QR Code Attendance: Free Google Forms Setup and Event Check-In
How to take attendance with a QR code: free Google Forms and Microsoft Forms setup, how to stop shared codes, print sizes, and personal QR check-in for events.
Paper sign-in sheets are slow, hard to read and easy to fake. QR codes fix most of that: attendees scan, the time is recorded, and the list builds itself. But "QR code attendance" covers two very different setups, and picking the wrong one is why so many organisers end up with a spreadsheet full of people who were never in the room.
This guide explains both setups, walks through the free methods with Google Forms and Microsoft Forms step by step (updated for the 2026 settings), shows how to stop people checking in for absent friends, and covers when an event needs proper per-person QR tickets instead.
The short answer. There are two ways to take attendance with QR codes. One code for the room: you put a single QR code on the door or screen, it opens a form, and each person checks themselves in. It's free with Google Forms or Microsoft Forms, but people can share the code with someone who isn't there. One code per person: each attendee gets their own QR code on a ticket or badge, and staff scan it at the door. It takes a little more setup, but it proves who actually arrived. Use the first for meetings, classes and small sessions, and the second for events, paid tickets and anything where attendance has to be trusted.
How QR code attendance works
One code for the room | One code per person | |
|---|---|---|
Who scans | The attendee scans a code on the door or screen | Staff scan the attendee's code at the door |
What happens | A form opens and the attendee types their details | The attendee's record is ticked off instantly |
Cost | Free (Google Forms, Microsoft Forms) | Free plans exist for small events; event platforms for larger ones |
Speed at the door | 30 seconds or more per person, but everyone scans at once | Around 5 to 15 seconds per person with a staff scanner |
Can people cheat? | Yes: the code can be photographed and sent to a friend | Hard: each code belongs to one registered person |
Best for | Internal meetings, training, classes, small workshops | Conferences, dinners, ticketed events, CPD sessions |
A third variation sits between them: a self check-in kiosk, where attendees scan their own personal code at a tablet instead of waiting for staff. It's useful at busy entrances, and the code still belongs to one person.
Method 1: Free QR attendance with Google Forms
Google Forms is the most common free setup. It records a timestamp for every response and can send them to Google Sheets. Google Forms has no built-in QR code, so you'll make one with Chrome.
Create the form. Add the questions you need: full name, email or staff ID, and the session if the form covers several. Mark them as Required. Keep it short; every extra question slows the queue.
Decide how to collect emails. Under Settings > Responses > Collect email addresses, choose Verified if everyone has a Google account, so the email comes from their sign-in and can't be faked. Choose Responder input if guests don't have Google accounts, but know that anyone can type anyone's email.
Add a session code (optional, recommended). Add a short-answer question "Session code", then open More (three dots) > Response validation and choose Text > Contains, or a Regular expression that Matches the code. Show the code on the screen in the room only. Someone sent the QR code at home won't know it.
Limit duplicates if you can. Limit to 1 response stops repeat submissions, but it forces everyone to sign in with a Google account. That's fine for a company on Google Workspace and a problem for outside guests.
Publish the form. Forms must now be published before anyone can open them: click Publish at the top right and set who can respond. Tick Shorten URL to get a forms.gle link. A shorter link makes a simpler QR code that scans more easily.
Set a close time. Since January 2026, Google Forms can stop collecting responses on its own: on a published form, click Published > Accepting responses > Set close date or response limit > On a date. Close it shortly after the session starts. There's still no scheduled opening time, so open the form yourself when the doors open.
Send responses to a sheet. In Responses, choose More > Select destination for responses > Create a new spreadsheet. Each row is one check-in with its submission time.
Make the QR code. Open the form link in Chrome on a computer and choose More (three dots) > Cast, save, and share > Create QR code > Download. On Android, use Share > QR Code; on iPhone, Share > Create a QR Code. Chrome's image is small and has its dinosaur in the middle, which is fine on a screen. For a printed poster, use a print-quality QR generator.
To check attendance afterwards, sort the sheet by time and compare it with your registration list or a headcount.
Method 2: Free QR attendance with Microsoft Forms
If your organisation runs on Microsoft 365, Microsoft Forms is often the better free option, because it has the two things Google Forms lacks.
A built-in QR code. Open Collect responses, choose who can respond, then select the QR icon > Download to save it as an image.
Open and close times. In the form's settings, set a Start date and an End date so the form only accepts check-ins during the session.
One response per person, with names. If you choose Only people in my organization can respond, you can record each person's name automatically and limit them to one response. This is available on work and school accounts, not personal ones.
Excel with times. Open results in Excel gives a live workbook that shows each response's start and completion times.
The catch: forms on personal Microsoft accounts are limited to 200 responses each, and "anyone can respond" forms can't verify who the person is.
How to stop people checking in for absent friends
The weakness of one code for the room is that the code is just a picture. Universities have learned this the hard way: Imperial College London's own help pages note that students can photograph the code and message it to someone who isn't there. These measures help, roughly in order of effort:
Keep the window short. Open the form when the session starts and close it 10 to 15 minutes later.
Show a session code in the room and validate it in the form, as in step 3 above. Change it every session.
Use rotating codes. Learning platforms can rotate the QR code every few seconds (the Moodle Attendance plugin's default is 15), so a photo is useless by the time it reaches a friend.
Require sign-in where everyone has a work or school account.
