EPC Gen2v2 UHF Cards
UHF RFID Cards
EPC Gen2v2 Long-Range Access
Quick answer
UHF RFID cards embed a GS1 EPC Gen2v2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63 chip inside an ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 card body. They read at 2–8 m through an Impinj Speedway, Zebra FX9600 or ThingMagic M6e with the card in a pocket, wallet or on a dashboard — the long-range credential for vehicle-gate access, speed-lane turnstiles, hands-free healthcare zones and warehouse personnel tracking.
- EPC Gen2v2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63 air-interface. Read 100+ cards per second; not the single-card tap model of ISO/IEC 14443 NFC.
- Practical read range 2–8 m at 30 dBm ERP (EU) / 36 dBm EIRP (US) with a body-tuned inlay; 3–5 m with the card against the windshield on a parking gate.
- Chip options: Impinj Monza R6 / M700 / M800, NXP UCODE 8 / 9, Alien Higgs-9 — on-body / on-metal tuning matched to the deployment antenna.
Used in these industries
Deployments where this product is referenced on our industry landing pages.
At a glance
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Air-interface standard
GS1 EPC Radio-Frequency Identity Protocols — Generation-2 v2.1 (Gen2v2) is the canonical UHF protocol for cards. ISO/IEC 18000-63 is the ISO/IEC mapping of EPC Gen2v2 —...
Chip options
Impinj Monza R6 / R6-P — auto-tune front-end that compensates for body proximity and minor on-metal detuning; dominant choice for badge / dashboard form factors. Impinj...
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- EU: ETSI EN 302 208 covers 865–868 MHz (SRD band Europe) at 2 W ERP (33 dBm ERP) in LBT mode; 4 W EIRP equivalent.
- US: FCC Part 15.247 / 15.249 covers 902–928 MHz at 4 W EIRP (36 dBm EIRP).
- Japan: ARIB STD-T106 covers 916.7–923.5 MHz at 1 W EIRP.
- China: MIIT Notice 2007-205 covers 840–845 / 920–925 MHz at 2 W EIRP.
- Regional EIRP caps set the physical read-range envelope — a 5 m claim in the EU assumes a 2 W ERP reader, not a claim that can be universally portable.
- Practical read-range envelope
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- Free-air card-to-reader: 5–8 m with a Monza R6 / UCODE 8 card + Impinj Speedway R420 + 8.5 dBi circular-polarised antenna at 30 dBm ERP.
- Windshield-mounted (3M acrylic-foam pad): 3–5 m — car body detuning costs ~2 dB.
- In-pocket (cotton shirt): 2–4 m — body absorption costs 2–3 dB; Monza R6 auto-tune recovers ~1 dB.
- On-metal surface (without on-metal inlay): 0 m — free-air UHF card inlays short against metal; use a spacer or a dedicated on-metal card variant.
- Anti-collision and throughput
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- Gen2v2 Q-algorithm slotted-ALOHA inventory round reads 100+ tags/s at dense-reader Miller-2 settings.
- Speed-lane turnstiles and portal arrays handle walking-pace crowds without the 1-at-a-time bottleneck of ISO/IEC 14443 NFC.
- Warehouse evacuation accountability uses the same anti-collision burst to re-inventory a zone's worker headcount in < 1 s.
- Body / metal tuning
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- UHF card antennas detune against the human body (high permittivity + absorption) and short against metal — card-design choices matter more than for HF.
- Monza R6 / R6-P 'Autotune' adjusts the chip's input impedance in flight, recovering 1–2 dB on body-worn cards.
- On-metal card variants add a ferrite / PE foam spacer and a loop-coupled inlay design — 2–3 m range when the card sits on a steel locker or equipment cart.
- Dual-frequency option
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- UHF + 13.56 MHz NFC (MIFARE Classic 1K / DESFire EV3 / NTAG) dual-inlay cards put two chips in one ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 body.
- The UHF chip handles perimeter / parking / portal reads; the HF chip handles door readers, cashless payments and phone tap — a single credential across both infrastructure classes.
- Lamination stack is thicker (0.90–1.00 mm) to fit two antennas; MOQ is typically 300+ because of the extra alignment step.
- Privacy posture
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- UHF cards can be read without the carrier's active participation — a real privacy consideration in EU / UK / California jurisdictions.
