Do QR codes expire?
The code itself has no expiry date. Five other things do — and four of them are avoidable if you decide before you print.
Short answerA static QR code never expires: the destination is encoded into the printed pattern, so there is nothing to renew or switch off. Dynamic QR codes can expire, because they point at a redirect owned by a company that may end a trial, change its pricing, or shut down.
Why a static code cannot expire
A static QR code is not a record in anyone’s database. The URL is written directly into the arrangement of black and white squares. A scanner reads the squares, reconstructs the text, and hands it to the browser — no server is consulted to find out what the code means.
There is therefore nothing that could lapse. No account, no subscription, no lookup service. A static code printed in 1998 would still decode to exactly the same string today, because decoding is arithmetic performed on the image in front of the camera.
Every code made on this site is static. Nothing here can expire, throttle, or start charging, because there is no service between the scan and your page. See static vs dynamic for the trade-offs that come with that.
What actually breaks a working code
When someone says a QR code “expired”, one of these is nearly always what happened.
| Cause | Who controls it | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| The destination page was deleted or moved | You | Link to a stable URL on your own domain and redirect from there. |
| The dynamic-code service ended the free plan | A third party | Use a static code, or run your own redirect. |
| The short-link provider shut down | A third party | Never encode someone else’s short link in permanent print. |
| The domain was not renewed | You | Auto-renew the domain; it outlives everything you print. |
| The printed code faded, tore, or got covered | Physics | Higher error correction, better substrate, larger size. |
| The site moved to HTTPS-only and the code says http:// | You | Encode https:// from the start; most sites redirect, but not all. |
When dynamic codes expire
A dynamic QR code encodes a short URL belonging to a QR service. Scanning it hits that service, which looks up where the code should currently point and forwards the visitor. That indirection is what makes the destination editable — and what makes expiry possible.
- Trial codes. Many providers offer free dynamic codes that stop redirecting after 7 to 14 days, or after a scan quota.
- Lapsed subscriptions. Stop paying and the redirect usually stops with it, taking every printed code with it.
- Scan limits. Cheaper plans cap monthly scans. A successful campaign can switch off its own codes.
- Company failure. If the provider disappears, so does the redirect. Nothing you own can bring it back.
None of this means dynamic codes are a bad idea — editability and scan statistics are genuinely useful. It means the cost of a dynamic code is not the monthly fee; it is a permanent dependency on a third party for every item you have printed.
How to print a code that lasts
- Encode a URL on a domain you own and intend to keep. Everything else can change behind it.
- Use a path you will never reuse for something else — /menu, /manual, /event-2027 — rather than a deep link into a page structure you might reorganise.
- Set up a redirect at that path, so you can move the real content later without touching the print.
- Turn on domain auto-renewal. A printed code outlives most marketing decisions and quite a few businesses.
- Keep the destination alive after a campaign ends. Scans keep arriving from material nobody took down.
Do that and the only remaining failure mode is the physical one: the print itself. Which is a sizing and materials problem, covered in QR code size for printing.
Make a static code with no service in between:Generate a QR code
Related questions
No. The destination is encoded in the printed pattern itself, so there is no account, subscription, or lookup service that could lapse. A static code decodes to the same address for as long as the printed image is legible.
Free static codes do not — there is nothing to switch off. Free dynamic codes frequently do: providers commonly limit the free tier to a trial period or a scan quota, after which the redirect stops. Check which kind you are getting before printing anything.
Indefinitely, as far as the code is concerned. The practical lifespan is whichever runs out first: the destination page, the domain registration, or the physical print. Choose a URL on a domain you keep renewing and the answer becomes “as long as the paper lasts”.
Not for a static code — the address is part of the pattern. The standard workaround is to encode a URL on your own domain and serve a redirect from it, so you can re-point the destination at any time without reprinting.
Yes, if the ink is still legible and the quiet zone is intact. The format has not changed since it was standardised, and modern phones read old codes without difficulty. Whether the URL inside still resolves is a separate question entirely.