Aztec code generator
The ticketing 2D code. It needs no blank margin around it, which is why it survives being printed at the very edge of a rail ticket or shown on a phone at a gate.
Generate a Aztec Code barcode
SVG shape mask (decorative)
Upload an SVG — the barcode is clipped to its shape. A horse SVG makes a horse-shaped barcode.
An Aztec code is built outwards from a bullseye: a set of concentric square rings in the centre, with a reference grid and the data spiralling around them. Because the finder pattern is in the middle rather than at the corners, the decoder never has to see the outside edge of the symbol to locate it — and that is what removes the quiet-zone requirement.
That single property is why Aztec dominates transport ticketing. A ticket printed by a station machine can put the code hard against the edge of the stock, and a phone showing a mobile ticket can render it edge to edge on a bright screen without a white border. UIC standard 918.3 for rail tickets in Europe and the IATA BCBP standard for mobile boarding passes both use it.
Capacity runs to 3,832 digits, 3,067 letters or 1,914 bytes, and the error correction level is configurable from about 5 % up to 95 % of the symbol, with a default in the low twenties. There is also a Compact Aztec form for small payloads, which is what most tickets actually use.
What Aztec Code encodes
| Character set | Full byte range; text and binary |
|---|---|
| Capacity | Up to 3,832 digits, 3,067 letters or 1,914 bytes |
| Sizes | 15 × 15 to 151 × 151 modules, plus the Compact form from 15 × 15 |
| Error correction | Reed–Solomon, configurable from roughly 5 % to 95 % |
| Dimensions | Two-dimensional (matrix) |
| Quiet zone | None required |
| Standard | ISO/IEC 24778 |
Where Aztec Code is actually used
Rail tickets
UIC 918.3 defines a digitally signed Aztec code as the barcode on European rail tickets, printed and mobile.
Mobile boarding passes
Airlines issue BCBP data as an Aztec code for display on a phone screen.
Event and transit tickets
Venue and public-transport ticketing where codes are scanned from screens under poor light.
Vehicle registration documents
Several European registration certificates carry their data in an Aztec code.
Rules this Aztec Code generator enforces
- Any text or binary content is valid; the limit is capacity.
- Aztec is a symbology, not a ticket format. A real rail ticket also carries a digital signature and a defined data layout — this generator produces the symbol, not a valid ticket.
- Compact Aztec is chosen automatically for short payloads; you do not select it by hand.
- Raising error correction increases the module count, so a heavily protected symbol will be physically larger at the same module size.
Printing a Aztec Code symbol that scans
Aztec needs no quiet zone, but it does need square modules and even contrast. If you are showing it on a screen, turn the brightness up and disable any dark mode filter that shifts the contrast — a grey-on-grey Aztec is the most common reason a mobile ticket fails at the gate.
For print, export SVG and keep the symbol square. As with any matrix code, non-proportional scaling breaks the module grid the decoder reconstructs.
Aztec Code questions
Why does Aztec not need a quiet zone?
Its finder pattern is a bullseye at the centre of the symbol, so the decoder locates and orients the code from the inside out and never depends on seeing a clear margin.
Aztec or QR code?
QR for consumer-facing links, because every phone camera app detects it natively. Aztec where space is tight to the edge and the scanner is a dedicated ticket reader.
Can I generate a real train ticket with this?
No. The symbol is genuine, but a valid ticket also requires the issuing operator’s structured payload and cryptographic signature.