How to Create vCard QR Codes

Creating vCard QR Codes

vCard QR codes let recipients add your contact information to their phone with a single scan — no typing required. They're ideal for business cards, conference badges, and email signatures.

vCard Format

A vCard QR code encodes a text block in vCard format (VCF). The minimum viable vCard includes version, full name, and at least one contact method. Version 3.0 is the most widely supported format across iOS and Android devices.

Required and Optional Fields

At minimum, include FN (formatted name), TEL (phone), and EMAIL. Optional but valuable fields include ORG (company), TITLE (job title), URL (website), and ADR (address). Each additional field increases the QR code complexity, requiring more modules and thus a larger physical size.

Encoding Best Practices

Use UTF-8 encoding for international characters in names and addresses. Keep the total vCard size under 300 characters for reliable scanning — this means prioritizing the most important contact fields. Phone numbers should include the country code in E.164 format (+1 for US, +44 for UK). Line endings must use CRLF (\r\n) per the vCard specification.

Testing Across Platforms

iOS and Android handle vCard QR codes differently. iOS presents a contact card preview with an "Add to Contacts" button. Android may open the Contacts app directly or show a dialog depending on the manufacturer. Test with both platforms and verify that all fields are parsed correctly — special characters in names and non-standard field ordering cause parsing failures on some devices.

Common Mistakes

Avoid including a photo in the vCard — it dramatically increases the data size, making the QR code too dense to scan reliably. Don't use vCard 4.0 features if you need broad compatibility — many Android devices still only support 3.0. Always include the BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD delimiters.