Feature · QR enrolmentUpdated September 29, 2026

QR code enrolment for clinical studies

Put a QR code on a poster, a clinic room wall or an information leaflet, and let people reach your study in seconds. Capture creates site-specific or study-specific codes that open in the phone browser, with no app to install.

  • Site or study codes
  • Printable landing pages
  • No app

Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned

Study landing page

Now recruiting

Sleep and Recovery Study

A 12-week study of sleep quality after surgery. Takes 5 minutes a day on your phone.

Check if you can take part
12 weeks5 min a dayNo app needed

Scan to join

Print it on posters and clinic flyers

How QR enrolment works

  • Codes can be site-specific, so every participant who scans is assigned to the right site, or study-specific for central recruitment.
  • Each study can publish a landing page with a printable QR code for posters, leaflets and clinic rooms, in the study's own look.
  • Where the protocol allows it, participants can enrol themselves from the landing page and start their first questionnaire straight away.
  • Everything opens in the phone browser: no app store, no account password.
  • Participants get site-level numbering (for example 001-0042), so enrolment by site is clear from the start.

Why it works

Fewer steps between interest and enrolment

Every extra step in recruitment loses people. A poster that says "call this number during office hours" converts far fewer people than one they can scan on the spot. A QR code that opens the study's landing page lets interested people read about the study, check whether they might be eligible and leave their details or enrol straight away, depending on what your protocol and ethics approval allow.

Site-specific codes solve a practical problem in multi-site studies: attribution. Each site's posters and leaflets carry its own code, so participants arrive at the right site and recruitment performance by site is visible without manual tracking. See multi-site clinical trial management.

Ethics approval

Recruitment materials, including posters with QR codes and landing page text, usually need ethics approval. Include the poster and landing page text in your submission, and make sure the page says what happens to any information people enter.

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Use cases

Where QR enrolment fits

SettingCode typeWhat happens next
Clinic waiting room posterSite-specificLanding page, interest form or self-enrolment
Community or pharmacy posterStudy-specificCentral pre-screening before site assignment
Patient information leafletSite-specificParticipant starts onboarding at home
Registry or observational studyStudy-specificSelf-enrolment and first questionnaire
Event or conference boothStudy-specificInterest registration for follow-up

In Capture

Your study, your branding, one QR code

Give the participant portal your study's look and publish a landing page with a QR code for recruitment posters and clinic rooms. Studies that allow it can let people enrol themselves from the landing page, and site-specific codes assign each participant to the right site.

  • Landing pages with a printable QR code.
  • Site-specific or study-specific codes.
  • Self-enrolment where the protocol allows.
Patient recruitment software
Study landing page

Now recruiting

Sleep and Recovery Study

A 12-week study of sleep quality after surgery. Takes 5 minutes a day on your phone.

Check if you can take part
12 weeks5 min a dayNo app needed

Scan to join

Print it on posters and clinic flyers

Create a landing page and scan it

Publish a test landing page in the free sandbox and scan the code with your phone.

Create a study QR code free

After the scan

From scan to screened participant

What happens after the scan depends on the study. Observational studies and registries may enrol participants directly and start the first questionnaire. Interventional trials usually collect interest or pre-screening answers, then invite eligible people to consent and screen at a site, where the guided screening flow assigns sequential numbers and records screen-failure reasons.

Keep pre-screening short and neutral, and consent to pre-screening where required. The pre-screening consent template and screening and enrollment log template cover the steps before and after.

Recruitment materials

A recruitment poster that works

A good poster answers three questions at a glance: who is the study for, what does taking part involve, and how do I find out more. Keep the headline plain, list only the key eligibility points, make the QR code large enough to scan from a distance, and add a short web address for people who prefer to type.

Test the code from where people will actually stand, in the lighting of the room, before printing. Place posters where the target population spends time, not only in research corridors, and review which sites and materials bring in participants. See patient recruitment software.

Setup

QR recruitment checklist

Code type

Site-specific or study-specific.

Landing page content

Plain-language study summary and privacy information.

Ethics approval

Posters and landing page approved.

Next step defined

Interest form, pre-screening or self-enrolment.

Poster placement

Where the target population actually is.

Tracking

Enrolment by site reviewed weekly.

FAQ

Questions teams ask before they switch

Something not covered here? Ask us directly.

How big should the QR code be?

Large enough to scan from where people stand. Test it in the room before printing.

Should posters include a web address?

Yes, a short address helps people who prefer to type.

Can QR codes be site-specific?

Yes. Site-specific codes assign participants to the right site; study-specific codes suit central recruitment.

Do participants need an app?

No. The code opens a landing page in the phone browser.

Can participants enrol themselves?

Where the protocol allows it, participants can enrol from the landing page and start their first questionnaire.

Can the landing page carry our study branding?

Yes. The participant portal and landing page can take your study's look.

Do QR posters need ethics approval?

Recruitment materials usually do. Include the poster and landing page content in your submission.

Can I try it free?

Yes, in the free sandbox.

From poster to participant in one scan

Landing pages and QR codes in the free sandbox.

Create a study QR code free