Static QR codes are permanent. The pattern itself encodes your data, phones decode it locally, and no server is involved — so there is nothing that can be switched off, ever. Dynamic QR codes are not permanent by default: they route through a company's short link, and they last exactly as long as that company keeps the redirect alive.
"Permanent" and "never expires" are the same question asked two ways. The mechanics are covered in do QR codes expire; this page answers the permanence phrasing directly, including for codes made in Adobe Express and Canva.
What makes a QR code permanent?
One property: the destination is stored inside the pattern. That is a static QR code. The black and white modules are the data — a URL, a WiFi password, a contact card. Your phone's camera reads them the way a cashier's scanner reads a barcode. No lookup, no account, no company in the loop.
The QR format itself has been stable since 1994 and is an ISO standard (ISO/IEC 18004). Every phone camera made in the last decade reads it natively. A static code you print today will still decode in twenty years, on hardware that does not exist yet.
So a static code is as permanent as two things: the physical print and the destination. If the flyer survives and the page it points to still exists, the code works. Neither failure mode is the code "expiring" — see why did my QR code stop working for the difference.
When is a QR code not permanent?
When it routes through someone else's server. A dynamic QR code encodes a short link owned by the generator — scan it, and their server decides where you go. That indirection is what lets you edit the destination after printing, and it is also the single point of failure. Trial ends, plan lapses, company folds, company decides free codes now show ads: the redirect changes and your printed code goes wherever they point it.
Several large generators use this as the business model — rank for "free," wait for you to print, then deactivate the redirect until you pay. We documented which services do this, quoting their own support pages, in the expiry table and the free trial trap.
A dynamic code can be worth that trade when you genuinely need to re-point a printed code or count scans. But it is a service contract, not a permanent artifact.
Are Adobe Express QR codes permanent?
Adobe Express generates static QR codes: the URL you enter is encoded directly into the pattern, so the code itself is permanent and does not depend on Adobe's servers. Adobe's own help pages describe the codes as free and non-expiring.
The usual caveat applies to the destination, not the code. If the code points to a page hosted on an Adobe service and that page goes away, the code still decodes — to a dead link.
Are Canva QR codes permanent?
Canva's QR code generator also produces static codes — the link you type is baked into the image, so the pattern is permanent regardless of your Canva plan. Canva's help center says the codes themselves do not expire.
The common trap is what the code points to. If you link a design published as a Canva website, the code's usefulness depends on Canva continuing to host that page under that URL. The code cannot expire; the Canva-hosted destination can move or be taken down.
How do I check whether my QR code is permanent?
You do not need to remember any vendor's policy. Scan the code and look at the URL before it redirects.
- If the URL is your destination — your website, your menu page — the code is static and permanent.
- If the URL is a short domain you do not own (qr.link, me-qr.com, qrco.de, or similar), the code is dynamic and lasts only as long as that service keeps the redirect alive.
- WiFi, vCard, SMS, and plain-text codes never involve a URL at all — always static, always permanent.
- When in doubt, remake it as a static code and scan-test it before printing.
How do I make a permanent QR code?
Use a generator that builds static codes in your browser. Qranite's free generator computes the pattern on your device — your data never reaches our servers, so making it non-permanent is not just against policy, it is technically impossible. No signup, no watermark, SVG and PNG downloads, and the never-expires page explains the architecture in one diagram.
If you need editable destinations or scan counts, our dynamic codes come with the no-hostage policy in writing: stop paying and your printed codes keep redirecting forever. You lose editing and analytics beyond free limits — never the code.