Google Maps QR code for a place or directions

How to make a Google Maps QR code

1. Get the link: in Google Maps, search for or tap the place, choose Share, then Copy link. On a phone it looks like maps.app.goo.gl/…; on a desktop it is a long google.com/maps address. Both work.
2. Or get coordinates: press and hold the exact spot on the phone map (right-click on a desktop) and copy the two numbers shown, for example 51.507351, -0.127758.
3. Leave Location format on Google Maps link and paste into Google Maps link, or switch to Coordinates (geo:) and fill in Latitude and Longitude.
4. For a route rather than a pin, open Directions in Google Maps to the place, choose Share directions and copy that link instead.
5. Wait for the badge to read Verified, then choose Download PNG, Download SVG or Download PDF.

Google Maps QR code details

This page uses the location type, which holds one of two things. With Location format set to Google Maps link, the code contains the share address exactly as pasted, for example https://maps.app.goo.gl/AbCdEf. With Coordinates (geo:), it contains geo:51.507351,-0.127758, latitude then longitude, rounded to six decimals.

Which format to choose

A geo: code is understood by every phone and opens whichever maps app is the default: Apple Maps on an iPhone, Google Maps on most Android phones. It contains only the point and depends on no website, so it is the choice for anything printed to last: trail markers, building signs, meeting points.

A Google Maps link opens Google Maps specifically, in the app when installed and otherwise on the web. It carries the place’s name, photos and opening hours, and it can hold a directions request. Use it when the destination is a business listing you want people to see as Google shows it, or when you want a route rather than a pin.

Uses that work well

• Venue signs and invitations: a pin to the entrance guests should actually use.
• Delivery instructions: a sticker at the gate that opens the loading bay, not the front office.
• Trailheads and campsites: coordinates that work offline once the maps app has cached the area.
• Real estate flyers: the plot itself, for buyers who want to drive past.

Common mistakes

• Swapping latitude and longitude. Latitude comes first and lies between -90 and 90.
• Using a comma as the decimal separator; the encoder expects 51.5074, not 51,5074.

Check the printed code with the QR code reader to see the exact link or coordinates it opens.

This code never expires

The map link or the coordinates are stored inside the code, so a coordinate code can never stop working and a Maps link works for as long as Google serves it. This is a static QR code: the data is written into the pattern, so scanning it needs no server, no account and no subscription. There is nothing to renew and no redirect that can be switched off, which is why a code made here keeps working for as long as the printed copy exists. The trade-off is honest: a static code cannot be edited after printing and does not count scans. If you need either, encode a link to a page you control. Read how static and dynamic codes differ, and if a code you already have has stopped working, see why QR codes expire.

Styling, formats and print size

Every code can be styled in the Style panel: six dot shapes, corner shapes, solid or gradient colours, a transparent background, a quiet zone of 0–8 modules, and your own logo up to 30 percent of the width. A contrast checker warns below 3:1 and blocks downloads below 1.5:1, and after each change the preview is decoded again so the badge tells you whether the styled code still scans.

Print size: as a rule of thumb the code should be at least one tenth of the scanning distance wide, with the quiet zone included.

A sign at a door or a delivery bay is scanned from about a metre, so 8–10 cm wide is safe; on a flyer or a business card, 2.5 cm is enough for a short share link.

The QR code size guide has a calculator for module size, DPI and distance.

Frequently asked questions