QR codes for headstones
Add a QR code to a headstone, old or new
A small plaque fixes to the stone and opens an online memorial — photographs, videos and the story behind the name. The headstone itself is never altered, so a grave that has stood for decades can have one added.
See the headstone plaqueHow it works
Two sizes · Supplied with stainless fixings · Made in Lancashire
- 150 × 100mmand 200 × 100mm
- £125including the memorial page
- No re-cuttingthe stone is untouched
- Fixings includedstainless steel
The short answer
Adding a code to a stone that already exists
Most people who come to us about a headstone QR code are not ordering a new memorial. The stone went up years ago. It says what it says, the lettering has weathered into the granite, and nobody wants to touch it. What they want is a way to add everything the stone could never hold — without altering the stone itself.
That is exactly what this is. The plaque is made separately, in brushed black with a bright silver border, carrying an engraved photograph, the name, the dates and a unique QR code. It is fixed to the face of the headstone with stainless fixings. Nothing is cut, drilled into the inscription, or re-lettered. If it were ever removed, the stone would be as it was.
For a new memorial that has not yet been made, there is a second option that is often neater: have your stonemason engrave the code directly into the stone as part of the original design. We supply the code as an engraving file in whatever format their process needs.
The term
What people mean by a QR headstone
“QR headstone” is shorthand rather than a product name, and people use it to mean two different things. Some mean a headstone with the code cut directly into the granite as part of the lettering. Others mean an ordinary headstone with a small QR plaque fixed to it. Both are QR headstones in everyday use, and we supply both.
The distinction that matters is not the wording but the timing. If the stone has not been made yet, the code can be engraved into it and there is nothing fixed to the surface at all. If the stone is already standing — and most of the QR headstones we are asked about are — a plaque is the only sensible route, because re-cutting an existing memorial is expensive, slow and rarely improves it.
You will see the same thing described as a QR gravestone, a digital headstone or a smart memorial depending on who is writing. They are all the same arrangement: a code on the memorial, and a page behind the code holding what the stone has no room for.
Permission
Check the rules before you order
This is the part worth getting right first, because the answer depends entirely on where the grave is, and it is not consistent across the country.
Local authority and private cemeteries are generally the most straightforward. Many already allow small plaques, vases and photographs to be fixed to a memorial, and a QR plaque is treated the same way. A phone call to the cemetery office usually settles it.
Church of England churchyards are different. They are governed by the diocese through its churchyard regulations, and the incumbent cannot simply agree on the spot — anything outside the regulations needs permission from the diocesan authorities. Some dioceses have begun to address QR codes directly; many have not. Ask the parish office early, because the process takes time.
We would always rather you asked first and ordered second. Nobody wants a plaque sitting in a drawer because permission was refused.
What you get
The headstone plaque
An engraved photograph
Your own photograph is engraved into the left of the plaque — the face on the stone, not just a name. Send us the best picture you have and we will work from it.
Your wording, your spelling
In Loving Memory, the name, the dates and a closing line, laid out across the centre. You see all of it on a proof before anything is made.
A unique code
To the right sits the QR code and an invitation to scan it. That code belongs to one memorial page and will never be reassigned.
Ready to fix
Supplied with stainless fixings, tracked to any UK address. A memorial mason can fit it in minutes; many families fit it themselves.
Ordering
What happens after you order
- 1
Check permission
Speak to the cemetery office or the parish before ordering, so you know a plaque is allowed on that memorial.
- 2
Send us the details
Name, dates, the wording you want and the photograph. Measure the clear space on the stone so we can advise which of the two sizes suits it.
- 3
Approve the proof
We lay the plaque out and send it to you. Check every letter and date — this is the moment to change anything, and changes are free.
- 4
Fit it and build the page
The plaque arrives with fixings and instructions. Fit it to the stone, then build the memorial page in your own time.
A grave that has stood for fifty years can carry a code as easily as one cut last week.
For a new memorial
Engraved into the stone instead
If the headstone has not been made yet, there is a tidier route. Your memorial mason can cut the QR code into the granite as part of the original design, alongside the lettering, so there is no plaque and nothing fixed to the surface at all.
We supply the code as finished artwork in EPS, SVG, DXF, AI, PNG, JPG or BMP — whichever format the workshop needs. It arrives already linked to the memorial page, so all the mason has to do is engrave it.
That option is £95 for the code, or £160 if you would like us to build the memorial page on the family’s behalf. Most masons are happy to work this way once they see the file; if yours has not done it before, send them our way.
