vCard QR code — a digital business card
One scan, and your full contact card lands in their phone. A vCard QR code encodes your name, title, company, phone, email, and more, so people save you as a contact instead of typing it in. Here's the exact vCard format, the leaner MECARD alternative, and how to keep the code scannable.
The vCard format
vCard is the standard contact file format that email and phone address books understand. A QR code simply holds the vCard text. Version 3.0 is the most broadly compatible. A complete card looks like this:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Doe;Jane;;;
FN:Jane Doe
ORG:Acme Industries
TITLE:Operations Lead
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+15550100123
EMAIL:[email protected]
URL:https://acme.example
ADR;TYPE=WORK:;;1 Market St;Springfield;CA;90210;USA
END:VCARDThe fields you'll use most:
- N — structured name:
Family;Given;Middle;Prefix;Suffix. The trailing semicolons are required even if empty. - FN — the formatted display name, e.g.
Jane Doe. - ORG and TITLE — company and job title.
- TEL — phone, with an optional type such as
TYPE=CELLorTYPE=WORK. Use full international format with the+country code. - EMAIL and URL — address and website.
- ADR — postal address:
PO Box;Extended;Street;City;Region;Postal;Country.
Every card must start with BEGIN:VCARD and a VERSION line and end with END:VCARD. Each field sits on its own line.
The MECARD alternative
MECARD is a more compact contact format originally designed for Japanese feature phones. It packs the same essentials into far fewer characters, which produces a coarser, easier-to-scan QR code:
MECARD:N:Doe,Jane;TEL:15550100123;EMAIL:[email protected];URL:https://acme.example;;Trade-off: MECARD supports fewer fields and modern apps lean toward vCard, but if you only need name, phone, and email and want the simplest possible pattern, it's a fine choice. The name uses a comma between family and given names.
A contact card is one of the heaviest common payloads. Every optional field — a second phone, a long address, a note — pushes the QR code to a higher version with smaller modules. Include what people actually need and drop the rest, or print larger. See sizes and print resolution.
When to use it
- Business cards — print the code so contacts save you instantly, no manual entry.
- Email signatures and slides — a scannable card at the end of a talk or message.
- Conference badges and booths — let visitors capture your details on the spot.
- Storefront windows — a "save our contact" code for passers-by.
Gotchas worth knowing
- Use international phone format.
+1 555…works wherever the contact travels; a local-only number may not dial abroad. - Line endings matter. Each vCard field belongs on its own line. Paste the block exactly as structured.
- It's static. Embedded details can't be edited after printing. If your role or number changes often, point a dynamic code at a hosted contact page instead.
- Test the save flow. Scan your own code before printing to confirm the contact fields land where you expect on both iPhone and Android.
- Raise error correction if branding. Adding a logo over a dense vCard code is risky — bump to level Q or H and test.
Make a vCard QR code
Build your vCard or MECARD text using the templates above, then fill in the fields on the Contact tab of the generator. It encodes the contact exactly and renders a code you can export and print.
Generate a contact QR code
Fill in the contact fields. Everything is encoded locally — your details never leave the browser. Export PNG or vector SVG.
Open the generatorFrequently asked questions
What's the difference between vCard and MECARD?
vCard is the rich, widely supported contact standard with many fields and is best for business cards. MECARD is a compact alternative from the feature-phone era; it encodes fewer characters, so it makes a less dense QR code, but supports fewer fields and slightly weaker modern app support.
Why is my contact QR code so dense?
vCard holds a lot of text — name, title, company, phone, email, address and website. The more fields you include, the higher the QR version and the finer the pattern. Trim optional fields, or use MECARD for a coarser code.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Both platforms recognize vCard data scanned with the camera and offer to create a new contact. vCard 3.0 is the most broadly compatible version. See how to scan a QR code.
Can I update my details after printing?
No. A vCard QR code is static — the details are embedded in the pattern. If your number or title changes you must print a new code, or use a dynamic code pointing to an editable hosted contact page.