Free ID card templates for employees and students

The standard ID card size is CR80: 85.6 × 54 mm (3.370 × 2.125 in), with rounded corners. It is the ID-1 format defined in ISO/IEC 7810 — the same size as a bank card — so it fits standard card holders, lanyard sleeves, wallets and PVC card printers.

The common thickness for printed PVC ID cards is 0.76 mm (often called 30 mil). Card stock or laminated paper works for short-term passes, but PVC lasts longer for staff and student IDs.

All CardDeck ID card templates are designed at CR80 and export as a print-ready PDF with bleed. If you print on sheets rather than with a card printer, plan to trim and laminate the cards afterwards.

Use portrait for IDs worn on a lanyard or clip, and landscape for IDs carried in a wallet or inserted into a reader. Orientation is about how people will see the card.

• Portrait puts the photo at the top and the name large underneath, so it reads well hanging at chest height. Most employee IDs and event passes are portrait. Leave space at the top if you punch a slot for a clip.
• Landscape gives room for more fields side by side — class, section, roll number, programme — so it suits student IDs and membership cards.

CardDeck's Staff Portrait, Security Dark and Department Band templates are portrait. Campus and Junior student templates are landscape. You can switch orientation in the designer, but test the layout again: fields that fit in landscape can wrap in portrait.

An employee ID card should identify the person, the organization and whether the card is still valid. The minimum:

1. Photo — recent, head and shoulders, on a plain light background.
2. Full name — large enough to read at arm's length.
3. Organization name and logo.
4. Employee number — unique, and the key you use to update the card later.
5. Validity date — "Valid to 03/2027" or an issue date with a renewal rule.
6. Verification code — a QR code that opens a page showing whether the card is active.

Common optional fields: job title, department (often shown as a color band), site or floor access, emergency contact on the back, and a Code 128 barcode for access-control or canteen readers.

On the back, add "If found, return to" with an address or phone number, and any usage rules. Keep personal data to what the card's purpose needs; a home address rarely belongs on an ID. The employee ID card maker has the full setup, including deactivation when someone leaves.

A student ID card should show who the student is, which institution and class they belong to, and which academic year the card covers. Typical fields:

• Photo, full name and institution crest.
• Class and section (schools) or programme and year (colleges).
• Roll number or admission number — the unique ID for re-imports.
• Academic year, such as 2026–27.
• House, transport route or blood group if your school uses them.
• QR code for verification, and optionally a barcode for the library system.

The back usually carries the school's address and phone, a "return if found" line and the signatory. With the student ID card maker you upload your class list and generate every card in the batch, then roll the whole set to the next academic year.

Use a QR code when people check the card with a phone, and a barcode when an existing scanner needs to read a number. Many organizations put both on the same card.

A QR code on a CardDeck ID opens a verification page that shows whether the card is active. When an employee leaves or a card is reported lost, deactivating it changes that page immediately — the printed card stops verifying. A barcode, usually Code 128 because it handles letters, numbers and symbols, carries the ID number for door readers, library systems or canteen tills. The barcode generator adds either format to the template.

Print IDs when people need to show a card at gates, reception or classrooms; issue them digitally when phones are the main way cards are checked. Most organizations do both.

Printed IDs

• Print on PVC with a direct-to-card printer for staff and student IDs, or on card stock for short-term passes.
• Use the print-ready PDF at full resolution; don't screenshot the preview.
• Check that the photo, name and code are inside the safe area, away from the trim edge and any slot punch.
• Test-scan a printed QR code and barcode before printing the full batch.

Digital IDs

• Each person gets a link to their ID on their phone, with the same photo, details and QR verification as the printed card.
• Digital IDs can be updated or deactivated without collecting a physical card.

Because both versions come from the same record, they always match.

You generate ID cards in bulk by uploading a spreadsheet of people and letting CardDeck fill the template for each row.

1. Prepare a CSV (UTF-8) or XLSX with headers in the first row: name, title or class, department or section, ID number, validity, photo filename.
2. Upload it to the batch generator and map each column to a template field.
3. Upload a ZIP of photos named after the ID column, for example NWL-0428.jpg.
4. Fix flagged rows — missing photos, duplicate IDs, empty required fields.
5. Export a print-ready PDF or issue digital IDs.

For a step-by-step walkthrough with sample columns, read how to make ID cards from Excel.