vCard QR Code Generator

How to create a vCard QR code

1. 1

   Enter first and last name separately

   vCard stores them as separate parts of the N line, and address books sort by surname. The display name (FN) is built from both.

2. 2

   Add company and job title

   They become ORG and TITLE and appear under the name when the contact opens.

3. 3

   Add one phone, one email and a website

   The number is saved as a mobile number with spaces removed, so write it with the country code. A website without https:// gets it added.

4. 4

   Check the read-back, then download

   Every code is decoded before download. Scan it with your own phone as well, confirm the name order and that the number dials, then save PNG or SVG.

vCard 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 or MECARD

Four contact formats can sit inside a QR code, and they are not read equally well.

• vCard 2.1

  The oldest. Accented names such as Müller or Sørensen come out garbled unless every field declares its character set.

• vCard 3.0

  The version the iPhone Camera, Google Lens and the built-in Android scanners handle most consistently. This generator writes 3.0 only.

• vCard 4.0

  The newest and most precise, but some older phones still open it as an empty contact.

• MECARD

  A compact format from Japanese mobile phones. Shorter, but it carries fewer fields and some address books ignore parts of it.

Turning a .vcf file into a vCard QR code

A .vcf exported from Outlook, Google Contacts or an iPhone is usually far too big for a printed code. It can carry a photo as base64 text, several addresses and notes; a photo alone runs to tens of thousands of characters, more than any QR code holds.

Open the file in a text editor, or the contact on your phone, and copy only the fields you need.

What the person scanning sees

On an iPhone, the Camera app shows a contact banner that opens a preview where the contact can be created or added to an existing one. On Android, the camera or Google Lens passes it to the Contacts app. Nothing is saved without a tap.

The vCard text inside the pattern

Each field is one line: a property name, a colon and a value. Semicolons separate the parts of a name or an address, so a semicolon or comma in your own text is escaped with a backslash: Smith, Jones & Co is written Smith\, Jones & Co.

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Okafor;Daniel;;;
FN:Daniel Okafor
ORG:Brightline Studio
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+442079460321
EMAIL:daniel@brightline.studio
URL:https://brightline.studio/
END:VCARD

How big to print a vCard code

A vCard carries more text than a web address, so it needs more room. Name, company, phone and email print reliably at 2.5 cm (1 inch); with a website and street address, 3 cm is safer. On a badge read from a meter away, use 8–10 cm.

Common vCard QR code problems

• Putting everything in

  Home and work numbers, two emails, a postal address and a note make a code too dense for small print.

• The full name in one field

  Typing Daniel Okafor into First name leaves the surname empty, and the contact sorts under D in every address book.

• Expecting the code to update

  A vCard code is a snapshot. When your number changes, people who scan an old card save the old number.

Where a vCard code saves the most typing

• An event organizer prints a vCard code on each staff badge so exhibitors save the right contact.
• A job seeker puts one in the header of a printed CV, next to the phone number.
• A plumber adds one to every invoice so customers keep the number for next time.