---
title: "Password Protect, Expire or Limit a QR Code"
description: "Put a password in front of a QR code, expire it on a date, or stop it after a set number of scans — for tickets, limited runs and internal documents."
canonical: https://reroutehq.com/resources/password-protect-expire-qr-code
---

# How to password-protect, expire, or scan-limit a QR code

**Who this is for:** Events, ticketing and internal comms

Most QR codes should work forever. Some should not. A ticket is valid for one evening, a launch document should not be readable a year later, and a limited run should stop when the run does.

Three controls cover almost all of it, and they can be added to a code that is already printed.

## Steps

### 1. Add a password to gate the destination

Scanners land on a password screen instead of the destination. Useful for internal documents and anything you would rather was not forwarded onward.

### 2. Set an expiry date

After the date passes, scans land on an expired page rather than the destination. The code itself still resolves — it just resolves to a clear message instead of a dead page or a wrong one.

### 3. Cap it by scan count

Stop the code after a set number of scans. The count is reserved atomically, so two people scanning at the same moment cannot push it past the limit — which matters when the limit is the number of seats in a room.

### 4. Print, then adjust as the situation changes

All three are settings on the destination, so a code already in circulation can gain a password this afternoon or have its expiry pushed back a week.

### 5. Check the analytics either way

A protected code reports exactly like an unprotected one. Scans that hit the password screen, the expiry page or the scan cap are recorded with the same detail, so a gated campaign is not a blind spot.

## What this will not do

- A password protects the destination, not the code. Anyone can still scan the square and see that something is there.
- These are not one-time-use or redeemable codes. A scan limit caps a shared link; it does not issue a unique code per person or track redemption.
- An expired or capped code does not un-print itself. Plan the message on the expiry page — it is what a late scanner will actually read.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I set all three on one code?

Yes. They are independent, so a code can be passworded, expire on a date and stop after 200 scans at the same time.

### What does a scanner see after the code expires?

An expired page rather than a broken link or a silently wrong destination. That is a deliberate choice: a clear message is better than a 404 for someone standing in front of a poster.

### Do protected codes still show up in analytics?

Yes, and with the same detail. The gated and ungated paths were deliberately brought into line so that turning on protection does not quietly change your reporting.

### Is the scan limit exact under load?

Yes. The reservation is a single conditional database update, so concurrent scans cannot overshoot the cap.

## Related

- [/tools/event-qr-code](/tools/event-qr-code)
- [/tools/pdf-qr-code](/tools/pdf-qr-code)
- [/tools/url-qr-code](/tools/url-qr-code)
- [Security and controls](/security)
- [Pricing](/pricing)