MIFARE 13.56 MHz Compatible card available

MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C Compatible Cards & Fobs

MIFARE Ultralight and Ultralight C are NXP's ultra-low-cost 13.56 MHz NFC tags — no crypto on the base variant (trivially cloneable), 3DES on Ultralight C — suited for disposable ticketing, transit passes, and loyalty cards, not for secure access control.

Quote MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C cards View specs

MIFARE Ultralight operates at 13.56 MHz per ISO/IEC 14443 Type A and NFC Forum Type 2, offering 48 bytes of freely readable and writable user memory with no cryptographic protection, making it a cost-effective platform for single-use or limited-use applications like event ticketing and transit disposable passes. The Ultralight C variant (MF0ICU2) extends memory to 144 bytes and adds 3DES mutual authentication to prevent unauthorized reads and writes, but UID-writable magic clones are commercially available for both variants, and neither should be used where credential duplication would constitute a meaningful security breach.

MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C specifications

Brand / OEM
NXP Semiconductors
Technology
Contactless smart card / NFC tag (ISO/IEC 14443 Type A, NFC Forum Type 2)
Frequency
13.56 MHz
Chip
Ultralight: NXP MF0ICU1 (48-byte user memory) / MF0ULX1 (EV1, 48 or 128-byte user memory); Ultralight C: NXP MF0ICU2 (144-byte user memory, 3DES authentication); 7-byte UID; no crypto on Ultralight base; 3DES on Ultralight C
Bit formats
UID-based (7-byte serial number read by reader for access decisions), NFC Forum Type 2 NDEF (for URL / text payload use cases), No standard Wiegand credential encoding (UID only via reader firmware)
OEM part numbers
MF0ICU1, MF0ULX1, MF0ICU2, MF0UL1101DUD, MF0UL2101DUD, MF0ICU20001DU

Our compatible MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C credentials

American Key Cards manufactures non-OEM credentials engineered to work with your existing MIFARE readers — no hardware changes, encoded to your facility code and card-number range.

AKC MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C Compatible CardProximity / ISO card

Can MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C cards be copied?

MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C is an open format, so a compatible card can be produced from your facility code and card number. We don't copy individual cards on request — we manufacture new, correctly-encoded credentials for systems you own or manage.

MIFARE Ultralight (base, EV1) has no cryptographic protection — memory is freely readable and writable by any NFC reader, and UID-changeable magic blank cards are commercially available, making cloning trivial. MIFARE Ultralight C adds 3DES authentication to protect memory pages, which provides meaningful protection against casual reads, but the card is still duplicable if 3DES keys are known or default. Neither variant is appropriate for secure access control; they are suited for single-use or low-security applications such as event ticketing, transit passes, and loyalty cards.

Where MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C is used

  • Single-use or limited-use event ticketing and venue access
  • Public transit fare media (disposable / limited-trip tickets)
  • Loyalty and reward card programs
  • NFC promotional and marketing tags
  • Low-security visitor badge programs
  • Library borrowing cards (non-sensitive data)

Compatible readers

Any ISO 14443A NFC reader (all major brands in UID-read mode)NFC Forum Type 2 compliant readersACR122U / ACR1252U NFC desktop readersStandard NFC-enabled Android and iOS smartphones (NDEF read)Transit gate readers designed for disposable NFC fare media

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MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C — FAQ

Can MIFARE Ultralight cards be cloned?

Yes — MIFARE Ultralight (base and EV1) has no cryptographic protection and any NFC-capable device can read or write the memory. UID-writable magic blank tags allow full duplication. MIFARE Ultralight C adds 3DES authentication that raises the bar but does not provide the same assurance as DESFire AES. Neither is recommended for access control where security against duplication is required.

What is the difference between MIFARE Ultralight and Ultralight C?

The base Ultralight (MF0ICU1) and Ultralight EV1 (MF0ULX1) have no cryptographic authentication — memory is open. Ultralight C (MF0ICU2) adds 3DES mutual authentication and a counter, providing protection against unauthorized memory reads and writes when the keys are set. Ultralight C has 144 bytes of user memory versus 48 bytes on the base Ultralight.

Are MIFARE Ultralight cards suitable for access control?

Only in low-stakes scenarios (visitor passes, single-use event entry) where the consequence of a duplicated credential is low. For employee or tenant access control where credential duplication is a threat, MIFARE Classic 1K at minimum — or preferably MIFARE DESFire EV2/EV3 or MIFARE Plus SL3 — should be used instead.