- Cut into the stone, not fixed to it
- Any engraving file format you need
- Set up and linked before it reaches the workshop
- £95 for the code, £160 with the page built by us
Placement
Where on the stone it should go
There is no rule, but there are choices that tend to work better than others. The lower right of the face is the most popular — out of the way of the inscription, easy to reach without leaning across the grave, and at a height where a phone will focus comfortably.
The base or kerb is another option on memorials where the face is full. It keeps the stone itself completely untouched, though a code low down collects more dirt and needs an occasional wipe to keep scanning cleanly.
Avoid putting it where water runs off the stone or where moss gathers, and leave a little clear space around it. A code needs a quiet margin on all four sides to read reliably; crowded right up against lettering, it can take a few attempts.
If you measure the clear area before ordering and tell us what you have, we will say honestly which of the two sizes fits, and whether neither of them does.
Cost
What a headstone QR code costs
Rectangle headstone plaque
£125
150mm × 100mm, brushed black with a silver border, engraved photograph, wording and code. Includes the memorial page and stainless fixings.
Larger size
£145
The same plaque at 200mm × 100mm, for stones with more clear space or where you want the photograph larger.
Engraving file only
£95
For a new memorial: the code supplied as artwork for your mason to cut into the stone. £160 with the memorial page built by us.
One payment. No subscription, no renewal, nothing to keep paying for. If you would rather we built the memorial page from your photographs, that is £40.
Cost
Is a QR code for a headstone worth the money?
Set against what a memorial costs, a QR code for a headstone is a small addition. A headstone with a modest inscription rarely leaves much change from two thousand pounds once the base, the foundation and the lettering are accounted for, and that is before a mason returns to add a second name years later. Against that, £125 for a plaque that holds everything the stone could not is not the expensive part of the project.
The comparison people usually have in mind, though, is not the stone. It is whether to spend anything at all on something that did not exist when their parents were buried. That is a fair hesitation, and the honest answer is that the value is not felt by the person who buys it. It is felt by whoever is standing there in 2050 — a grandchild who never met the person, or a cousin researching the family, who can find out in thirty seconds what otherwise would have been lost when the last person who remembered them died.
What we would say is this: do not buy one because it is modern. Buy one if there is material worth keeping — photographs, a voice on an old recording, a story somebody has written down. If there genuinely is not, a plaque will not create any, and the stone on its own may be the right memorial.
Working with a mason
If your memorial mason has not done one before
Masons vary enormously in how familiar they are with this. Some have fitted dozens; others have never been asked. If yours falls into the second group, it is usually not reluctance so much as not knowing what is involved, and that is quickly solved.
For a plaque fixed to an existing stone, there is nothing new for them to learn at all. It is the same job as fitting a vase block or a photo frame: drill, fix, done. The fixings come with the plaque.
For a code engraved into a new memorial, they need the artwork in a format their machinery accepts, and that is exactly what we supply — EPS, SVG, DXF, AI, PNG, JPG or BMP. The one thing worth telling them is that a QR code needs a clear margin around it and enough contrast to read, which on dark granite means the code is cut and left light rather than polished. Any mason who engraves lettering will understand that immediately.
If they would rather speak to us directly, we are glad to. Most of the questions take one phone call.
Common questions
What is a QR headstone?
A headstone that carries a QR code, either engraved into the stone itself or on a small plaque fixed to it. Scanning the code opens an online memorial holding photographs, videos and the person’s story.
Can you put a QR code on a headstone in the UK?
In most cases yes, but permission rests with whoever looks after the burial ground. Local authority cemeteries usually allow a small plaque fixed to the stone. Church of England churchyards are governed by the diocese and are stricter, so ask before you order.
Do you have to replace the headstone?
No. The plaque is made separately and fixed to the stone that is already there, so a grave that has stood for fifty years can have a code added without the memorial being touched or re-cut.
How is the plaque fixed to the stone?
Our headstone plaque is supplied with stainless fixings. A memorial mason can fit it in minutes, and many families fit it themselves.
Will weather damage the code?
The plaque is made for outdoor use. QR codes also carry built-in error correction, so a code that has weathered or been scuffed will usually still scan.
Can a stonemason engrave the code instead?
Yes. We supply the code as an engraving file — EPS, SVG, DXF, AI, PNG, JPG or BMP — for £95, so it can be cut into the stone as part of the original design.
How big is the plaque?
The headstone plaque comes in 150mm × 100mm and 200mm × 100mm. Both are small enough to sit discreetly on a stone without competing with the lettering.
Before you order
Not sure it will fit your stone?
Send us a photograph of the headstone and the measurement of the clear space. We will tell you honestly which size suits it, or whether a plaque is the wrong answer for that memorial.