How to Make Employee ID Cards: Fields, Photos, Printing and Security

An employee ID card should show enough to identify the person at a glance on the front, with reference and return details on the back. Keep the front uncluttered so a receptionist or security guard can check it in a second.

Front of the card

• Photo: recent, front-facing, head and shoulders.
• Full name: the largest text on the card.
• Job title and department.
• Employee number: a unique ID such as NWL-0428.
• Company logo and colors.
• Validity: an issue date, expiry date, or both.
• QR code for verification.

Back of the card

• Return address: "If found, please return to..." with the company address.
• Emergency contact or a security desk phone number.
• Barcode for existing access, canteen or library readers, if you use them.
• Short policy line, such as "This card remains the property of the company."
• Signature of an authorized signatory, if your policy requires one.

Optional fields

Location or office, floor, access level, blood group (common in some regions and industries), or a color band for contractors, visitors and staff. Add these only if someone will actually check them.

Most employee ID cards are CR80: 85.6 × 54 mm (3.375 × 2.125 in), the ID-1 format in ISO/IEC 7810. It is the same size as a bank card, fits standard card holders and lanyard sleeves, and is what card printers are built for.

Orientation

• Portrait is common for lanyards and clips, because the card hangs naturally and the photo sits at the top.
• Landscape suits wallets and card holders and gives more room for long names.

Pick one orientation for the whole company and stick to it.

Thickness and material

Printed PVC cards are usually 0.76 mm (30 mil) thick, like a bank card. Thinner cards bend and crack; thicker composite cards last longer if you encode RFID chips.

Print-ready setup

• Design at 85.6 × 54 mm with about 2 to 3 mm of bleed if colors reach the edge.
• Keep text and codes a few millimeters inside the edge.
• If cards will be slot-punched for a clip, keep the punch area clear.
• Export as vector PDF or at 300 dpi.

The employee ID card maker exports CR80 cards in portrait or landscape as print-ready PDF with bleed.

Create one company template with locked design and required fields, then let data fill it. Consistency comes from not letting anyone edit the layout card by card.

Steps

1. Start from a template. Choose an ID card template close to your brand, in your chosen orientation.
2. Apply your brand. Logo, colors and fonts. Use your main color for a header band or role stripe, not for small text.
3. Place fields. Photo, name, title, department, employee number, validity and QR code. Make the name the largest text.
4. Design the back. Return address, emergency contact, barcode and policy text.
5. Set required fields. Mark photo, name and employee number as required so incomplete cards are flagged.
6. Lock the template. On a Team workspace, admins lock the design; staff and HR can only fill in fields.

Variants for different groups

Use color variants of the same template for employees, contractors, interns and visitors. A colored band or label that says CONTRACTOR is much quicker to check than reading small text.

Test with real data

Preview the template with the longest name in your staff list, a two-line job title and a missing photo, so you see the worst cases before printing hundreds of cards.

Collect recent, front-facing photos on a plain background, cropped head and shoulders, all in the same aspect ratio. Consistent photos make the whole batch look professional and make IDs easier to check.

Photo guidelines to send staff

• Face the camera with a neutral expression, eyes visible.
• Plain, light background with no other people in the shot.
• Even lighting with no strong shadows across the face.
• No sunglasses or hats unless worn for religious or medical reasons.
• Taken within the last year or so.

Two ways to collect photos

• Self-service: invite staff to upload their own photo when they set up their card. Good for distributed teams.
• Central folder: HR collects photos and names each file after the employee number, such as NWL-0428.jpg. Upload them as a ZIP and they are matched to the right row automatically.

Technical tips

• Use JPG or PNG at a resolution of at least about 300 pixels wide for the photo area.
• Crop to the same ratio, such as 3:4 portrait, before upload to avoid stretched faces.
• Check file names carefully: NWL-0428.JPG and NWL-0428.jpg can look identical but may not match in every system.

Export your staff list from your HR system as a spreadsheet, upload it to a batch generator, map columns to the template, attach photos and export the full set. A company of several hundred can be done in one sitting.

Steps

1. Export staff data as XLSX or CSV with one row per person: employee number, first and last name, title, department, start date, photo filename.
2. Upload to the [batch generator](/batch-generator) and choose your ID template.
3. Map columns to fields. Save the mapping so next month's new starters take seconds.
4. Upload photos as a ZIP named by employee number.
5. Review flagged rows: missing photos, duplicate employee numbers, empty required fields and names too long for the layout.
6. Generate and proof. Print a few sample cards before the full run.
7. Issue or export: print-ready PDF for your card printer, or digital IDs staff open on their phones.

Plan limits

Employee IDs are included on the Team and Business plans. Batch jobs allow up to 2,000 rows on Team and 25,000 on Business. If you prefer to start from Excel and Word, our guide to making ID cards from Excel explains that route and its limits.

Most organizations do both: printed PVC cards for on-site staff and digital IDs for remote staff, contractors and backup. The important thing is that both come from the same record, so they never disagree.

Printed cards

• Card printer: a desktop CR80 printer prints directly onto PVC cards. Good if you issue cards every week.
• Print service: send a print-ready PDF to a card printing company. Good for annual or one-off batches.
• Perforated sheets: A4 or Letter card sheets on an office printer for short-term or low-budget needs.

Digital IDs

A digital ID opens on the employee's phone from a private link. It shows the same photo, name, role and verification QR code as the printed card. It is useful for:

• Remote and hybrid staff visiting an office occasionally.
• Contractors and temporary staff who need ID for weeks, not years.
• Anyone who forgets or loses their physical card.

Access control

If your doors use barcode readers, add a Code 128 barcode with the employee number. If they use RFID or smart cards, the chip is encoded by your card printer or access-control vendor; CardDeck prints the visual card.

Each ID carries a unique QR code that opens a verification page. The page shows whether the ID is active or deactivated right now, along with the photo and name, so anyone can confirm a card is genuine with a phone camera.

Why it matters

A printed ID looks equally valid on someone's first day and a year after they leave. Without a live check, a lost or retained card can still get someone past reception. QR verification closes that gap: the moment an ID is deactivated, scanning it shows inactive.

How staff use it

• Reception and security scan an unfamiliar ID to confirm it.
• Partners and clients can check a visiting technician's or contractor's ID before letting them in.
• Event and site managers check contractor IDs at the gate.

Good practice

• Show only what a verifier needs: photo, name, company, role and status. Leave out personal details like home address.
• Pair the QR code with a short label, such as "Scan to verify".
• Test the verification page on both iPhone and Android before rollout.

Teams that also need branded business cards for the same staff can manage both from one team workspace.

Deactivate the ID on the person's last working day, as part of standard offboarding, and collect the physical card if possible. With QR verification, deactivation takes effect immediately even if the card is never returned.

Offboarding checklist for IDs

1. HR or IT marks the employee as leaving with a date.
2. On the last day, an admin deactivates the ID. Its verification page now shows inactive.
3. Building access and any barcode or RFID access is revoked in the access-control system.
4. The physical card is collected and destroyed, or logged as not returned.
5. If the person also had a digital business card, it is redirected to a colleague or deactivated.

Lost and replacement cards

• Deactivate the lost card first, then issue a replacement.
• Regenerate a single card without touching the rest of the batch.
• Add a reissue date so staff can tell the new card from the old one.

Common mistakes

• No expiry dates on contractor IDs.
• Offboarding that revokes system access but forgets the ID card.
• Reissuing cards with the same visual design and no way to tell which is current.

For larger organizations with several offices, see how enterprise teams manage IDs and cards centrally.