Serial number lookup
Fender serial number lookup
Decode a Fender serial to find the production period and country. Fender's own tables give two-year ranges, and this tool does not pretend to be more precise than the manufacturer.
How Fender numbering works
Fender's modern numbering is a letter for the decade followed by a digit for the year: S for the 1970s, E for the 1980s, N for the 1990s, Z for the 2000s. From 2010 the guesswork was removed and the year is simply printed in the serial after a US or MX prefix.
Every reading spans two calendar years, and that is Fender's own doing rather than caution on our part. Necks, bodies and finished instruments were dated at different points in the process, and a guitar assembled in January routinely carries a neck stamped the previous autumn. Anyone quoting a single exact year from a Fender serial alone is overstating what the number supports.
The Japanese instruments are the genuinely hard case. Fender ran the alphabet twice — once during the “Made in Japan” period and again during “Crafted in Japan” — so a serial beginning with A is equally consistent with 1985 and 1997. Reading the decal on the headstock is not optional for those instruments; it is part of the serial.
Key facts
- Decade letters
- S = 1970s, E = 1980s, N = 1990s, Z = 2000s, on US instruments.
- US and MX prefixes
- From 2010, followed by the two-digit year. The most readable Fender serials there have ever been.
- MN and MZ
- Mexican production, Ensenada. MN through the 1990s, MZ through the 2000s.
- The E5–E7 gap
- These prefixes do not appear in Fender's published table. US output was heavily disrupted during the 1985 move away from CBS ownership.
What goes wrong
- Quoting a single year. Fender publishes ranges because the underlying process produced ranges.
- Dating a Japanese instrument without reading whether it says Made in Japan or Crafted in Japan.
- Expecting a V-prefix American Vintage reissue to decode. Fender has never published a year mapping for those.
- Assuming a neck date that disagrees with the serial indicates a fake. Mismatches are routine on genuine instruments.
Formats this lookup reads
Every format below has been sourced, documented and covered by tests before shipping. Formats we cannot verify are deliberately absent.
| Format | Period | Confidence | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| US letter-prefix serial (1976–2009) | 1976–2010 | high | 29 July 2026 |
| US serial with explicit year (2010 onwards) | 2010–2030 | high | 29 July 2026 |
| Mexican letter-prefix serial (1990–2009) | 1990–2010 | high | 29 July 2026 |
| Mexican serial with explicit year (2010 onwards) | 2010–2030 | high | 29 July 2026 |
| Japanese serial (1982–2008) | 1982–2008 | medium | 29 July 2026 |
| Korean letter-prefix serial (1990s) | 1990–2000 | medium | 29 July 2026 |
| Asian serial with explicit year | 1993–2030 | medium | 29 July 2026 |
| American Vintage reissue V-prefix serial | 1982–2030 | low | 29 July 2026 |
Fender serial number reference
Every format below is the same data the lookup above matches against. 8 formats are supported for Fender, and these tables set out what each one records.
Fender US serial prefixes and their production periods
| Prefix | Years | Plant |
|---|---|---|
| S6 | 1976–1977 | Fullerton, California |
| S7 | 1977–1978 | Fullerton, California |
| S8 | 1978–1979 | Fullerton, California |
| S9 | 1979–1981 | Fullerton, California |
| E0 | 1980–1981 | Fullerton, California |
| E1 | 1981–1982 | Fullerton, California |
| E2 | 1982–1983 | Fullerton, California |
| E3 | 1983–1984 | Fullerton, California |
| E4 | 1984–1985 | Fullerton, California |
| E8 | 1988–1989 | Corona, California |
| E9 | 1989–1990 | Corona, California |
| N0 | 1990–1991 | Corona, California |
| N1 | 1991–1992 | Corona, California |
| N2 | 1992–1993 | Corona, California |
| N3 | 1993–1994 | Corona, California |
| N4 | 1994–1995 | Corona, California |
| N5 | 1995–1996 | Corona, California |
| N6 | 1996–1997 | Corona, California |
| N7 | 1997–1998 | Corona, California |
| N8 | 1998–1999 | Corona, California |
| N9 | 1999–2000 | Corona, California |
| Z0 | 2000–2001 | Corona, California |
| Z1 | 2001–2002 | Corona, California |
| Z2 | 2002–2003 | Corona, California |
| Z3 | 2003–2004 | Corona, California |
| Z4 | 2004–2005 | Corona, California |
| Z5 | 2005–2006 | Corona, California |
| Z6 | 2006–2007 | Corona, California |
| Z7 | 2007–2008 | Corona, California |
| Z8 | 2008–2009 | Corona, California |
| Z9 | 2009–2010 | Corona, California |
Prefixes E5 to E7 do not appear in Fender's published table. US output was heavily disrupted during the 1985 transition out of CBS ownership. From 2010 the format changed to US followed by the two-digit year.
