Do QR Codes Expire? What Actually Stops One Working

No. The printed pattern does not expire. A QR code is a fixed arrangement of black and white squares that encodes a string of text. That encoding has no clock in it. A code printed in 2011 decodes to exactly the same string today as it did the day it was printed.

What expires is whatever the string points at. And that is where the confusion — and most of the money lost on reprints — actually comes from. This page separates the three different things people mean when they say a QR code expired, because only one of them is genuinely your problem to solve.

The three things people actually mean

Almost every “my QR code expired” story is one of these, and they have completely different fixes.

Only the first is really about expiry, and it is a website problem rather than a QR problem. The second is a commercial decision by your provider dressed up as a technical limit. The third is a print problem — why a QR code is not scanning covers it.

Static codes cannot be switched off by anyone

A static QR code encodes the destination directly. Scan it and the phone reads https://example.com/promo straight out of the pattern and opens it. No server in the middle, no account, no subscription.

That means nobody — not your QR provider, not us — has any mechanism to disable it. It will work for as long as the URL it contains works. If you encode a Wi-Fi network or a phone number rather than a URL, there is no expiry story at all, because there is nothing external to break.

The price of that permanence is that a static code can never be edited and can never be tracked. Print the wrong link and your only option is a reprint.

Dynamic codes depend on somebody keeping a redirect alive

A dynamic QR code encodes a short redirect belonging to your provider. The phone opens the redirect, the provider looks up the current destination, records the scan, and forwards the visitor on. That hop is what makes a dynamic code editable and trackable — and it is also the single point of failure.

If the provider stops resolving that redirect, every copy of that code in the world breaks at once. Posters, packaging, business cards, vehicle livery. This is what people are describing when they say QR codes expire, and it is worth being precise about it: the code did not expire, the provider turned it off.

Some providers do this deliberately. A free tier that deactivates your printed codes after a fortnight is not a technical constraint, it is a conversion tactic, and it works because the cost of reprinting is much higher than the subscription. It is worth knowing which kind of provider you are dealing with before the artwork goes to print.

Questions worth asking any QR provider before you print

• What happens to a live code if I stop paying? Deleted, paused, or left running? These are very different answers.
• Is there a scan cap? Some plans stop resolving a code after a set number of scans, which fails exactly when a campaign succeeds.
• Is there a time limit on the redirect itself? Distinct from the subscription — some free codes expire on a fixed date regardless.
• Will scanners see ads or interstitials? Free tiers are often funded by putting something in front of your customer.
• Can I move the code to another provider? Almost universally no, because the redirect hostname belongs to them. Plan for that.

The last one is the one people miss. A dynamic code is a long-term dependency on a specific company, which is a reasonable trade for editability and tracking — but it should be a decision rather than a surprise.

How long a printed code physically lasts

Assuming the destination is fine, the failure modes are boring and physical: sun fading, abrasion on packaging, a sticker peeling, someone putting a price label over the corner.

QR codes carry Reed–Solomon error correction, which tolerates part of the symbol being damaged or obscured — roughly 7% at the lowest level and up to about 30% at the highest. Higher correction means a denser pattern, so it needs either more print area or fewer characters encoded. For anything outdoors or on packaging, the higher levels are worth the space.

Size and quiet zone matter more than people expect: the QR code size guide has the printing numbers.

What we do, so you can compare

Stating our own position plainly, because the question on this page is really a question about vendor behaviour.

• Static codes never expire. Unlimited creates on every paid plan. Nothing to switch off.
• Dynamic codes stay live for the life of the subscription. We do not deactivate a code that is already printed in the world to force an upgrade.
• A lapsed subscription pauses scans rather than deleting codes. Resubscribe and the code resumes with its scan history intact.
• No scan caps on paid plans, and no ads, ever. Scanners are never shown interstitials or third-party branding on any plan.
• Trial codes are the exception, and we would rather say so. The 7-day trial gives you 5 dynamic codes for testing; they stop resolving when the trial ends unless you subscribe. Do not print a trial code.

If a permanent code is the requirement, the honest answer is a dynamic code on a plan you intend to keep, or a static one where you genuinely will never need to change the destination. Static vs dynamic works through that choice properly.

Frequently asked questions