- Gen2v2 Untraceable command can hide or short the EPC, UID and user memory until the reader provides the Access password — a mitigation for privacy-sensitive deployments.
- RFID-blocking sleeves (aluminium-foil-lined) fully shield UHF cards when the employee is off-site; interior NFC / door cards remain the preferred design for restricted-area access.
- Speed-lane + portal use-cases
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- Vehicle-gate access: windshield-mounted UHF card read at 3–5 m on a barrier-mast reader — no roll-down, no tap.
- Stadium / corporate speed-lane turnstile: UHF portal reader at gate throat reads in-pocket cards at walking pace, 600–1,200 entries / hour per lane.
- Hands-free healthcare zone entry: PPE-gloved workers read at 1–2 m without touching the reader — the canonical infection-control argument.
- Warehouse / hazardous-zone personnel safety: UHF portal re-inventories the zone on entry/exit and broadcasts a headcount for evacuation accountability.
- Memory layout
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- EPC bank: 96 bits default, 128 bits max (XTID extension); serialised per GS1 SGTIN or customer-defined.
- TID bank: 64 bits factory-locked UID + 32-bit XTID → anti-cloning identifier.
- User bank: Monza R6 = 0 bits; M700/M800 = 128 bits optional; UCODE 9 = 0 bits; Higgs-9 = 688 bits — on-card attribute storage option.
- Reserved bank: Kill password + Access password — Access password gates Gen2v2 Untraceable, per-bank lock and authenticated commands.
- Phone compatibility
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- Phones do not read UHF. NFC phones operate at 13.56 MHz and require tap range — UHF at 860–960 MHz requires a dedicated UHF reader front-end.
- Hybrid phones with UHF sleds (TSL, ATID) exist for warehouse handhelds but are not consumer devices.
- Deployments that need phone verification + portal reads choose dual-frequency UHF + NFC cards.
- Printing and personalisation
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- Offset + digital CMYK + 1 spot, matte or gloss overlaminate — identical to plain PVC cards.
- Dye-sub + retransfer personalisation (Evolis, Zebra ZXP, Magicard) work directly on UHF card bodies — the UHF chip sits off the printable surface.
- Sequential EPC encoding + visible serial number printing is done during production — one pass, no re-encoding station needed on the customer side.
Where UHF RFID cards outperform NFC and LF proximity — the capability, not the gimmick
The point of a UHF card is not that it is longer-range; it is that the air-interface is built for bulk inventory and walking-pace throughput, not the single-card selection model NFC enforces.
EPC Gen2v2 readers run slotted-ALOHA inventory rounds at 100+ tags/s. Speed-lane turnstiles, warehouse evacuation counters, stadium entry arrays and vehicle-parking barriers all use that throughput — not as a nice-to-have, but because the bill of work is hundreds of credentials crossing a gate in the same minute.
The trade-off is body / metal detuning, privacy exposure and no phone compatibility. NFC / DESFire keeps the door-access and cashless-payment story. UHF owns the perimeter. Dual-frequency cards let a single ISO/IEC 7810 body carry both.
UHF card vs NFC card vs LF proximity — pick the chip for the access model
UHF card (EPC Gen2v2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63)
- 2–8 m hands-free read with Monza R6 / UCODE 8 / Higgs-9 + Impinj Speedway / Zebra FX9600 at 30 dBm ERP.
- 100+ tags/s Q-algorithm anti-collision — parking, portals, speed-lane turnstiles, warehouse headcount.
- EPC 96–128 bits + optional user memory (688 bits on Higgs-9); Gen2v2 Untraceable / Access password on higher-assurance SKUs.
- No phone read (phones are HF); dual-frequency UHF + NFC card solves mixed-infrastructure deployments.
- Detunes on-body (recover 1 dB with Monza R6 autotune) and shorts on-metal without an on-metal inlay.
vs HF NFC and LF proximity
- NFC (ISO/IEC 14443): 5–10 cm tap range, single-card selection, phone-readable, AES / 3DES mutual authentication on DESFire EV3 — the door-access and cashless-payment interface.
- LF proximity (125 kHz EM4100 / HID Prox): 5–15 cm read, read-only, no crypto, no phone — the legacy apartment / factory credential.
- UHF cannot replace NFC for cashless payments or authenticated door reads; NFC / LF cannot replace UHF for parking-gate or speed-lane throughput.
- Dual-frequency UHF + NFC is the single-credential design when perimeter + interior are both in scope.