Fender American Deluxe DZ prefixes
| Prefix | Years |
|---|---|
| DZ0 | 2000–2001 |
| DZ1 | 2001–2002 |
| DZ2 | 2002–2003 |
| DZ3 | 2003–2004 |
| DZ4 | 2004–2005 |
| DZ5 | 2005–2006 |
| DZ6 | 2006–2007 |
| DZ7 | 2007–2008 |
| DZ8 | 2008–2009 |
| DZ9 | 2009–2010 |
Fender Mexico serial prefixes
| Prefix | Years |
|---|---|
| MN0 | 1990–1991 |
| MN1 | 1991–1992 |
| MN2 | 1992–1993 |
| MN3 | 1993–1994 |
| MN4 | 1994–1995 |
| MN5 | 1995–1996 |
| MN6 | 1996–1997 |
| MN7 | 1997–1998 |
| MN8 | 1998–1999 |
| MN9 | 1999–2000 |
| MZ0 | 2000–2001 |
| MZ1 | 2001–2002 |
| MZ2 | 2002–2003 |
| MZ3 | 2003–2004 |
| MZ4 | 2004–2005 |
| MZ5 | 2005–2006 |
| MZ6 | 2006–2007 |
| MZ7 | 2007–2008 |
| MZ8 | 2008–2009 |
| MZ9 | 2009–2010 |
From 2010 the format changed to MX followed by the two-digit year, so MX17123456 is 2017.
Fender Made in Japan serial prefixes, 1982 to 1997
| Prefix | Years |
|---|---|
| JV | 1982–1984 |
| SQ | 1983–1984 |
| E | 1984–1987 |
| A | 1985–1986 |
| B | 1985–1986 |
| C | 1985–1986 |
| F | 1986–1987 |
| G | 1987–1988 |
| H | 1988–1989 |
| I | 1989–1990 |
| J | 1989–1990 |
| K | 1990–1991 |
| L | 1991–1992 |
| M | 1992–1993 |
| N | 1993–1994 |
| O | 1993–1994 |
| P | 1993–1994 |
| Q | 1993–1994 |
| S | 1994–1995 |
| T | 1994–1995 |
| U | 1995–1996 |
| V | 1996–1997 |
Fender Crafted in Japan serial prefixes, 1997 to 2008
| Prefix | Years |
|---|---|
| A | 1997–1998 |
| B | 1998–1999 |
| C | 1999–2000 |
| D | 2000–2001 |
| E | 2001–2002 |
| F | 2002–2003 |
| G | 2003–2004 |
| H | 2004–2005 |
| I | 2005–2006 |
| J | 2006–2007 |
| K | 2006–2007 |
| T | 2007–2008 |
The letters restart for this era, so the same letter means two different decades depending on which wording the headstock carries. Read the decal before reading the serial.
Fender Korean, Chinese and Indonesian prefixes
| Prefix | Country | Plant | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN0–CN9 | Korea | Cort | Digit after the letters gives the year within the 1990s |
| VN0–VN9 | Korea | Sung-Eum | Digit after the letters gives the year within the 1990s |
| KC | Korea | Cor-Tek (Cort) | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
| KV | Korea | Saehan (Sunghan) | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
| CY | China | Yako | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
| ICS | Indonesia | Cort | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
| IC | Indonesia | Cort | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
| IS | Indonesia | Samick | Two-digit year follows the prefix |
Common questions about Fender serial numbers
- How do I date a Fender from the serial number?
- From 1976 the first letter gives the decade and the following digit the year within it: S for the 1970s, E for the 1980s, N for the 1990s, Z for the 2000s. From 2010 the year is printed directly after a US or MX prefix. Enter the serial above and the format will be identified for you.
- Why does my Fender serial give a range of two years?
- Because Fender's own published tables do. Necks, bodies and finished instruments were dated at different points in production, so a guitar assembled in January often carries a neck stamped the previous autumn. Anyone quoting a single exact year from a Fender serial alone is asserting more than the number supports.
- Where is the serial number on a Fender guitar?
- On the back or face of the headstock on most instruments from the 1970s onwards. On instruments from the 1950s to the mid-1970s it is on the metal neck plate. On the earliest instruments it is on the bridge plate or the end of the neck heel, and dating those from the serial alone is unreliable.
- What does an E5, E6 or E7 prefix mean on a Fender?
- Those prefixes do not appear in Fender's published table. US production was heavily disrupted during the 1985 transition out of CBS ownership and the move from Fullerton to Corona, which is why so many instruments sold in those years were Japanese-built. A serial reading E5 is most likely a mis-read.
- How do I tell a Made in Japan Fender from a Crafted in Japan one?
- Read the wording on the headstock. Fender ran the alphabet twice, once for each era, so a serial beginning with A is equally consistent with 1985 and 1997. The decal is effectively the missing digit of the serial on those instruments.
- Can I date a V-prefix American Vintage Fender from the serial?
- No. Fender has never published a year mapping for V-prefix numbers. They ran from 1982 onwards and identify the series without encoding a date. Read the date pencilled or stamped on the neck heel, or the potentiometer codes, instead.