Do QR codes expire?
A QR code itself never expires. The ones that stop working are dynamic codes that depend on a paid redirect. Here is how to tell which kind you have.
A QR code is a picture of some data. The pattern doesn’t change, doesn’t connect to anything and has no clock inside it. A code printed in 2010 that contains a web address still contains that address today. So the short answer is no: QR codes don’t expire.
The longer answer is that a great many codes stop working anyway and they stop working for a reason that isn’t obvious from looking at them.
Static codes
A static code holds the real content: your web address, your WiFi password, your phone number. Scan it and the phone acts on that content directly. It keeps working for as long as the thing it points at exists. There is no account, no subscription and nobody else involved.
Every code made with the QR code generator on this site is static.
Dynamic codes
A dynamic code holds a short link on the QR vendor’s own domain. Every scan goes to the vendor’s server first, which looks up where you told it to send people and forwards them there. That is how vendors offer editable destinations and scan counts.
It is also how codes die. When the plan ends, the vendor stops forwarding and every printed code now leads to an expiry notice or an upsell page. Many free QR generators make dynamic codes by default without making that obvious, which is why so many menus, flyers and product labels lead nowhere after a couple of weeks.
Checking a code you already have
Use a QR code scanner that shows the contents rather than opening them. If the address is your own domain, the code is static and will last. If it is a vendor’s short link, the code works only while that account does. Decide now whether to keep paying or reprint, rather than finding out from a customer.
Getting the flexibility without the risk
The one thing dynamic codes do well is let you change the destination after printing. You can have that on your own terms: point a static code at a short, stable page on your own site, such as yoursite.com/menu and change what that page shows or where it redirects. The code never changes and nothing outside your control can switch it off.
Common questions
Why did my QR code stop working?
Almost always because it was a dynamic code and the account behind it lapsed or the free trial ended. The code still contains the vendor's short link and the vendor has stopped forwarding it. Less often, the page the code pointed at was moved or deleted.
Can I fix a code that has stopped working?
If it is a dynamic code, only by renewing the account with the vendor that made it, because the short link belongs to them. If it is a static code pointing at a page that moved, restore the page or redirect the old address on your own site. Otherwise the code has to be replaced.
How can I tell if a code is static or dynamic?
Scan it with a scanner that shows the raw contents instead of opening it. If the link is on your own domain, it is static. If it is a short link on a QR vendor's domain, it is dynamic and depends on that vendor.
Are dynamic codes ever the right choice?
They make sense for a short campaign where you want scan counts without setting up analytics and you accept the dependency. For anything printed to last, such as packaging, signs and business cards, a static code pointing at your own domain is safer.