Proximity Card Samples & Compatibility Verification

Who This Service Is For

Facilities managers, security integrators, and locksmiths frequently inherit access control systems where the original specification documents are unavailable. The physical cards or fobs may carry a brand name, but the underlying format — bit length, facility code, encoding scheme — is rarely printed anywhere the end user can read. This is the gap our compatibility check is designed to close.

The service is equally useful when you are sourcing replacements for a site whose previous supplier has closed, when you have taken over management of a building and need to expand an existing card population, or when you are tendering a bulk supply contract and want verified compatibility confirmed in writing before placing an order. Our format identification guide explains the general approach, but for many proprietary formats a direct verification from us is faster and more reliable than self-diagnosis.

We cover the full range of 125 kHz LF proximity cards and fobs, 13.56 MHz HF smart cards, and the wide variety of Wiegand bit-format cards that fall between standard 26-bit and 64-bit encodings. Obscure proprietary formats that general-purpose suppliers cannot place are precisely where our catalog and identification capability adds the most value.

What to Send for Identification

A physical sample is the most reliable submission. One card or fob from the active population is sufficient — we do not need multiple samples. We read the credential using calibrated equipment and return the sample to you with a written identification report covering format, bit length, facility code (if applicable), and the compatible product line that matches.

If shipping a physical card is impractical — for example, when the card is still in active service and cannot be removed from site — clear photographs work for a first-pass identification on many common and semi-proprietary formats. Photographs should show both faces of the card, the reader faceplate (including any model number label), and any printed numbering on the card body. For smart credential formats such as HID Seos or 13.56 MHz systems, a photograph alone is usually insufficient and a physical sample is preferred.

You can also supply the reader model number or access control panel model if you have it. Cross-referencing the reader specification against our format database often narrows identification immediately, and is particularly useful for installations running systems from brands such as HID or Indala where multiple format variants were sold under the same product family name.

How We Identify and Verify Your Format

On receipt of a sample, our team reads the credential on calibrated RF equipment spanning both 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz frequency ranges. The raw data output is matched against our proprietary format library, which includes standard Wiegand variants from 26-bit through 64-bit, manufacturer-specific encodings, and a growing number of obscure single-vendor formats that do not appear in any public specification. Identification covers the encoding structure, the parity and checksum scheme, the facility code value, and the card number range in use.

For formats that fall outside our immediate library — typically highly proprietary single-country or single-vendor encodings — we conduct an extended analysis using bitstream comparison against known-similar formats. This is the scenario where our specialist knowledge is most valuable; a general card supplier will simply decline, whereas we have successfully placed formats that were previously believed to be unresourceable. Examples include formats such as ADT 31-bit compatible and Inner Range 36-bit compatible credentials that carry non-standard parity configurations.

Once identification is complete, we confirm whether the format is in current production, the lead time for compatible credentials, and whether your specific facility code is within the encodable range of our tooling. This confirmation is provided in writing and serves as the basis for any subsequent production order. Our guide to distinguishing 125 kHz from 13.56 MHz credentials explains the underlying technology if you want background context on why frequency matters for compatibility.

Verification Before a Production Run

The purpose of the compatibility check is to eliminate ordering errors at production scale. A misidentified format that results in a batch of non-working cards costs time and money that a verification step avoids entirely. We recommend any buyer placing an order above twenty-five credentials submit a sample for verification first, regardless of how confident they are in the format identification — particularly for less common formats where minor variant differences can make a card unreadable on a specific reader generation.

For formats such as Gallagher Cardax compatible credentials or the HID Corporate 1000 48-bit compatible card, where the system-level configuration on the controller affects whether a card is accepted, we can advise on the specific encoding parameters required and flag any compatibility conditions the buyer should verify on their own panel before approving a full run.

Buyers ordering for ongoing site management — resellers, FM contractors, security integrators — can have their verified format placed on file. This eliminates repeat verification steps on subsequent reorders and speeds up lead time from the second order onward. It also provides a documented record of the site's format specification, which is useful when personnel change. Our bulk and wholesale compatible card service works directly alongside this verification step for higher-volume accounts.

Start a Compatibility Check

To begin, contact our team with a brief description of your system and what you can supply — a physical sample, photographs, or a reader model number. We will confirm the submission method and return address for physical samples, and provide a turnaround estimate. For the majority of common and semi-proprietary formats, identification is completed within one to two business days of sample receipt.

If you already have a working format identification and need to move directly to a quote, you can reference any of our format pages — for example, Indala ASC 27-bit compatible card, CISA CT6 Aero compatible card, or Hotek Mini Advance compatible key card — and use the request form on that page to specify quantity and facility code. The compatibility check service is intended for buyers who are not yet certain which format page applies to their installation.

Buyers who know they need compatible cards but are unsure whether replacement or expansion is the right approach may also find our lost or damaged access card replacement service useful for initial single-unit sourcing before scaling to a managed supply arrangement. Security ID Systems is an independent manufacturer and supplier of compatible access-control credentials and is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by HID Global, Indala, ASSA ABLOY, Gallagher, Inner Range, ADT, CISA, Hotek, or VingCard.