What a vCard looks like
A vCard is plain text, one property per line:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Doe;Jane;;;
FN:Jane Doe
ORG:Northwind Studio
TITLE:Brand Designer
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+1 555 123 4567
EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:[email protected]
URL:https://northwind.studio
END:VCARDN holds the name parts (last; first; middle; prefix; suffix) and FN the display name. Both should be present.
3.0 or 4.0?
vCard 4.0 (RFC 6350) is newer, but vCard 3.0 (RFC 2426) is the version the major contacts apps import most reliably, including older Outlook versions. FastCardGen writes 3.0. Use 4.0 only if a specific system asks for it.
Fields that matter
| Property | Use |
|---|---|
TEL;TYPE=CELL / TYPE=WORK | Phone numbers; write them with the + country code. |
EMAIL | Email address. |
URL | Website; extra URL;TYPE=linkedin lines for profiles. |
ADR | Address: PO box; extended; street; city; region; postal code; country. |
NOTE | Free text. |
PHOTO;ENCODING=b;TYPE=JPEG | Base64 photo. Keep it small (under ~30 KB). |
Common problems
- Garbled accents: the file must be UTF-8.
- Broken names or addresses: commas and semicolons inside values must be escaped (
\,and\;). - Missing photo in Outlook: some versions ignore embedded photos.
- Only the first contact imported: some apps import one contact per file — use Google Contacts or iCloud for multi-contact files.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .vcf file?
A vCard contact file: plain text in the vCard format that contacts apps import.
Can one .vcf file hold many contacts?
Yes — several BEGIN:VCARD … END:VCARD blocks one after another. Google Contacts, iCloud and Outlook import them.
Why do lines in my .vcf start with a space?
Long lines are folded at 75 characters; a line starting with a space continues the previous one. That's part of the standard.
How do I make a vCard?
Fill in your details on this page and click Contact file (.vcf).
Contact files follow vCard 3.0 (RFC 2426); QR codes follow ISO/IEC 18004. Checked 2026-11-06.