# QR code size for a name badge

> Make badge QR codes at least 3 cm, ideally 4–5 cm on a 10 × 7.5 cm badge. Conversation distance would demand an impossible 5–10 cm code, but people naturally hold a badge out at 20–30 cm to be scanned. Print the code on both sides — lanyard badges spin.

Source: https://useqr.app/docs/print/qr-code-size-for-a-name-badge · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Which distance are you designing for?

| Interaction | Distance | 10:1 width | Fits a badge? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read mid-conversation, hands down | 50–100 cm | 5–10 cm | barely, or not |
| Badge held out to be scanned | 20–30 cm | 2–3 cm | yes |
| Badge on the chest, scanner leans in | 40 cm | 4 cm | yes |

The honest answer is that you cannot size for passive conversation distance — a 10 cm
code would *be* the badge. Fortunately you do not need to: scanning a badge is a
cooperative act, and the wearer holds it out. **Design for the held-out badge: 3 cm
floor, 4–5 cm target.** The 4 cm figure also covers the lean-in case, which is how badge
scanning actually happens at
[trade shows and conferences](/docs/marketing/qr-codes-at-trade-shows).

## The real-estate fight

A typical badge is 10 × 7.5 cm (or credit-card sized at 8.6 × 5.4 cm), and its first job
is the wearer's name in large type. On the 10 × 7.5 format, a 4 cm code plus
[quiet zone](/glossary/quiet-zone) takes about a quarter of the face — workable if the
code sits in a lower corner. On credit-card badges, 3 cm is the realistic ceiling, which
in turn caps the payload: keep it to a short profile URL (version 2–3) rather than a
[full vCard](/vcard-qr-code), whose density needs more width than the badge has — the
same arithmetic as a [business card](/docs/print/qr-code-size-for-a-business-card).

## The lanyard flip

The badge-specific failure has nothing to do with printing: badges on single-clip
lanyards spin, and at any moment roughly half the badges in a hall face backwards. A
perfect code on the front of a flipped badge scans exactly never.

Fixes, in order of robustness:

1. **Print the code on both sides.** Duplex badge stock costs pennies more and makes
   orientation irrelevant.
2. Double clips or badge holders that cannot rotate.
3. At minimum, put the code on the *back* as well as the front of the insert if holders
   are single-sided pouches — the pouch shows both.

## Error correction and finish

**EC M** — badges live for a day or three and rarely take damage worth 25% redundancy;
spending the density on a bigger module wins. Choose matt laminate or matt pouches:
exhibition halls are lit by high, bright point sources, and gloss pouches produce the
same hotspot problem as
[laminated menus](/docs/print/laminate-and-varnish-effects-on-scanning). Size-check the
payload with the [size calculator](/size-calculator) and
[verify the artwork decodes](/validate) before the badge run — 500 badges with a typo'd
URL is a bad first morning. The surface details live on the
[name badges page](/qr-codes-on/name-badges).

## FAQ

### What size should a QR code be on a name badge?
At least 3 cm, ideally 4–5 cm on a 10 × 7.5 cm badge. Badges are scanned held out at 20–30 cm rather than read at conversation distance, which is what makes those sizes workable.

### Should the QR code go on the front or back of a badge?
Both. Lanyard badges spin, so half face backwards at any moment. Printing the same code on both sides — or both faces of the insert in a clear pouch — makes the flip irrelevant.

### Should a badge QR code be a vCard or a URL?
A short URL to a profile page, in most cases. Badge space caps the code at 3–4 cm, and a full vCard's density wants more width than that. A lean vCard works if offline contact exchange is essential.

### What error correction level should badge codes use?
M. Badges are short-lived and lightly handled, so heavy redundancy buys little; keeping the version low and the modules large helps more, especially on credit-card-sized badges.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/vcard
- https://useqr.app/url
- https://useqr.app/size-calculator
- https://useqr.app/validate