# QR code vs PDF417

> PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode from 1991 - wide, ribbon-shaped and readable by laser scanners, which is why US driving licences under AAMVA rules and printed boarding passes still carry it. A QR code stores the same data in a fraction of the area and any phone camera can read it.

Source: https://useqr.app/docs/basics/qr-code-vs-pdf417 · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## The comparison

| | QR code | PDF417 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ISO/IEC 18004 | ISO/IEC 15438 |
| Geometry | Square matrix | Stacked rows of bar patterns, 3–90 rows |
| Origin | Denso, 1994 | Symbol Technologies, 1991 |
| Max capacity | 7,089 numeric / 2,953 bytes | 2,710 numeric / ~1,850 text / 1,108 bytes |
| Error correction | 4 levels, 7–30% | 9 levels (0–8), selectable |
| Shape | Compact, square | Wide ribbon — aspect ratio typically 3:1 or wider |
| Readable by laser scanner | No — needs a camera/imager | **Yes** — its rows are linear barcodes |
| Phone camera support | Universal, native | Poor on stock cameras; apps required |
| Space efficiency | High | Low — much more area for the same data |

The name decodes its structure: **P**ortable **D**ata **F**ile, with each pattern built
from **4** bars and 4 spaces spanning **17** module widths. It is not a matrix code but a
*stacked linear* one — a pile of one-dimensional barcodes with row markers, which is
precisely why 1990s laser scanning hardware could read it and why it won institutional
adoption years before QR reached the West.

## Where PDF417 lives today

- **North American driving licences.** AAMVA design standards require a PDF417 on the back
  encoding the licence data — name, date of birth, licence number and more. Every US bar
  scanner checking ages and every car-hire desk reads PDF417 all day.
- **Printed boarding passes.** The IATA BCBP standard uses PDF417 for paper passes (mobile
  passes use QR, Aztec or Data Matrix — see [QR vs Aztec](/docs/basics/qr-code-vs-aztec)).
- **Shipping and postage.** Some carrier labels and postage systems carry PDF417 alongside
  other symbologies.
- **Government forms and visas** in several countries.

The pattern is consistent: PDF417 persists where a specification wrote it in during the
1990s and an installed base of scanners keeps it there. Almost no new system chooses it.

## Why QR replaced it everywhere else

For the same payload, a PDF417 symbol consumes several times the print area of a QR code —
its bar-space patterns are far less dense than a module matrix, and its wide ribbon shape
fits badly on packaging, screens and posters. It cannot be scanned by the cameras people
carry: stock phone camera apps recognise QR and little else. And its
[error correction](/glossary/error-correction-level), while selectable across nine levels,
protects a symbol that was already using its area inefficiently.

QR gives you the same data in a compact square, damage tolerance up to 30%, and an
audience whose devices [already scan it](/docs/scanning/how-to-scan-a-qr-code) — generated
free from [any URL or text](/text-qr-code).

## Which to use

- **A written standard requires PDF417** (AAMVA, BCBP paper passes, a government form) →
  PDF417, exactly as specified. Compliance is the only reason to pick it.
- **Anything else** → QR code. There is no scenario outside legacy compliance where PDF417
  is the better engineering choice for new work.

## FAQ

### What is a PDF417 barcode used for?
Mostly institutional documents standardised in the 1990s: the machine-readable strip on North American driving licences under AAMVA rules, printed airline boarding passes under IATA BCBP, and various government forms, visas and shipping documents.

### Is PDF417 better than a QR code?
No, except for compliance. PDF417 needs several times the print area for the same data, phone cameras rarely read it natively, and its wide ribbon shape suits few layouts. Choose it only when a specification demands it.

### Can a phone scan a PDF417 barcode?
Stock camera apps generally do not recognise PDF417. Dedicated scanner apps and Google Lens usually manage clean prints, and purpose-built hardware such as ID scanners reads it reliably.

### Why do driving licences use PDF417 instead of QR codes?
The AAMVA standard specified PDF417 in the 1990s, when laser-based scanners could read its stacked linear rows and matrix codes were not yet established in the US. The installed base of readers has kept it there since.

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