# JAB Code
> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/jab-code
> research date 2026-06-03 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards
Specifications:
- [JAB Code — official project site](https://jabcode.org/)
- [ISO/IEC 23634:2022 — JAB Code bar code symbology specification](https://www.iso.org/standard/76478.html)
## Overview
**JAB Code** ("Just Another Bar Code") is an open, high-capacity **colour 2D matrix barcode** developed by the **Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT)**. Unlike monochrome QR or Data Matrix codes, JAB Code uses coloured square modules — typically 4 or 8 colours — to pack more bits into each module, raising data density at the same physical size [2][2][3][3]. It is the basis of the international standard **ISO/IEC 23634:2022** and ships with an open-source (LGPL) reference encoder and decoder [3][3][4][4].
## History
JAB Code was developed at Fraunhofer SIT on behalf of Germany's **Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)** [5][5]. It was submitted to ISO/IEC standardization as **ISO/IEC 23634** and finalized in **2022**, making it an internationally standardized colour barcode [1][1][5][5]. Fraunhofer published the reference implementation and specification openly, positioning JAB Code as a license-free alternative for high-capacity and document-security applications [3][3][5][5].
## Technical specification
- **Colour modules:** JAB Code encodes data in coloured square modules. It supports **4 colours (2 bits/module)** or **8 colours (3 bits/module)** by default, with the specification permitting palettes up to 256 colours; the four base colours map to the CMYK model and the secondary four are red, green, blue, and white [1][1][2][2].
- **Capacity gain:** a 4-colour code stores roughly **twice**, and an 8-colour code roughly **three times**, the data of a monochrome (two-colour) code of the same size, allowing whole messages to be embedded directly rather than referencing an external database [1][1][7][7].
- **Symbol structure:** a single **primary symbol** carries **four finder patterns** at its corners; optional **secondary symbols** (which omit finder patterns) can "dock" horizontally or vertically onto the primary or other secondaries, supporting square or rectangular layouts and large total areas [1][1][3][3].
- **Error correction:** JAB Code uses **Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC)** codes for error correction, with user-selectable strength (commonly cited as 11 levels, 0–10, default 3 per ISO/IEC 23634:2022) [2][2].
- **Reference implementation:** written in **C (C11)**, comprising a core library (`src/jabcode`), a writer (`jabcodeWriter`), and a reader (`jabcodeReader`); buildable on Linux and via MinGW-w64 on Windows [4][4].
## Use cases
- **Document security and authenticity:** verifying certificates, wills, and prescriptions; embedding digital signatures so a document can be checked **offline** without a database lookup [5][5].
- **Anti-counterfeiting** of products, where the high capacity stores full signed payloads on the item itself [5][5].
- General high-density data carriage where a QR code would be too small or require an online reference [1][1][7][7].
## Implementations
The **official reference implementation is `jabcode/jabcode` on GitHub**, an LGPL v2.1, C-language encoder and decoder maintained by Fraunhofer SIT, with API documentation, the ISO/IEC 23634:2022 spec, and a live demo at jabcode.org [3][3][4][4]. Because the format is open and not subject to licensing, third-party ports and wrappers also exist [1][1][5][5].
## Comparison
JAB Code's defining departure from **QR / Data Matrix** is the use of colour as a third information dimension, multiplying per-module capacity (2–3×) while keeping a familiar finder-pattern-and-matrix layout; the cost is reliance on colour-faithful printing and capture [1][1][7][7]. Against **Microsoft's High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB)** — which also uses 4 or 8 colours but arranges them as clusters of coloured *triangles* and was commercialized as the now-discontinued Microsoft Tag — JAB Code uses coloured *square* modules, is fully open and ISO-standardized, and is actively maintained, whereas HCCB/Microsoft Tag has been retired [7][7]. JAB Code's main practical weakness relative to QR is limited reader ecosystem and adoption [7][7].
## Fun facts
- JAB Code was created for the German Federal Office for Information Security, with document-forgery resistance (including pairing with "paper fingerprinting") among its design goals [5][5].
- Its eight default colours are the CMYK primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) plus red, green, blue, and white [1][1].
## Status
**Active.** Standardized as ISO/IEC 23634:2022, with an openly maintained LGPL reference encoder/decoder and a public demo; free of licensing restrictions [1][1][3][3][5][5].
## Sources
[1] [JAB Code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAB_Code) — Wikipedia, 2024
[2] [JAB Code](https://grokipedia.com/page/JAB_Code) — Grokipedia, 2025
[3] [JAB Code — official project site](https://jabcode.org/) — Fraunhofer SIT, 2024
[4] [jabcode/jabcode reference implementation](https://github.com/jabcode/jabcode) — Fraunhofer SIT (GitHub), 2024
[5] [Color barcode becomes ISO standard](https://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/en/news/latest/press-releases/details/news-article/show/bunter-barcode-wird-iso-standard/) — Fraunhofer SIT, 2022
[7] [Comparison to other similar barcodes / High Capacity Color Barcode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Capacity_Color_Barcode) — Wikipedia, 2024
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAB_Code
[2]: https://grokipedia.com/page/JAB_Code
[3]: https://jabcode.org/
[4]: https://github.com/jabcode/jabcode
[5]: https://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/en/news/latest/press-releases/details/news-article/show/bunter-barcode-wird-iso-standard/
[7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Capacity_Color_Barcode
## Deployments
_No country reports mention this standard by name._
## Regions / aggregations not mapped to a single country
- Universal