Appliance serial number lookup
Select the manufacturer, enter the serial number, and get a manufacture date with the reasoning, the confidence level and the sources attached.
Look up by manufacturer
Each brand page explains that brand's specific quirks — which are considerable, and different in every case.
- WhirlpoolWhirlpool CorporationWhirlpool serials carry a division letter, a year character and a two-digit production week, so they date to the week rather than just the year.
- MaytagWhirlpool Corporation since 2006Maytag has two completely different serial systems: its own 24-letter code before 2006, and the Whirlpool code afterwards.
- KitchenAidWhirlpool Corporation since 1986KitchenAid major appliances are Whirlpool-built and use the Whirlpool week-level serial format.
- AmanaWhirlpool Corporation since 2006Amana appliances built since the 2006 Whirlpool acquisition use the Whirlpool serial format. Earlier Amana appliances are not covered.
- GE AppliancesHaier since 2016GE uses two letters at the start of the serial: the first is the month, the second is the year. The year letter repeats every twelve years.
- HotpointGE Appliances in North AmericaNorth American Hotpoint appliances are GE-built and use the GE date code. European Hotpoint is a different company and is not covered.
- FrigidaireElectrolux Major Appliances since 1986Frigidaire serials are ten characters and encode the week precisely — but not the decade, which is never written down anywhere on the appliance.
- ElectroluxElectrolux Major AppliancesNorth American Electrolux appliances share the Frigidaire ten-character serial format, decade omitted and all.
- KenmoreSears retail brand, built by othersKenmore does not build anything. The first three digits of the model number identify who did, and that determines which serial format applies.
- BoschBSH Home AppliancesBosch puts the build date in a separate FD number rather than the serial. It resolves to one year, with no decade ambiguity.
Look up by appliance type
What each manufacturer’s code gives you
What each format actually encodes, and therefore how precise an answer you can expect.
| Manufacturer | Format | Confidence | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| whirlpool | Whirlpool two-letter prefix with production week | high | 29 July 2026 |
| maytag | Whirlpool two-letter prefix with production week | high | 29 July 2026 |
| maytag | Maytag 24-letter year and month code | moderate | 29 July 2026 |
| kitchenaid | Whirlpool two-letter prefix with production week | high | 29 July 2026 |
| amana | Whirlpool two-letter prefix with production week | high | 29 July 2026 |
| ge | GE two-letter month and year code | high | 29 July 2026 |
| hotpoint | GE two-letter month and year code | high | 29 July 2026 |
| frigidaire | Electrolux ten-character serial with year digit and week | moderate | 29 July 2026 |
| electrolux | Electrolux ten-character serial with year digit and week | moderate | 29 July 2026 |
| kenmore | Whirlpool two-letter prefix with production week | high | 29 July 2026 |
| kenmore | GE two-letter month and year code | high | 29 July 2026 |
| kenmore | Electrolux ten-character serial with year digit and week | moderate | 29 July 2026 |
| bosch | Bosch FD number | high | 29 July 2026 |
Not yet supported: Samsung, LG, Speed Queen, Miele. Adding a brand requires documentation we can cite, not a plausible-looking pattern.
Common questions
- Do I need the model number as well as the serial number?
- For most brands it is optional but helpful — it narrows down which decade a repeating serial code belongs to. For Kenmore it is mandatory, because the first three digits of the model number identify who actually built the appliance and therefore which serial format applies.
- Is my serial number sent anywhere?
- No. Decoding runs entirely in your browser. The serial number is never sent to our servers, never appears in the address bar, is never included in analytics, and is not stored.
- Why does the tool sometimes return several dates?
- Because several manufacturer date codes genuinely repeat. GE reuses its year letter every twelve years, legacy Maytag every twenty-four, and Whirlpool every thirty. Frigidaire does not encode the decade at all. When more than one year fits, we show all of them rather than picking one and presenting it as certain.
- What if my manufacturer is not listed?
- Then we have not found documentation for its serial format that we are confident enough to publish. We would rather list the gap than ship a rule we cannot cite. The manufacturer's own support channel can usually confirm a build date from their records.