RFID Card 26-bit Format with Facility Code - Access Control

RFID Cards, MIFARE 1K can be printed on, front and back.  For use with access control systems, most organizations want to keep information about their location private.

An RFID Card has a tiny radio transponder called a tag which contains a microchip and an antenna that transmits wirelessly a unique identifier to a reader device when prompted.

RFID systems operate in different frequency bands: Low Frequency (LF or short range) for most all RFID Cards, High Frequency (HF or mid-range), and Ultra High Frequency (UHF or long-range).

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify a membership or employment badge for example. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying membership number.

Passive tags are powered by energy from the RFID reader's interrogating radio waves and are found in RFID Cards. Active tags are powered by a battery and thus can be read at a greater range from the RFID reader, up to hundreds of meters.

Unlike a barcode, the tag does not need to be within the line of sight of the reader.

RFID for access control will typically use facility codes and a 26-bit Wiegand Format to keep the cards unique.