PDF417 barcode generator
PDF417 is a wide, stacked barcode made of several short rows, used on passes, tickets and ID-style records because it holds a few lines of text. Opo Codes draws one free in your browser from any text you type, checks the scan, and exports PNG, SVG or PDF.
Open the generatorFree. Runs in your browser.
How to do it
- Open the generator with PDF417 already selected.
- Type the text to store, one record or a few lines.
- Look at the scan stamp, and set the bar width and height for your print.
- Choose PNG, JPG, SVG or PDF, then download.
What PDF417 is good for
It holds more than a normal bar code, stacked in rows. Camera-type scanners read it, and so do laser scanners that sweep across the rows, if the model lists PDF417 support; a plain single-line scanner usually cannot. That is why it appears on visitor passes, event tickets and membership cards, where a person types or prints a short record.
Worked example: the text Visitor pass 4471, valid to 2026-12-31 is one line of 38 characters. A VERIFIED stamp means the scan of the PDF417 returned exactly that text.
Size and print
Defaults for this type are a 0.33 mm bar width, a 12 mm total height and a quiet zone of 4. Raise the height if your reader needs taller rows, and keep the bar width at 0.25 mm or more, since the generator warns below that. A longer text makes a larger code, and text too long for the format is refused with a message.
Dark bars on a light background read best, and contrast under 4.5 to 1 gets a warning. Export SVG or PDF for print, or PNG at 300 or 600 DPI.
Honest limits
This generator encodes the text you type. It does not build the fixed layouts used on driving licences or airline boarding passes, and it does not sign or protect the data. Anyone can scan and read it. Do not store a secret in it.
MicroPDF417 and PDF417 compact are also in the picker, and both are scan-tested. For links that people scan with a phone, the QR code generator is the better fit.
Questions
Can I make a boarding pass or a licence barcode?
No. This tool encodes plain text. Those documents follow fixed layouts from their issuers, and we do not build them.
Will a phone read it?
Some phone scanner apps read PDF417 and many cameras do not. Scan with the reader you will actually use.
PDF417 or Data Matrix?
PDF417 is wide and flat and is read by camera-type scanners and by laser scanners built for it. Data Matrix is a small square and needs a camera-type scanner.
Is the data private?
The code is drawn in your browser. Anyone with a scanner can read what is in a printed code.