Gibson serial number lookup

Reviewed 2026-10-153 primary sourcesSee sources

Most Gibson serials since 1977 hide the year in two separate digits, with the day of the year in between. The layout changed in 2005, 2014 and 2019, so a nine-digit number can fit more than one era; the decoder shows each possible reading.

Covers: Gibson USA, Gibson Acoustic and Gibson Memphis instruments from 1975, plus the 1994 centennial serials.

Where to find the serial number

• From 1977 the serial is pressed into the back of the headstock with MADE IN USA below it; 1975–1977 serials are on a decal, and Gibson Custom serials are ink-stamped on the back of the headstock.^[1]

Formats Gibson 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.

Decal number1975–1977

An eight-digit number on a headstock decal; the first two digits give the year.^[1]

Eight digits: Y DDD Y RRR1977–2005

Digits 1 and 5 are the year and digits 2–4 the day of the year. Until 1984 ranks 001–499 were Kalamazoo and 500–999 Nashville, a split that ran through 1989.^[1]

Nine digits: Y DDD Y B RRRGibson USA, July 2005–2014

Like the eight-digit layout with a batch digit added; the batch starts at 0 each day and becomes 1 after rank 699.^[1]

Nine digits: YY + production numberGibson USA, 2014–mid 2019

The first two digits are the model year; there is no day. A guitar of a given model year may have been built late in the previous calendar year.^[1]

Nine digits: Y DDD Y B RRRGibson USA, mid 2019 on

Gibson returned to the year-day-batch layout in mid-2019.^[1]

94 + six digits1994 centennial

Many 1994 instruments carry 94 followed by a six-digit production number, with no day of production.^[1]

CS + year digit + numberGibson Custom, modern models

Custom Shop serials are ink-stamped; the single year digit doesn’t say which decade.^[1]

What Gibson says, era by era

Before 1975

Gibson’s serial guide starts in 1975. Earlier serials and factory order numbers aren’t covered by any Gibson page we found.^[1]

Les Paul Classic, 1989–2014

Les Paul Classics carry ink-stamped numbers: the last digit of the year plus a rank in the 1990s, and a two-digit year plus rank from 2000.^[1]

Custom Shop reissues

Historic reissues use their own layouts in which a digit names the model year being reissued (for example a leading 9 for a 1959 Les Paul Standard reissue), not the build year.^[1]

Acoustics

Since 1989 Gibson acoustics have been built in Bozeman, Montana, where ranks restart at 001 each day.^[1]

Worked examples

• 82765512: Digits 1 and 5 give 85, so 1985; day 276 is early October; rank 512. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.^[1]
• 221030123: Digits 1 and 5 give 23, so 2023; day 210; batch 0; rank 123. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.^[1]

What the serial can’t tell you

• 2014–2019 numbers show the model year only, and the guitar may have been built late in the year before.^[1]
• The 1994 centennial serials don’t show a production day even though they are eight digits long.^[1]
• Artist signature models often don’t follow the standard formats.^[1]
• Gibson doesn’t appraise instruments.^[2]
• Gibson has no online serial lookup; its warranty page lists warranty documents and doesn’t take a serial number.^[3]
• Whether Gibson Acoustic and Memphis moved to nine digits after 2005 (Gibson names only Gibson USA).
• The decade of single-digit Custom Shop and reissue year codes.

Ask Gibson

• Gibson Help Center: If you can’t date or identify an instrument, Gibson asks you to email its service team with the serial, the history and photos of the front, back, headstock and labels.^[2]