What is a QR code headstone, and are they allowed?

A QR code headstone is an ordinary grave marker with a small square code added to it — usually on the face, the base, or a separate plaque set into the ground beside it. Point a phone camera at the square and the phone opens a web page. That page is where a family puts the things a stone can't hold: a voice, a face, a story told in the person's own words.

How the scan actually works

There is no app to download and nothing for the visitor to install. Every modern iPhone and Android camera recognizes QR codes natively. The code encodes a short, permanent web address. When it is scanned, the memorial page loads in the visitor's browser — a video, dates, a short biography, and whatever photos the family chose.

Because the code points at a web address rather than storing the video itself, the family can change the video, fix a typo, or add a photo years later without ever touching the stone.

Are they allowed in cemeteries?

In the overwhelming majority of cemeteries, yes. A QR code is treated as engraving or an applied plaque, not as a separate monument, so it falls under the same rules as any other marker detail. That said, rules are set property by property, and a five-minute phone call prevents an expensive surprise.

• Ask the cemetery office whether applied plaques are permitted, or whether the code must be engraved into the stone itself.
• Ask about size limits — most codes work beautifully at 1.5 to 2 inches square.
• Ask whether anything may be placed on the base or foundation rather than the face.
• If the marker is flush with the ground, ask about mowing clearance for an applied plaque.

Will it still scan in twenty years?

Two things have to survive: the physical code and the web address it points to. For the physical code, engraved granite and laser-etched stainless or anodized aluminum plaques are the proven options. Printed vinyl stickers are not — they chalk and peel within a couple of seasons.

For the web address, what matters is that the link is short, permanent, and never reused. We issue each memorial a fixed address that we do not recycle, and we build the code with high error correction so it still reads with a chipped corner, lichen, or rain on the surface.

What to hand your monument company

1. A high-resolution PNG or vector SVG of the code — never a screenshot.
2. The finished size you want, in inches.
3. A note that the code must stay high-contrast: dark code on a light field, or the reverse.
4. A request to leave a quiet margin of blank space all the way around the square.

We generate all of that automatically once a memorial is published, and we give you a test-scan page so you can confirm the code reads correctly before anyone touches the stone.