PDF417 Barcode Generator

PDF417 — the stacked 2D barcode

PDF417 is a stacked 2D barcode invented in 1991 by Ynjiun Wang at Symbol Technologies and later standardised as ISO/IEC 15438. The name comes from Portable Data File (PDF) and the encoding pattern: each codeword uses 4 bars + 4 spaces spanning 17 modules — hence 4-1-7. A typical PDF417 symbol carries 1,850 ASCII characters or 1,108 binary bytes, with a theoretical maximum near 2,710.

Structure: stacked rows, ECC levels and shape

A PDF417 symbol is a stack of 3 to 90 rows, each between 3 and 30 columns wide. Every row has start/stop patterns plus row-indicator codewords, so even a damaged or partially-occluded row can be reconstructed. Error correction is Reed–Solomon at 9 selectable security levels (0 to 8) — higher levels add more recoverable codewords but make the symbol physically larger. Variants include Truncated PDF417 (omits the right-side row indicators to save width) and MicroPDF417 (compact subset for very small payloads).

PDF417 in IDs, boarding passes and government

PDF417 is the workhorse of identity and travel documents:

• US Driver's Licenses — the AAMVA standard prints a PDF417 on the back of every state-issued license since 1998; REAL ID reinforces it.
• IATA Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP) — adopted in 2005, BCBP uses PDF417 for paper boarding passes and mobile screens. Airlines saved hundreds of millions in paper and processing.
• Vehicle registrations in many US states and European countries.
• Brazil's Carteira Digital de Trânsito (CNH-e) combines a QR code with PDF417 for offline verification.
• Apple Wallet / Google Wallet ticket passes — PassKit supports PDF417 alongside QR and Aztec.

PDF417 vs QR vs Data Matrix

All three are 2D codes with strong error correction, but each has a sweet spot:

• PDF417 — rectangular, scales horizontally; perfect for ID cards and labels with long strips of space.
• QR Code — square, dominant in consumer marketing and payments, optimised for camera snapshots from any angle.
• Data Matrix — square or rectangular, the smallest at very low data volumes, dominant in pharma and DPM.

For boarding passes, PDF417 remains the IATA-mandated symbology — the long, thin rectangle fits naturally on the bottom strip of a paper boarding card.

FAQ

Why is PDF417 still used for boarding passes in 2026? The IATA BCBP standard mandates it, all airline scanners are calibrated for it, and the rectangular shape fits the paper format. QR is starting to appear in mobile wallets but PDF417 still dominates the printed format.

Is PDF417 on government IDs? Yes — every US driver's license, many European vehicle registrations, and Brazil's CNH-e. It carries the holder's parsed personal data so a roadside scanner can verify identity offline.

QR vs PDF417 for boarding? Mobile boarding passes increasingly use both. IATA still requires PDF417 as the canonical symbology, but airlines like Lufthansa and ANA embed both in Apple/Google Wallet passes.

What ECC level should I use? Level 2–4 covers most label/print use cases (5–25% recovery). Level 5 or higher is recommended for IDs, boarding passes and anything that may be folded, photographed in dim light or partially obscured.