If you have looked at the back of a US or Canadian driver's license recently, the large 2D barcode in the bottom corner is a PDF417. Not a QR code. PDF417 is the mandated barcode format for driver's licenses in North America under AAMVA standards, and it also appears on airline boarding passes, FedEx and UPS shipping labels, USPS postage, healthcare ID cards, and government-issued credentials worldwide. A developer building an identity verification app, an event organizer creating scannable tickets, or a logistics team designing custom shipping labels all need to generate PDF417 barcodes correctly, with the right error correction level and column configuration, without sending personal data to an external server.
This generator creates PDF417 barcodes entirely in the browser. No data is transmitted anywhere. Encode up to 1,850 characters, configure error correction, adjust column count and bar dimensions, and download as PNG or PDF.
How It Works
- Enter your data by typing or pasting the text you want to encode into the Barcode Data field. The data length counter updates as you type, showing the current character count against the maximum capacity of approximately 1,850 characters. For batch generation, enter one data value per line; each line produces a separate barcode in sequence.
- Configure barcode settings to match your application requirements. Error Correction ranges from Level 0 (smallest barcode, minimal redundancy) to Level 8 (largest barcode, maximum damage tolerance); Level 2 is the recommended default for most use cases. Columns controls the horizontal structure of the barcode from 2 to 8; the default 4 columns produces a standard aspect ratio. Bar Width (2px to 5px) and Bar Height per row (2px to 5px) scale the physical dimensions of the barcode for different printing resolutions and label sizes. The Barcode Info panel shows the encoded byte count, row count, and column count after generation.
- Generate and save by clicking Generate Barcode. The barcode renders instantly in the preview panel. Download as PNG for image use or as PDF for direct printing. The Copy button copies the barcode image to clipboard for immediate use in documents or design files. For batch mode, enable Auto Clear After Generate and use the Generate Multiple Barcodes button to produce a barcode for each line of data in sequence.
Compatibility & Support
Supported Input and Output
- Input: Any text or numeric data up to approximately 1,850 ASCII characters per barcode
- Output formats: PNG image, PDF document
- Error correction levels: Level 0 (minimum) through Level 8 (maximum), 9 levels total
- Column options: 2 to 8 columns
- Bar dimensions: Width (2px to 5px), Height per row (2px to 5px)
- Batch mode: One barcode per line for multi-barcode generation sessions
What PDF417 Does Not Support
Binary file encoding (images, documents) is not supported through this text input. PDF417 is designed for text, numeric, and byte data, not binary file payloads. Very long data inputs beyond the 1,850 character maximum cannot be encoded in a single PDF417 symbol; split the data across multiple barcodes if the full content exceeds the limit. The tool generates standard PDF417, not Macro PDF417 or Compact PDF417 variants.
Data Size Limits
All generation runs in-browser with no server upload, so there is no external processing limit. The barcode's internal capacity limit of approximately 1,850 characters is an inherent technical constraint of the PDF417 format itself. Choosing higher error correction levels reduces the effective data capacity slightly since more of the symbol space is used for redundancy data.
Who Should Use This Tool?
- Students: A computer science student building a document management system or identity verification project can generate PDF417 barcodes from test data to verify that their scanning and decoding implementation reads the symbol correctly before integrating a barcode library in production code.
- Freelancers & Designers: A freelance developer building a custom event ticketing system can generate PDF417 barcodes from ticket IDs and event data to produce scannable ticket PDFs that match the format used by professional venue scanner apps.
- Office Professionals: A logistics coordinator at a small shipping company who needs to produce PDF417-format labels for shipments can generate correctly formatted barcodes from tracking data and download them as PNG for inclusion in label templates.
- Developers: A backend engineer building a driver's license verification feature can generate sample PDF417 barcodes from AAMVA-format data strings to use as test inputs during development without needing real license data or hardware scanners in the test environment.
Key Features
Here's what separates this tool from generic alternatives:
100% Private and Offline
All barcode generation happens in the browser with no data transfer to any server. Personal data encoded in driver's license formats, healthcare IDs, or proprietary shipping data never leaves your device.
Nine Error Correction Levels
Levels 0 through 8 give full control over the trade-off between barcode size and damage tolerance. Level 2 covers most applications. Levels 4 and above are appropriate for labels exposed to physical wear, moisture, or partial coverage.
Adjustable Columns and Bar Dimensions
Control the barcode's aspect ratio and physical size independently through column count (2 to 8) and bar width and height settings. Match the barcode dimensions to the available space on your label or document without scaling the downloaded image.
Batch Generation Mode
Enter one value per line and generate a separate barcode for each. Auto Clear After Generate enables rapid batch processing for sessions where each barcode needs to be saved individually before moving to the next item.
PNG and PDF Export
Save each barcode as a PNG image for integration into design files and applications, or as a PDF for direct printing. The Copy button puts the barcode image on the clipboard for immediate paste into documents or email.
Barcode Info Panel
After generation, the info panel shows the encoded byte count, row count, and column count of the produced barcode. Useful for verifying that the symbol dimensions match your print area requirements before downloading.
Why This Tool Beats the Alternatives
- No account, email, or signup required at any point.
- No watermarks added to PNG or PDF output.
- No server upload; sensitive personal and logistics data stays in the browser throughout generation.
- Nine error correction levels covering the full PDF417 specification; most free online generators expose only two or three levels.
- Adjustable column count and bar dimension controls produce correctly sized barcodes for specific print resolutions without requiring post-download resizing.
- Batch generation mode for multi-barcode sessions without reloading the page between entries.
Pro Tips
- For AAMVA driver's license format testing, the data string starts with "@\n\nANSI " followed by the license data fields. Generate a test barcode with a correctly formatted AAMVA string at Error Correction Level 3 or above, then scan it with a driver's license reader app to verify the field parsing is correct before using real license data in development.
- If the generated barcode is too wide or too narrow for your label space, adjust the Column count before changing the Bar Width. Reducing columns makes the barcode taller and narrower; increasing columns makes it shorter and wider. Adjust Bar Width only after setting the column count, since bar width scaling affects the total printed size more significantly than column changes.
- For high-volume shipping label workflows, use the batch mode with Auto Clear enabled. Enter all tracking numbers or reference codes one per line, then generate each in sequence, saving each PNG immediately before clicking through to the next. This workflow is faster than running the tool once per barcode when producing 20 to 50 labels in a session.
Enter your data, set your error correction level, generate, and download as PNG or PDF in seconds. For converting existing barcode image files to a printable PDF label format, the Barcode to PDF Generator tool handles that in the same browser-based workflow.