Making a vCard QR code
Last updated 16 September 2026
A vCard QR code puts your contact details onto someone's phone in one scan. No app, no typing an email address while they spell it out. They scan, the phone offers to add a contact, and it is done.
What a vCard payload looks like
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Doe;Jane
FN:Jane Doe
ORG:Acme Ltd
TITLE:Operations Manager
TEL:+15551234567
EMAIL:[email protected]
URL:https://example.com
END:VCARDIt is a plain text format. Each line is a field. The phone reads it and maps the fields onto its own contact app, which is why the same code works on iPhone and Android.
The fields worth knowing
- N is the structured name: surname first, then given name, separated by a semicolon. This is the one people get wrong.
- FN is the display name, formatted how you want it read. Use both. Older phones read N, newer ones prefer FN.
- TEL should include the country code and start with a plus. A number without one will be dialled wrongly by anyone outside your country.
- ORG and TITLE show up as company and job title.
- URL is a single web address. More than one is possible but most contact apps only show the first.
Size is the real constraint
A vCard is much longer than a URL. A full contact record with phone, email, company, job title and website runs to a few hundred characters. That pushes the QR code to a denser version, which means more, smaller modules.
Denser means it needs to be printed larger to scan reliably. A vCard code that works fine at 2cm on screen might need 4 or 5cm on paper. This is the most common complaint about vCard codes, and it is not a bug. It is arithmetic: more data needs more space.
If you need a small code, cut the payload. Name, one phone number, one email. Leave out the address, the website, and the job title. Every field you remove makes the code less dense and easier to scan at a small size.
Escaping, again
Like the Wi-Fi format, vCard has characters that need escaping. Semicolons separate the parts of a name, so a semicolon inside a name has to be escaped with a backslash. Commas are similar. Very few names contain these, but company names and job titles sometimes do.
There is also a wrinkle with line breaks. The format expects CRLF line endings. Most phones are forgiving about this, but not all, so it is worth using a tool that gets it right rather than hand-rolling the payload.
Ethics and practicality
A vCard code hands your details to whoever scans it, and it is a one-way transfer. That is usually what you want on a business card. It is less good on a poster, where you are giving your personal phone number to strangers.
Consider a separate number and email for anything public. A work number on a conference badge is fine. Your personal mobile on a flyer is not.
Where it works best
- Business cards, where the point is exactly this.
- Conference badges and lanyards.
- A shop counter, so customers can reach the owner.
- Signage for a tradesperson, plumber, or contractor.
- Email signatures, if you keep the payload short.
In all of these, keep the payload lean. The best vCard codes are the ones with four or five fields, not fifteen.