Since January 2011, Corona supplies all HID products.

• iCLASS® Contactless
• HID Proximity
• Indala® Proximity
• FlexSmart® Series MIFARE/DESFire Contactless

Make your choice with the Smart Card Guide.

What Format Do You Need? What Is a Format?

A format is the structure of the data stored in an access control credential. Basically it is comprised of a set of binary digits – “bits”– put together a certain way to create a binary number, which is converted into a credential number by an access control system. The number of ones and zeros, and how they are put together, determines the format and ultimately the credential number.
For example: A 26-bit format (H10301) is created like this

1-11111111-0001011111101100-1 with the first set of ones (in red) representing the site code and the second set of ones and zeros (in blue) representing the credential number. The access control system sees this format as card number 6124 with a site code 255. The 26-bit format is the most common format requested by dealers and can be used by most access control systems available today. However, there are many formats available and some formats are unique to access control systems and do not work with other formats at the same time. This is why it is so important to know the format when ordering credentials.