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Phone number QR code generator

A phone code puts your number into the dialler. Scanning shows the number and asks whether to call it — no phone dials on its own, on any platform, which is a deliberate protection rather than a limitation.

It suits situations where somebody needs to reach a person right now and typing eleven digits is the obstacle: a taxi rank, an out-of-hours sign, a broken lift, a for-sale board.

What should it do

Dial a number.

Content

Design

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Use the international format

Write the number with its country code and a leading plus. The generator keeps the plus and strips spaces, brackets and dashes, because a tel: payload should contain digits and the plus and nothing else.

A national-format number works for locals and fails for everyone else — the visitor whose phone is on a foreign network, the customer calling from abroad. The plus form works from everywhere, and costs you nothing to use.

Extensions rarely survive

Support for dialling an extension after connection is inconsistent. The tel: scheme has conventions for a pause and for an extension, but whether a phone honours them depends on the dialler, and a number that dials the switchboard and then does nothing is worse than one that just dials the switchboard.

If you need a specific person, the reliable answer is a direct line. If there is no direct line, print the extension as text beside the code so the caller can enter it when prompted.

Print the number as well

Always show the digits next to the code. Somebody at a desktop, somebody whose camera will not focus, somebody who wants to save it rather than call now — all of them need the number visible, and it takes one line.

It also makes the code self-explanatory. People scan a code labelled "Call us on 0117 496 0000" far more readily than an unlabelled square, because they can see where it leads before pointing a camera at it.

A contact card is often the better code

If you want somebody to keep your number rather than call it once, a vCard code is the right type: it offers to save you as a contact with a name attached, so you are findable later by name rather than an unlabelled number in a call log.

Use a phone code where the call is the immediate action, and a contact card where being remembered is the point. On a business card, that is almost always the contact card.

Common questions

Does scanning a phone QR code dial immediately?
No. Every platform shows the number and asks for confirmation first. A code that could place a call without a tap would be an obvious way to abuse people, so no phone allows it.
How should I format the phone number?
International format with a leading plus and the country code. Spaces, brackets and dashes are stripped automatically. A national-format number fails for anyone calling from abroad or roaming on a foreign network.
Can a QR code dial an extension?
Unreliably. Diallers disagree about pause and extension conventions, and a code that reaches the switchboard then stalls is worse than one that simply reaches the switchboard. Use a direct line, or print the extension as text.
Should I use a phone code or a contact card?
A phone code when calling now is the point — a taxi rank, an out-of-hours sign. A vCard code when you want to be kept, because it saves you under a name rather than leaving an unlabelled number in a call log.
Does it work on a tablet or laptop?
It depends on the device. Something with no cellular radio may offer to call through a linked phone or an internet calling app, or may do nothing useful. Printing the number as text covers that case.

Other generators

Phone Number QR Code Generator — Tap to Call