# rMQR
> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/rmqr
> research date 2026-06-03 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards
Specifications:
- [ISO/IEC 23941:2022 — Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR) bar code symbology specification](https://www.iso.org/standard/77404.html)
- [rMQR Code — QRcode.com (Denso Wave)](https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/rmqr.html)
## Overview
The Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR Code) is a matrix-type two-dimensional barcode developed by Denso Wave as a rectangular variant of the QR Code, intended for printing in long, narrow spaces where a conventional square QR Code or Micro QR Code would not fit [3][3] [4][4]. It retains the QR Code's positioning structure and Reed–Solomon error correction but trades the square aspect ratio for a flat, elongated footprint, making it suitable for cables, instruments, narrow labels, and small components [4][4]. It was internationally standardised as ISO/IEC 23941:2022 [1][1].
## History
Denso Wave announced the rMQR Code on **25 May 2022** [4][4]. The company developed it in response to the spread of IoT and the manufacturing need for individual management of ultra-small electronic components, where limited margin space had previously prevented codes from being printed and so hampered information management [4][4]. The same month, the symbology obtained ISO approval, becoming **ISO/IEC 23941:2022** — "Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR) bar code symbology specification" — enabling royalty-free worldwide use [1][1] [3][3] [4][4]. ISO/IEC 23941:2022 specifies the rMQR symbology characteristics, encoding, symbol structure, dimensions, print-quality requirements, error correction, and decoding [1][1].
## Technical specification
**Module / symbol structure.** rMQR reduces the QR Code's three large finder patterns to a single full finder pattern in the top-left corner plus a smaller finder sub-pattern in the bottom-right corner, which is what allows the rectangular, narrow shape [2][2] [3][3]. Denso Wave describes this as reducing the finder patterns "from three to one and a half" [3][3]. The symbol also includes alignment patterns and timing patterns to detect distortion during reading [2][2] [3][3].
**Available sizes.** rMQR defines **32 sizes (versions)**, identified from **R7×43** to **R17×139** [2][2]:
- Heights (vertical modules): 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 [2][2]
- Widths (horizontal modules): 27, 43, 59, 77, 99, 139 [2][2]
The smallest practical symbol stores a minimum of 12 digits in a 7-module-high by 43-module-wide form; the largest is R17×139 [3][3].
**Error correction.** rMQR offers two Reed–Solomon error-correction levels — **M (~15% recovery)** and **H (~30% recovery)** — using the same Reed–Solomon scheme as standard QR Code [2][2].
**Data capacity (maximum, R17×139).** [2][2] [4][4]
- Numeric: 361 digits
- Alphanumeric: 219 characters
- Byte: 150 characters
- Kanji: 92 characters
The symbology supports Latin-1, Kanji (Shift-JIS), and GS1-formatted data [2][2] [4][4].
## Use cases
Denso Wave positions rMQR for part traceability in factories and supply chains, individual management of small electronic and IoT components, brand/design-sensitive products, and information management on slips and forms; specific examples cited include medical device and pharmaceutical labelling and manufacturing price tags [4][4]. Its flat, elongated shape suits narrow or thin workpieces such as cables, instruments, and narrow labels where a square symbol cannot fit [3][3]. Reported applications also include package tracking, retail goods identification, document processing, transit ticketing, and healthcare identification [2][2].
## Implementations
- **[rmqrcode-python (OUDON)](https://github.com/OUDON/rmqrcode-python)** — Python; ~181 stars; active in 2026. A dedicated Rectangular Micro QR Code generator in Python [5][5].
- **[libqrean (kikuchan)](https://github.com/kikuchan/libqrean)** — C; ~101 stars; active 2024. A portable QR and barcode generation/manipulation library that includes rMQR [6][6].
- **[qrqrpar (Nakanishi123)](https://github.com/Nakanishi123/qrqrpar)** — Rust; ~21 stars; active 2025. A QR code generator supporting rMQR, written in Rust [7][7].
- **[Zint](https://github.com/zint/zint)** — C; ~771 stars; active in 2026. The general-purpose Zint library lists rMQR among its supported 2D symbologies [8][8].
## Comparison
rMQR fills the gap between the standard square QR Code (large, square footprint, very high capacity) and Micro QR Code (small but limited capacity), offering both compact size and a larger capacity than Micro QR in a rectangular shape [3][3]. Against 1D linear barcodes, rMQR stores far more data in a comparably narrow strip, making it a candidate replacement for 1D codes on cables and instruments where vertical space is scarce [4][4]. Compared with the full QR Code, its capacity is much smaller — 361 numeric characters at most versus the QR Code's maximum of about 7,089 numeric characters [4][4]. It uses only two error-correction levels (M and H) rather than QR Code's four (L, M, Q, H) [2][2].
## Fun facts
- rMQR achieves its rectangular shape by cutting the QR Code's three finder patterns down to "one and a half" — a single full finder plus a small sub-pattern — which Denso Wave highlights as the key structural change [3][3].
- Within a year of release, rMQR had already attracted security-research attention: open repositories host thousands of deliberately malicious rMQR codes for penetration-testing red-team use [2][2].
## Status
Active and current. rMQR is an international standard, ISO/IEC 23941:2022, and is royalty-free for worldwide use [1][1] [3][3].
## Sources
[1]: https://www.iso.org/standard/77404.html
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectangular_Micro_QR_Code
[3]: https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/rmqr.html
[4]: https://www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/info/detail__220525.html
[5]: https://github.com/OUDON/rmqrcode-python
[6]: https://github.com/kikuchan/libqrean
[7]: https://github.com/Nakanishi123/qrqrpar
[8]: https://github.com/zint/zint
[1] [ISO/IEC 23941:2022 — Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR) bar code symbology specification](https://www.iso.org/standard/77404.html) — ISO, 2022
[2] [Rectangular Micro QR Code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectangular_Micro_QR_Code) — Wikipedia, 2026
[3] [rMQR Code](https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/rmqr.html) — QRcode.com / Denso Wave, 2022
[4] [DENSO WAVE Develops "rMQR Code"](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/info/detail__220525.html) — Denso Wave, 2022
[5] [rmqrcode-python](https://github.com/OUDON/rmqrcode-python) — OUDON / GitHub, 2026
[6] [libqrean](https://github.com/kikuchan/libqrean) — kikuchan / GitHub, 2024
[7] [qrqrpar](https://github.com/Nakanishi123/qrqrpar) — Nakanishi123 / GitHub, 2025
[8] [Zint barcode encoding library](https://github.com/zint/zint) — Zint Project / GitHub, 2026
## Deployments
_No country reports mention this standard by name._
## Regions / aggregations not mapped to a single country
- Universal