QR Code with Expiration Date: How to Set One

A QR code with an expiration date stops opening its link at a day and time you choose. After that moment, anyone who scans it sees an expiration message in place of your page. The date is not stored in the printed pattern. The code is dynamic, so each scan goes to the QR service first, and the service checks the date before it forwards anyone. On QRelix you create a QR code, switch on Time Expiration in the Settings step, and pick the date and time. Time Expiration is part of QRelix Pro at $5.99 per month. The free plan covers creating, designing, and tracking codes, with 50 scans per code and a brief QRelix screen on each scan.

How a QR code with an expiration date works

A QR code is a pattern that stores a short piece of text, usually a web address. It has no clock and cannot switch itself off. The check happens online, at the moment of the scan.

• Someone scans the code with their phone camera.
• The phone opens the short link stored in the code. That link belongs to QRelix.
• QRelix compares the current time with the expiration you set.
• Before that time, the scan is forwarded to your link or file. After it, the scanner sees an expiration message.

Two things follow from this. Only a dynamic code can expire on a schedule, because a static code sends the phone straight to the destination with nothing in between. And the date can be set, moved, or removed after the code is printed, because it is a setting in your dashboard and not part of the printed squares. The static vs. dynamic comparison explains the two types.

How to set an expiration date on a QR code

Step 1: Create the code

Sign in to QRelix and start a new QR code. Choose the type that matches what you are sharing: URL for a web page or an offer, File to upload a PDF or an image, or another type from the list.

Step 2: Turn on Time Expiration

In the Settings step, switch Time Expiration on, pick the date and time the code should stop working, and save. This setting needs a Pro account.

Step 3: Design and download

Set your colors, add a logo if you want one, and generate the code. Download SVG for anything printed and PNG for slides, emails, and screens.

Step 4: Test it before you print

Scan the code with a phone and confirm it opens the right page. To see what a late scanner will see, set the expiration a few minutes ahead, wait, and scan again. Then set the real date. If the offer ends at midnight, check the time against your own clock during this test.

Step 5: Print the end date next to the code

Add a line such as "Offer ends November 15" under the code. People who scan late then know why the page did not open, and people who scan early know how long they have.

Adding an expiration date to a code you already printed

Open the code from your dashboard, click Edit, and set the date. The change applies to the next scan and the printed code does not change. How to edit a QR code after printing covers the other settings you can change on a printed code.

What people see after the code expires

A scan after the expiration time shows an expiration message in place of your content. The destination itself is untouched. Only the path through the QR code is closed.

• You can reopen it. Extend the date or remove the expiration in the dashboard and the same printed code works again. Nothing has to be regenerated or reprinted.
• Late scans are counted. The analytics dashboard shows how many scans each access control blocked, so you can see how many people arrived after the deadline.
• The link is not hidden. If the code forwards to a page on your own website, that page still opens for anyone who has its address. Take the page down too if the offer must end everywhere.

When an expiring QR code is useful

• Limited-time offers. A coupon on a flyer or door hanger that should stop working when the sale ends.
• Event materials. Badges, booth signs, and session handouts that should go quiet after the closing day. QR codes for event marketing has more event setups.
• Deadlines. A registration form, a contest entry, or a bid package that closes on a set date.
• Temporary file access. Proofs, quotes, or a download that should be available for two weeks and no longer.
• Short stays. Check-in instructions or a welcome guide that should only open during a booking.

A worked example

A bakery prints 2,000 door hangers with a code for a free coffee with any pastry, good through Sunday, November 15. The owner sets Time Expiration to 11:59 p.m. that Sunday and prints "Ends November 15" under the code.

On Monday morning a customer scans a hanger and sees the expiration message, so nobody at the counter has to explain an expired coupon. The dashboard shows 212 scans during the offer and 31 blocked scans in the week after it ended, which tells the owner there is still interest.

In December the bakery repeats the offer. The owner opens the same code, moves the expiration to December 20, and the hangers that are still on fridges and in drawers work again. Nothing is reprinted.

Expiration date or scan limit?

A code can run out by time or by count, and they solve different problems.

• Expiration date. The code stops at a date and time. This suits "valid until Friday."
• Scan limit. The code stops after a number of scans. You can set a total cap, a daily cap, or both. This suits "first 100 customers." See how a QR code scan limit works.

Both are part of QRelix Pro, and you can use them together on one code. The code then closes when either condition is met. Two more controls can be added to the same code: a password, covered in how to make a password protected QR code, and geofencing, which opens the code only for scanners in a city, region, or country you choose.

When more than one control is on, QRelix checks the geofence first, then the password, then the scan limit, then the expiration date. The security and access controls guide describes each setting.

The 50 scans on a free code are a different thing. That is the free plan's limit, not a setting you choose, and a paused free code resumes when you upgrade.

Turning a code off by hand

If you do not know the end date in advance, you can switch a code to Disabled in the dashboard when the time comes. Scanners then see an inactive message, the code keeps its scan history, and you can enable it again later. This suits a seasonal campaign that ends when stock runs out.

Do QR codes expire by themselves?

A static QR code does not. The destination is stored in the pattern, so it opens for as long as the print survives and the destination exists. A dynamic code works for as long as the service behind it keeps forwarding scans. On QRelix, nothing expires on a timer unless you set one: free codes pause after their first 50 scans, and Pro codes never pause. If you want a code with no end date, see how to make a free QR code that doesn't expire.

What a QR code with an expiration date costs on QRelix

• Free ($0, no credit card). Unlimited dynamic QR codes, every QR code type, editable destinations, custom colors and logo, and scan analytics. Each code works for its first 50 scans and shows a brief QRelix screen before forwarding. After 50 scans the code pauses until you upgrade. Time Expiration is not part of the free plan.
• Pro ($5.99 per month). Unlimited scans so codes never pause, no QRelix screen, and the security suite: password protection, expiration dates, and geofencing.

You can create and design the code on the free plan and add the expiration date once you are on Pro. Upgrading does not change the QR image, so anything already printed keeps working. The dynamic QR code cost guide compares the two plans, and current details are on the pricing page.

Questions about QR codes with expiration dates

Can I make a QR code with an expiration date for free?

On QRelix, Time Expiration is part of Pro at $5.99 per month. The free plan lets you create, customize, and track dynamic codes, with 50 scans per code and a brief QRelix screen on each scan.

Can I extend the date after it has passed?

Yes. Edit the code in your dashboard and choose a new date, or remove the expiration. The printed code stays the same and opens again right away.

Can a static QR code have an expiration date?

No. A static code holds the destination itself, so the phone goes straight there and nothing can check a date on the way. An expiration date needs a dynamic code.

Can a code expire after a number of scans instead of a date?

Yes. Turn on Scan Limits and enter a total cap, a daily cap, or both. Scan limits are a Pro setting and can be combined with an expiration date.

Will people know why the code stopped working?

They see an expiration message when they scan. Printing the end date beside the code helps too, because it answers the question before anyone scans.

Make your QR code with an expiration date

Create a QR code on QRelix with no credit card, then turn on Time Expiration with Pro at $5.99 per month. Each free code works for its first 50 scans and shows a brief QRelix screen before forwarding.