Portal throughput economics — why speed-lane operators choose UHF
Proud Tek UHF RFID card — specifications
- Chip options: Impinj Monza R6 / R6-P (auto-tune), Impinj M750 / M770 / M800 (high-sensitivity), NXP UCODE 8 / 9, Alien Higgs-9 (688-bit user memory).
- Card body: ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 (85.6 × 54 × 0.84 mm) PVC or PVC/PET composite; 0.90–1.00 mm for dual-frequency variants.
- Antenna: body-tuned inlay for pocket / badge-holder / wallet carry; windshield-mount variant for vehicle-gate use.
- Printing: CMYK offset or digital + 1 spot colour + matte / gloss overlaminate; dye-sub + retransfer personalisation compatible.
- Encoding: EPC pre-encoded in GS1 SGTIN or customer-defined format; Access password + Kill password set per fleet policy; Gen2v2 Untraceable configured on request.
- Reader certification: each design is range-tested at production QA on Impinj Speedway R420, Zebra FX9600, ThingMagic M6e — the test report ships with the order.
Deployment patterns — where UHF cards replace NFC and why
- Vehicle-gate / parking access: windshield-mounted UHF card on a 3M acrylic-foam pad, read at 3–5 m by a barrier-mast reader; the driver does not roll the window down.
- Speed-lane turnstile at stadiums, corporate campuses, metro gates — in-pocket UHF card cleared at walking pace by a portal reader pair.
- Hands-free healthcare zone entry — PPE-gloved workers enter through a 1–2 m UHF portal without touching a reader; infection-control wins vs shared-tap surfaces.
- Warehouse / hazardous-zone personnel safety — UHF portal at each zone entry runs a live headcount for EHS / evacuation accountability.
- Conference / large-venue attendance tracking — UHF portals at session doors count in/out without a tap station or badge scanner.
Privacy and regulatory posture — the part sales slides skip
- UHF cards are readable without the carrier's action — material for EU GDPR Art. 5(1)(c) data-minimisation analysis and California CPRA scope.
- Gen2v2 Untraceable command + Access password gating hides the EPC, UID and user memory until an authorised reader presents the password.
- RFID-blocking aluminium-foil sleeves shield the card when the carrier is off-site or out of the deployment perimeter.
- Regional EIRP limits (33 dBm EU, 36 dBm US, 30 dBm JP, 33 dBm CN) cap the reader — and therefore the effective range — more than the chip ever does.
- ETSI EN 302 208 (EU) and FCC Part 15.247 (US) test-and-approve the reader side; the card itself is a passive radiator and does not require separate homologation.
Roadmap — UHF card milestones from EPC Class 1 Gen 2 to 2026
- 2004 — EPC Class 1 Gen 2
EPCglobal ratifies Class 1 Generation 2 UHF Air Interface 1.0 — Alien, Impinj, Philips (later NXP) ship first Gen2 chips.
- 2006 — ISO/IEC 18000-6C
ISO/IEC adopts EPC Gen2 as ISO/IEC 18000-6 Type C (later re-numbered 18000-63) — the UHF air-interface goes fully international.
- 2010 — Monza R6 autotune
Impinj ships Monza R6 with Autotune — the body-proximity detuning problem that held UHF cards back in enterprise badge form factors is solved at the chip level.
- 2013 — Gen2v2 / untraceability
EPCglobal releases Gen2v2 adding Untraceable, Access password, Authenticated / Challenge commands and XTID — higher-assurance UHF card programmes become feasible.
- 2017 — NXP UCODE 8
NXP UCODE 8 extends sensitivity to -22 dBm and becomes the dominant card chip for high-volume parking and warehouse deployments.
- 2021 — Impinj M700 / M730
Impinj M700 / M730 push sensitivity to -23 dBm and bring per-tag Protected Mode; dense-reader environments become tractable on card-form inlays.
- 2024 — Impinj M800
Impinj M800 reduces card-inlay area by ~30% while maintaining range — thinner badge-holder-friendly UHF cards ship across enterprise programmes.
- 2026 — Today
UHF RFID cards are the default credential for vehicle-gate access, speed-lane turnstiles, hands-free healthcare zones and warehouse personnel tracking. Operating-playbook notes for vehicle-gate-access, speed-lane-turnstile, hands-free-healthcare-zone, warehouse-personnel-safety and conference-session-tracking UHF-card programmes.
