link to a provider's server, and the server sends each scan on to the destination you set.

So a code can stop working without expiring. A static code that points at a deleted page still scans; it opens the error. That is how a code works for years and then fails the week after a website change.

For the rest of the difference, from scan counts to when each kind fits and what it costs, see static vs dynamic QR codes.

How to tell which kind a printed code is

You can check any code in a minute, with no app:

1. Scan it and read before you tap. Your phone's camera shows the link, or at least the website's name, before it opens anything.
2. A final address means static. If you see your own website, menu page or form, the address is in the pattern. It cannot expire.
3. A short link on a QR company's domain means dynamic. A short address with a random string at the end, on the website of the company you made the code with, means every scan goes through that company. The code works for as long as that account does.
4. Anything other than a link is static. WiFi logins, contact cards, phone numbers, text and email codes hold their content in the pattern, with no server to switch off.
5. Not sure? Read the exact text. Drop a photo or a screenshot of the code into the QR code decoder. It shows the full text in your browser and opens nothing.

One exception: some businesses run dynamic codes on a short domain of their own, such as a go. or qr. address on their brand's website. If the short link is on your own domain, ask whoever set it up which service runs it.

Why dynamic codes stop working

A dynamic code depends on the provider, your plan with it, and the destination you set. When one of them goes, the scan stops at the provider's server:

• The trial ends. On many generators the free code is a dynamic code on a trial of 7 to 14 days. The code was dynamic from the start, and the trial was its expiry date.
• The subscription lapses. A card expires or a plan is cancelled, and the provider can pause its dynamic codes until the plan is active again.
• The scan limit runs out. Some plans cap scans per month and stop redirecting past the cap.
• The provider closes. The printed code still points at a server, and nothing answers.
• The destination goes. The provider still redirects, but to a page that no longer exists.

What scanners see depends on the provider: an error, a notice that the code is inactive, or a page asking the owner to renew. That notice is what people mean when they say a QR code expired.

What to do when a QR code has stopped working

Find which part failed before you reprint anything. Check in this order:

1. Does any phone scan it? Try 2 phones, move closer, and tilt the phone. If none can read it, the print is the problem: glare, damage, low contrast, or a code too small for the distance.
2. Read what it holds. Use the camera preview or the QR code decoder. Now you know if it is static or dynamic.
3. Open the address in a browser. A static code with a dead link needs its page back: restore the page, or add a redirect from the old address on your website.
4. For a dynamic code, check the account. Sign in to the provider. If the plan or trial ended, renewing usually brings the code back, as long as the provider still runs.
5. Replace it when you cannot fix it. If the provider is gone, or you will not pay to keep it, make a new code and reprint. Pick a static code when the destination will not change, or a dynamic code on a plan that does not pause.

A code you cannot reprint, such as one on packaging already shipped, can only be saved at the provider or at the destination. If it is static and the page is yours, 1 redirect fixes every printed copy at once.

How long printed QR codes last

The pattern has no expiry date, so a printed code lasts as long as cameras can read it. These decide how long that is:

• Size for the distance: at least about 2 cm (0.8 in) across, and about a tenth of the distance people scan from. A poster read from 3 m needs a code about 30 cm wide.
• Contrast and margin: dark squares on a light background, with a clear margin on all 4 sides.
• Surface: gloss and lamination cause glare, and curves and rough textures bend the squares.
• Sun and weather: UV light fades ink outdoors until the contrast is too low to read. Check outdoor codes on a schedule and reprint before they fade.
• Error correction: a code can lose part of its pattern and still scan, about 7% at level L and up to about 30% at level H. The code on this page uses level Q, about 25%.

How QRplify codes behave

What is free and what is paid, stated before you print:

• Static codes: unlimited, with no account. The destination is baked into the pattern, so nothing on our side can turn them off.
• Your free dynamic code: a free account adds 1 dynamic code with 1,000 scans a month. It never expires and never pauses: past 1,000 scans in a month it keeps redirecting.
• The 15-day Premium trial: every new account starts with 15 days of Premium included. When it ends you drop to the Free plan automatically, with no charge. Static codes and your free dynamic code keep working; extra dynamic codes made during the trial pause until you upgrade, and reactivate if you do.
• Paid plans: from $7.49 a month, cancel any time from your dashboard. Your dynamic codes keep working for the paid period, then your static codes and free dynamic code carry on under the Free plan.

Every limit is on the pricing page, and the FAQ covers cancelling and downgrades. This section was checked against both on October 8, 2026.