Email QR code
The scan opens a new message with the address already entered, and with a subject line if you want one. For an enquiry from a trade fair stand or a complaint from a machine hall, that is a shorter path than any form.
Create an email codemailto with subject and body
Editorial teamLast reviewed: 29 October 2026Editorial standards
Short answer
The code holds a mailto link: the address, optionally a subject and a body. It needs a mail account configured on the phone. Where that is missing the link does nothing, so print the address as text next to the code.
Everything about this type follows from one property of the mailto link: it does not send anything, it only asks the device to compose.
That is good for trust and awkward for reliability, because the device has to have somewhere to compose in.
What is in the code
mailto:name@example.com, followed by an optional subject and body, both URL-encoded so that spaces, accents and line breaks survive the trip. Encoded text looks unreadable in the raw string and reads normally once the mail app has parsed it.
The subject is the part worth designing. It is the only field the reader will not overwrite, and it is what lets you route and sort incoming mail without reading each message first.
- One complete address per code, no name tags
- A subject that identifies the source, for example Enquiry from the site hoarding
- A body of one or two lines at most, the writer will replace it anyway
- Several recipients work but invite more spam than they are worth
When the link fails
First case: the phone has no mail account set up. This is more common than assumed, especially with readers who use webmail in a browser and never opened the mail app. The tap either shows an error or does nothing at all.
Second case: a desktop browser or a corporate device where the administrator has blocked external mail handlers. Third case: privacy settings that stop a scan from launching another app.
When a form is the better answer
If you need the message structured, a form wins. A form cannot be sent half finished, it can require a reference number, and it can confirm receipt. A mailto link produces whatever the reader types, in whatever format, at whatever hour, with no confirmation.
A printed code is also easy to photograph and reuse. If the address is for complaints that must be answered within a legal deadline, a form with a ticket number is the safer construction, and the code can point at the form.
Print it with the address
Always print the address as text under the code. The reader who has no mail app, or whose phone refuses the handover, then has a route that works. The code is the convenience, not the only way in.
Label the code with the action rather than with the word email: Report a fault, Request a quote, Send a photo of the meter reading. A label that names the outcome gets used, a label that names the protocol does not.
Questions about email codes
Can the code send the email by itself?
No, and that is deliberate. It opens the composer and the reader presses send. Anything else would be a way to send mail in someone else name.
Why does nothing happen when I scan it?
Almost always because the device has no mail account configured. Check on a phone with a mail app set up before blaming the code.
Can I put a long message in the body?
Technically yes, practically no. Every character makes the pattern denser and the text longer than two lines gets cut off on a small screen.
Should I use my personal address?
Use a shared mailbox if more than one person answers, and expect the address to be harvested. A printed public address receives spam, which is a reason to route it through a filter rather than to hide it.