Fender serial number lookup

Reviewed 2026-10-159 primary sourcesSee sources

Fender’s serial numbers changed with each factory and decade. Since about 2010 the two digits after the letters are simply the year. Older prefixes only narrow it to a span of years, because serial decals were printed ahead of time and carried over.

Covers: Fender electric guitars and basses made in the U.S. (from 1976), Mexico (from 1990), Japan (from 1982), Korea (1990–2012) and Indonesia (2008–2012). Squier-specific formats and amplifiers have their own pages.

Where to find the serial number

• On most Fender guitars and basses the serial is on the back of the headstock or on the neck plate.^[7]
• Older instruments may have it on the front of the headstock, the back of the neck near the body, the vibrato cover plate (early-1950s Stratocasters) or the bridge plate (some Telecasters).^[1]
• Acoustic Fender serials are usually inside the sound hole.^[7]

Formats Fender publishes

The decoder checks your number against each of these. A number can fit more than one era; the decoder then shows every possible reading.

US + year + 6 digitsMade in USA, from about March 2010

The two digits after US are the year. American Vintage and some special runs don’t follow this rule.^[1]

“10” + digitslate 2009 to about March 2010 (U.S. and Mexico)

Fender used a “10” followed by seven (U.S. article) or eight (Mexico article) digits for a few months. The country is only on the decal, not in the number.^[1]

S, E, N, Z or DZ prefixMade in USA, 1976–2009

Fender lists each prefix under every year it appears in, and serials carried over between years, so a prefix gives a span rather than one year. Fender calls the S and E references loose, and says some 1990 guitars carry N9 decals printed in advance.^[1]

76 + 5 digitsMade in USA, 1976

Fender lists 76 followed by five digits for 1976, alongside S6.^[1]

Signature Series prefixMade in USA, 1988–2009

On Signature Series instruments the digit after SE, SN or SZ gives the year.^[6]

MX + year + 6 digitsMade in Mexico, from 2010

The two digits after MX are the year the neck was serialized; the instrument may have been assembled early the next year. Two bass models used MX serials before 2010 that don’t follow this rule.^[2]

MN or MZ prefixMade in Mexico, 1990–2010

N marks the 1990s and Z the 2000s; the digit is the year. Each year overlaps into the next because late-year necks were used early the following year.^[2]

JV or SQ prefixMade in Japan, 1982–1984

Fender gives these as approximate years.^[3]

Letter + 6 digits, “Made in Japan” decalMade in Japan, 1984–1997

Only applies if the decal says Made in Japan and the instrument predates 1997. The same letters were reused later, so check the decal wording.^[3]

N + 5 digits, “Made in Japan” decalMade in Japan, 1995–1996

Fender lists N with five digits for 1995–1996, separate from N with six digits (1993–1994).^[3]

Letter + 6 digits, “Crafted in Japan” decalCrafted in Japan, 1997–2008

Only applies if the decal says Crafted in Japan.^[3]

T or U + 6 digits, “Made in Japan” decalMade in Japan, 2007–2011

From 2007 some instruments again carried a Made in Japan decal; a few models kept T serials through 2011, and some U serials were built in 2012.^[3]

JD + year + 6 digitsMade in Japan, from 2012

The two digits after JD are the year.^[3]

CN or VN + digit + 5 digitsMade in Korea, 1990–1997

Fender’s Korea article reads the digit as the year, but its odd-serial article calls CN and VN dating unclear, and its U.S. article lists CN among Custom Shop prefixes. Treat this reading as uncertain.^[4]

KC + year + 6 digitsMade in Korea (Cort), 1997–2012

The two digits after KC are the year; each overlaps into the next.^[4]

IC or ICF + year + 6 digitsMade in Indonesia (Cort), 2008–2012

The two digits after IC or ICF are the year; years overlap by a few months.^[5]

V prefixU.S. Vintage and American Vintage series, from 1982

Fender says V serials can’t be dated from the number. Use the date on the neck heel instead.^[1]

What Fender says, era by era

1950–1976: plain numbers

Early U.S. instruments used plain numbers, and an L prefix in the mid-1960s. Fender’s own chart gives only overlapping spans for these, two to four years wide, so we don’t decode them; check the date written or stamped on the neck heel.^[1]

Neck dates

Most U.S. necks were dated in pencil or by stamp at the heel, though not consistently from 1973 to 1981. A neck date dates the neck only, which may have been fitted to a body later.^[1]

Acoustic guitars

Fender says its acoustic serial numbers were never archived and can’t be used for dating. It dates acoustics by model name and catalog year instead.^[9]

Worked examples

• US16012345: US followed by 16 means 2016. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.^[1]
• MZ7123456: Made in Mexico, MZ7: 2007, possibly assembled in early 2008. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.^[2]
• JD14012345: Made in Japan, JD followed by 14: 2014. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.^[3]

What the serial can’t tell you

• Up to the mid-1980s serial numbers overlapped by two to four years, so the serial alone isn’t a definitive date.^[1]
• A modern US or MX serial gives the year only; the six digits after it carry no model, factory line or date.^[1]
• Early Japanese records are incomplete, so Fender treats Japanese serials as a guide to combine with the instrument’s features.^[3]
• Fender calls dating Korean instruments made before 1993 highly uncertain.^[4]
• Many Custom Shop and special-run prefixes have no published year rule.^[6]
• Fender’s printed charts stop at 2017 (US17, MX17); the year rule is stated as ongoing.
• Fender lists no E prefix for 1986.
• Unprefixed numbers on some Korean instruments made through 1996 aren’t decoded here because they can’t be told apart from other number formats.

Ask Fender

• Fender Serial Number Lookup: Fender’s own database returns the model and date where it has a record.^[8]