Do QR codes expire?

The pattern does not. A QR code is a grid of ink, and ink has no expiry date. Whether a scan still takes your customer somewhere useful is a second question, and the answer depends on which kind of code you printed.

Do static QR codes expire?

A static code bakes its content into the pattern itself. The URL, Wi-Fi password or contact card lives in the black and white modules, with no server in between. Nothing can switch it off, because there is nothing to switch off. A static code printed today will scan for as long as the paper survives, whether that is a week or thirty years.

The trade: you cannot edit a static code, and it counts no scans. A typo printed on 10,000 boxes stays a typo on 10,000 boxes.

Do dynamic QR codes expire?

Yes, and the date is set by billing rather than by the ink. A dynamic code stores a short link on the platform's domain. When someone scans, the platform's server redirects them to your destination. That indirection is what makes the code editable and trackable, and it also means the code works for exactly as long as the platform keeps redirecting.

Every "my QR code expired" story traces back to that server. A trial ends, a card fails, a plan lapses, a free allowance runs out, and the platform stops answering for that short link. The printed pattern still encodes the link, and always will. The scan now goes nowhere useful. Why QR codes die covers the mechanics and the questions to ask a vendor before a print run.

How long does a dynamic code last here?

Ours follow the subscription, and the numbers are:

• Free plan: a dynamic code stays active for 12 months from the day you create it, then deactivates unless the account upgrades.
• Paid plans: codes stay active while the subscription is active, plus a 30-day grace period after you cancel. Paid plans run $7, $15 and $29 a month.
• Static codes are outside this. They have no server behind them and no expiry.
• A deactivated dynamic code shows the scanner an inactive code page rather than a browser error.

The same rules sit on the pricing page. Read them before the print run, not after.

How long does a QR code last physically?

Longer than the surface it sits on. QR codes carry built-in error correction, so a code stays readable with up to about 30 percent of the pattern scuffed, faded or covered. Sun-bleached ink and heavy lamination glare cause more scan failures than age does. If a code fails after years outdoors, reprint the same code; the pattern has no shelf life.

How do I make a QR code that never expires?

Print a static code. Our free generator makes them without an account, and the file you download keeps scanning with no plan behind it. Pick this when the destination is final and you can live without scan counts.

No dynamic code gives you that, ours included, because a server has to answer every scan and someone pays for that server each month. What a dynamic code can give you is a lifespan you know before you print. Ask two things: how long codes stay live on the plan you are buying, and what happens on the day you stop paying. A vendor that answers both in writing is one you can plan a print run around.

Then match the code to the job. A poster coming down in two weeks can carry anything. A laminated sign or a product box with a three-year shelf life needs a static code, or three years of subscription budgeted for it.