How to read them
The prefix identifies the plant and the two digits immediately after it give the year. ICS16045678 is Cort Indonesia, 2016. There is no decade guesswork and no reused letters.
This makes a modern Squier considerably easier to date accurately than a vintage Fender, which is worth remembering when a listing describes an Indonesian instrument with vague uncertainty about its age.
| Prefix | Plant |
|---|---|
| ICS | Cort, Indonesia |
| IC | Cort, Indonesia |
| IS | Samick, Indonesia |
Examples
- ICS16045678 — Cort Indonesia, 2016
- IC03123456 — Cort Indonesia, 2003
ICS and IC
Both identify Cort's Indonesian operation. Our decoder matches the longer prefix first, so a serial beginning ICS is never read as IC followed by a stray digit — which matters, because misreading the prefix shifts the year digits by one place and produces a date that is wrong but plausible.
What the country tells you
Where an instrument was assembled is a fact about logistics. The Indonesian plants build across the whole Squier range, from entry-level Bullets to Classic Vibe instruments that regularly outperform their price, and the country code predicts very little about how a particular guitar plays.
Common questions
- What does ICS mean on a Squier serial number?
- ICS identifies Cort's Indonesian plant. The two digits immediately after the prefix give the year, so ICS16 is 2016.
Last reviewed 29 July 2026. Spotted something wrong? Report a correction.