Useful next pages
Use these linked product, guide and comparison pages to keep the next click specific and practical.
Related long-range RFID products
Other UHF RFID form factors and short-range HF peers for dual-frequency designs.
Chip-level technical reference
Deep-dive specifications and chip-family comparisons relevant to UHF card selection.
FAQ
Can UHF cards be read through clothing and bags?
Yes. UHF RFID at 860–960 MHz penetrates fabric, leather, plastic and paper with 0.5–2 dB attenuation. A body-tuned card in a shirt pocket, wallet, purse or badge holder reads at 2–4 m on a 30 dBm ERP (EU) / 36 dBm EIRP (US) reader. Metal objects next to the card (coins, phone chassis) cost 2–5 dB. Monza R6 / R6-P Autotune recovers ~1 dB of the body-proximity loss at the chip.
Is there a privacy concern with long-range reading?
Yes — UHF cards can be read without the carrier's active participation. The Gen2v2 Untraceable command can short or hide the EPC, UID and user memory until the reader supplies the Access password, which is the recommended mitigation for EU GDPR Art. 5(1)(c) data-minimisation programmes and California CPRA scope. Dual-frequency UHF + NFC cards are often specified so the UHF portion is only used at designated perimeters and NFC handles interior door access. RFID-blocking aluminium-foil sleeves are available for off-site privacy.
Why can't my phone read the UHF card?
Phone NFC radios operate at 13.56 MHz (ISO/IEC 14443 + ISO/IEC 15693), not the 860–960 MHz UHF band. UHF requires a dedicated reader front-end — Impinj Speedway, Zebra FX9600, ThingMagic M6e or a warehouse-handheld UHF sled (TSL, ATID). Deployments that need phone-tap verification and UHF portal reads specify a dual-frequency UHF + NFC card so both interfaces live in a single ISO/IEC 7810 body.
What is the MOQ and lead time?
Standard UHF RFID cards: MOQ 200, lead time 12–15 business days. Dual-frequency UHF + NFC cards: MOQ 300, lead time 15–18 business days — the second inlay needs an additional lamination-alignment pass. EPC pre-encoding, Access / Kill password programming, Gen2v2 Untraceable config and printing are all included in the standard lead time; a read-range test report ships with each order.
Sources & references
Primary standards, OEM datasheets and regulatory documents cited by this article. All URLs were verified on the access date shown below.
- GS1 EPC Radio-Frequency Identity Protocols — Generation-2 v2.1
Canonical EPC Gen2v2.1 air-interface spec — Q-algorithm anti-collision, Untraceable, Access password, Challenge / Authenticated commands, XTID.
- ISO/IEC 18000-63:2015 — Parameters for UHF air interface (EPC C1G2)
ISO/IEC mapping of EPC Gen2 — the same bits on the air, different standard number.
- Impinj Monza R6 / R6-P product datasheets
Autotune front-end — the body-proximity / minor on-metal detuning compensation that made UHF cards practical in enterprise badge form factors.
- Impinj M700 / M730 / M750 / M770 / M800 tag chip family
Higher-sensitivity (-23 dBm), Protected Mode and thinner card-inlay designs than Monza R6.
- NXP UCODE 8 / UCODE 9 datasheet family
High-sensitivity UHF chip family with 96–128 bit EPC and long-range card + inlay deployment.
- Alien Higgs-9 RFID tag IC datasheet
Deep-sensitivity chip (-23 dBm) with 688-bit user memory — the option when cards need on-chip attribute storage.
- ETSI EN 302 208 — UHF RFID SRD (865–868 MHz, EU)
European 2 W ERP / 4 W EIRP envelope that sets the EU UHF card read-range ceiling.
- FCC Part 15.247 — 902–928 MHz ISM operation (US)
US 4 W EIRP / 36 dBm envelope covering 902–928 MHz UHF RFID reader deployment.
- ARIB STD-T106 — 916.7–923.5 MHz Passive UHF RFID (Japan)
Japan UHF RFID reader envelope (1 W EIRP) — sets the Japan-deployed card range ceiling.
- ITU-R SM.2221 — Compatibility between RFID and other radio services
Proud Tek is a Shenzhen-based RFID & NFC manufacturer supplying hotel chains, transit operators, event venues and retail brands worldwide. Every order includes free samples, RF testing and dedicated project support.
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