PDF417 Barcode Generator

PDF417 is a stacked two-dimensional barcode: 3 to 90 rows of codewords that hold up to about 1,850 letters, 1,108 bytes or 2,710 digits. It is the barcode on the back of North American driver’s licences and ID cards (AAMVA), on printed airline boarding passes (IATA BCBP) and on shipping labels. This tool builds the symbol in your browser — the text is not uploaded — and saves it as PNG or SVG.

How to use this tool

1. Type or paste the text. Line breaks and any language work.
2. Leave error correction and columns on Auto, or set them yourself.
3. Set the module width, row height and quiet zone. Tick Compact only where space is tight.
4. Download the PNG for screens or the SVG for print, then test it with your scanner.

Formula

EC codewords k = 2^(level + 1) · rows × columns ≥ 1 + data codewords + k · width = 17 × (columns + 4) + 1 modules

Each codeword is 4 bars and 4 spaces spanning 17 modules. Text compaction packs 2 characters per codeword, byte compaction 6 bytes into 5 codewords and numeric compaction 44 digits into 15. One codeword states the data length; the rest of the grid is padding and Reed–Solomon error correction. Auto uses the ISO/IEC 15438 recommended minimum — level 2 up to 40 data codewords, 3 up to 160, 4 up to 320, 5 above — then raises it while the grid has spare room. Compact PDF417 is 17 × (columns + 2) + 1 modules wide.

Example

44 digits (12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234) become a numeric latch plus 15 codewords: 16 data codewords. Auto picks level 2 (8 codewords) and round(√(24 ÷ 3)) = 3 columns, so the 25 codewords need ⌈25 ÷ 3⌉ = 9 rows × 3 columns — 120 × 27 modules before the quiet zone.