^RZ - Set RFID Tag Password
Sets the access or kill password stored on a tag.
^RZ sets a tag's password and, on Gen 2 tags, locks a named memory bank with it.
Two of its parameter values are irreversible: O and P permanently unlock or
permanently lock the bank, and no later command undoes either. The printer can
also store a kill password, which permanently disables the tag, although the guide
is explicit that the printer cannot itself kill one.
Syntax
^RZp,m,lSupport
Accepted and skipped, because it configures the printer rather than the label. It cannot change the rendered output, and Labelary skips it too.
Writes a password into the transponder. The password travels in parameter p, not in ^FD. The parser consumes any ^FD given to the command and draws nothing for it, so neither reaches the label. The renderer does not parse this command. It reports IGNORED_COMMAND at info severity, which does not reach X-Warnings. Labelary is also silent, so the rendered label is identical in both engines. On current printers ^RF with the S operation sets the access password. — not pinned by a test
Labelary renders this command.
Parameters
pPasswordoptional · hexadecimalThe password to set, in hexadecimal. Gen 2 tags take a 32-bit password and use the memory bank and lock style; other tag types take 8 bits and ignore both. ^RF reads passwords back.
- Default
- 00
- Invalid value
- not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
- Test coverage
mMemory bankoptional · one of a setWhich memory bank the lock style applies to. Gen 2 tags only.
- Default
- none, which leaves the memory bank unspecified
- Invalid value
- not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
- Test coverage
- No documented value is exercised by a test (K, A, E, T, U).
K- Kill password.
A- Access password.
E- EPC.
T- Tag identifier (TID).
U- User.
lLock styleoptional · one of a setWhat to do to the named memory bank. Gen 2 tags only.
- Default
- none, which leaves the lock state unchanged
- Invalid value
- not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
- Test coverage
- No documented value is exercised by a test (U, L, O, P, W).
U- Unlocked.
L- Locked.
O- Permanently unlocked, or open.
P- Permanently locked, or protected.
W- Write the value. Only for the kill-password bank.
Behavior
The password travels in parameter p and not in ^FD. The memory bank and the
lock style apply to Gen 2 tags only; other tag types take an 8-bit password and
ignore both. ^RF with the P operation reads passwords back.
A password only matters once something needs it. The guide notes that a tag with
no access or kill password ignores any read or write that uses those functions. Each bank takes its own command, so two locked banks need two ^RZ
lines that carry the same password. That is the shape of the guide's third
example, which locks the EPC bank and then the access password.
The password is a parameter and not field data, so the command alone has nothing
to draw. We measured this on 2026-07-30: both ^RZ5A^FS and
^RZ1234ABCD,E,L^FS render an empty label. The renderer also consumes an ^FD
supplied to ^RZ itself, and the ^RF write that normally accompanies it. Until
2026-07-30 both of those printed their payload.
Tested behavior
Differences from the specification
Example
The guide's example 2: encode an EPC, then write-protect it with password 1234ABCD.
^XA
^FO50,50^A0N,40,40^FDEPC locked^FS
^RFW,H^FD112233445566778899001122^FS
^RZ1234ABCD,E,L^FS
^XZ
Related commands
^RFRead or Write RFID FormatReads a tag, encodes a tag, or declares the access password used by later lock commands.^RLLock or Unlock RFID Tag MemoryLocks, unlocks or permanently locks a tag's passwords, memory banks or user-memory sections.^REEnable RFID EAS BitSets or clears the electronic article surveillance bit on a tag.