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What to do if…
a vaccination or test certificate will not load or its QR code will not validate

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Check whether the certificate and QR code are currently required by your destination, any transit country and your carrier. Retrieve a fresh, unedited copy from the official issuer and ask the issuer or carrier to identify the exact problem if it still fails.

Do not do these things

  • Do not edit, crop, redraw or recreate the QR code.
  • Do not upload the certificate to an unofficial QR-checking or certificate-repair website.
  • Do not delete the original email, PDF, app record or paper certificate.
  • Do not assume that a failed scan proves the vaccination, test result or certificate is invalid.
  • Do not rely only on a screenshot unless the organisation checking the certificate confirms that it accepts screenshots.
  • Do not buy another test, replace your phone or rebook immediately before confirming what is required.
  • Do not send passport or health information through an unverified contact route.

What to do now

  1. If you are at check-in, a gate or a border desk, move out of the queue if asked and request the exact error. Establish whether the certificate will not open, the QR code is unreadable, the details do not match or the format is not accepted.

  2. Check the current entry requirements for your destination and every country through which you will transit. Also check with your airline, ferry or rail operator whether it requires a particular certificate format.

  3. Return to the official organisation that issued the certificate. Open the original app, website, email attachment or paper document and download a fresh PDF or certificate where that option is available.

  4. If the official file will not display, check your internet connection and try the issuer’s official website, another browser or another device. Keep the original file while testing a fresh copy.

  5. Compare the certificate with your passport and booking. Check the name, date of birth and any vaccination or test details shown. Do not correct a mismatch by editing the certificate.

  6. Contact the clinic, vaccination service, laboratory or test provider that created the record. Ask it to check the underlying information and explain its official replacement or correction process. Contact a private provider directly for a privately issued vaccination or test.

  7. If vaccination information in the NHS App in England is incorrect or missing, use the route for that record. For general vaccination-history errors, contact your GP surgery. For a COVID-19 vaccination-record error, contact the vaccination site first; use your GP surgery only in the circumstances listed by the NHS. For a privately provided COVID-19 vaccination, contact the private provider.

  8. Do not spend time trying to restore an old NHS COVID Pass. That service has closed. Use the current destination requirements and the official record service for the UK nation or provider that recorded the vaccination.

  9. If departure is close, show carrier staff the original unedited evidence and ask what alternative official format, if any, they will accept. If boarding is refused, ask the carrier to record the precise reason and keep the document, booking details and relevant messages.

What can wait

You do not need to decide immediately whether to replace your phone, purchase another test, rebook the journey, make a complaint or claim on insurance. Those steps can wait until you know whether the certificate is required, why it failed and whether the issuer or carrier accepts another official version.

Important reassurance

A certificate or QR code can fail because of the file, display, scanner, recorded details or accepted format. A failed scan alone does not establish that the vaccination or test result is invalid, although the destination, carrier or border authority decides whether the evidence meets its requirements.

Scope note

This guide covers the first steps for identifying and stabilising a certificate problem. Later decisions may require help from the issuer, the carrier, a travel health professional, the destination’s authorities or your travel insurer.

Important note

This is general information, not medical, legal, immigration or travel-provider advice. Entry and transit requirements can change, and the current rules of the destination and the decisions of the relevant carrier or border authority take priority.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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