Do QR codes expire?

No. A QR code is a pattern of ink, and ink does not expire. Whether a scan still takes your customer somewhere useful is a separate 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 can never 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?

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 changes, and the platform stops answering for that short link. The printed pattern still encodes the link, and always will. It leads to a wall now.

So the honest answer for dynamic codes: the code cannot expire, and the service behind it can. We wrote up how that plays out in practice, reviews and reactivation fees included, in Why QR codes die (and how to print ones that don't).

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?

Two routes.

Print a static code. Our free generator makes them without an account, and what you download is yours forever. Pick this when the destination will never change and you don't need scan counts.

Or use a dynamic code from a platform that puts its policy in writing. Ask one question before you print: what happens to my codes when I stop paying? If the answer involves "paused", "deactivated" or a reactivation fee, the codes are rented.

Our policy: codes never expire, on any plan. The free plan includes 3 dynamic codes with scan analytics, and a downgrade blocks creating new codes past your plan's limit without breaking a single code you already printed. Paid plans run $7, $15 and $29 a month, and the pricing page states the never-expire policy in writing, where it belongs.

Print the code. Laminate the sign. The ink will outlast most of the companies selling you a scanner app.