Cross-check with a headcount. If 42 people checked in and 35 are in the room, you know.
Give each person their own code. This is the only fix that doesn't depend on trust.
Method 3: Personal QR codes for events
For events, the usual setup is one QR code per registered guest. Each person registers, receives a ticket with a unique QR code by email or WhatsApp, and staff scan it at the door with a phone or scanner. Because every code is tied to one registration, a forwarded screenshot can only check in the person it belongs to, and the scan shows staff whose ticket it is.
This is how event check-in apps such as Eventbrite's organiser app, RSVPify, OneTap and SOURems work, with differences in kiosks, badge printing, session check-in and pricing. Our comparison of event check-in apps covers ten of them side by side.
Choose personal codes when:
Attendance has to be proven, such as CPD or CPE sessions, sponsor reports or paid tickets.
You need to know who arrived, not just how many. VIPs, dietary needs and seat numbers only work when the scan identifies the person.
The crowd arrives at once. A staff scan takes around 5 to 15 seconds, so a few phones can clear a busy entrance. Our check-in throughput guide shows how many scanners you need.
Sessions run in parallel. Scanning at each session door shows who went where. See our guide to conference attendance tracking.
Classes and staff attendance are different jobs
QR attendance for a classroom or a workforce looks similar but has different needs:
Classes run every week with the same people. Learning platforms project a rotating code that students scan, and some limit check-ins to the campus network.
Staff time attendance records shifts, not sessions. Workforce apps usually do the reverse of events: each employee has a personal code that a shared tablet scans, often with location records.
If that's your use case, a tool built for it will serve you better than a form or an event platform.
How to print the QR code so it scans
Size it for the distance. A common rule of thumb is that the code should be at least a tenth of the scanning distance: about 10 cm wide for a poster read from 1 metre, at least 2 × 2 cm on a desk card. Go larger in dim light or at steep angles.
Leave a white border. QR codes need a quiet zone of four modules (the small squares) around them. Don't crop it or print it touching other graphics.
Use the short link. Longer links make denser codes that need to be printed bigger.
Dark on light, matte paper. Glossy laminate reflects ceiling lights straight into phone cameras.
Put it where people stop. At eye level beside the door, on the first slide, and on each table for seated sessions.
Test it on two or three phones from the actual distance before the event.
Checklist for the day
The form is open (or the platform is live) and the QR code has been tested from the door.
A printed backup list at each door, such as our free attendance sheet or sign-in sheet, for anyone whose phone is dead.
Mobile data or Wi-Fi that works at the door, not just in the office.
Staff briefed on walk-ins, late arrivals and the session code.
The form closed, or the scanners switched off, after the session.
What to do with the attendance data
Compare against registrations. Attended, registered but absent, and walk-ins each tell you something about next time.
Issue certificates for CPD or training from the attended list, not the registered one.
Follow up with no-shows while the event is fresh.
Tell people what you collect. Attendance records are personal data under Malaysia's PDPA, so say in your registration form what you record and why, and only collect what you need.
Where SOURems fits
SOURems is an event management platform that uses personal QR codes. It's built for events in Malaysia, from 50-person seminars to multi-hall conferences.
Each guest gets their own QR ticket by email and WhatsApp, which they can also save to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
Staff scan from their own phones. Volunteers join with a link or short code, choose the session and scan, and can search the guest list or undo a mistaken scan.
Walk-ins get a ticket on the spot, and notes such as VIP or dietary needs show the moment a guest is scanned.
Live arrivals against expected numbers, and separate check-in for each session, day or hall.
Self check-in and kiosks for busy entrances.
Exports and a written AI Report after the event.
Where we're not the right fit: daily classroom attendance and staff time-and-attendance. School systems and HR apps are built for those. And for a 15-person internal meeting, a Google Form is honestly enough.
See how it works on our RSVP and check-in page.
FAQ
How do I create a QR code for attendance?
Make a form in Google Forms or Microsoft Forms, publish it and copy the short link. Turn the link into a QR code: in Chrome, use Create QR code from the menu; Microsoft Forms has a built-in QR icon under Collect responses. Print it at least 2 × 2 cm, larger for posters, with a white border, and test it from the door.
Can I scan a QR code to track attendance?
Yes, in two ways. Attendees can scan one shared code that opens a check-in form, or staff can scan each attendee's personal QR code from a ticket or badge. The second is more accurate because each code belongs to one person.
Can I use a QR code to track attendance in Google Forms?
Yes. The form records the time of every response and can send them to Google Sheets. Google Forms doesn't make QR codes itself, so create one from the form link with Chrome or a QR generator, and set a close time so check-ins stop after the session starts.
Is there a free QR code for attendance?
Yes. Google Forms with Chrome's QR generator and Microsoft Forms with its built-in QR code are both free. Microsoft limits forms on personal accounts to 200 responses. Event check-in apps add a personal code for each guest, and some have free plans for small events.
How do I stop people sharing the attendance QR code?
Keep the form open only during the session, ask for a session code shown in the room, require sign-in where everyone has an account, and compare check-ins with a headcount. For full protection, give each attendee their own QR code and scan it at the door.
How big should an attendance QR code be?
At least 2 × 2 cm on a desk card. On a wall or screen, make it about a tenth of the scanning distance, so roughly 10 cm wide if people scan from 1 metre away.
