Squier serial number lookup
Reviewed 5 primary sourcesSee sources
Fender has no Squier-specific dating page. Squier appears only inside Fender’s articles on Japanese- and Korean-made instruments, so this decoder covers those. Fender publishes nothing about the prefixes on Squiers made in China or Indonesia.
Covers: Squier instruments made in Japan (from 1982) and Korea (1988–2012), the only Squier origins Fender’s dating articles cover.
Where to find the serial number
- Fender says the serial on most of its instruments is on the back of the headstock or on the neck plate.[4]
Formats Squier 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.
- JV or SQ prefixMade in Japan, 1982–1984
- Fender gives these as approximate years.[1]
- 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.[2]
- KC + year + 6 digitsMade in Korea (Cort), 1997–2012
- The two digits after KC are the year; each overlaps into the next.[2]
What Squier says, era by era
Japan, early 1980s
Squiers with an SQ prefix and five digits are listed by Fender as made in Japan around 1983–1984.[1]
Korea, 1988–2012
Korean-made Fender and Squier instruments share one set of tables, starting in 1988. KC serials from 1997 carry the year in the two digits after KC.[2]
Squier Strat Bullet (NC prefix)
Fender lists NC with six digits for Squier Strat Bullets and says their dating is unclear.[3]
Worked examples
SQ12345: Made in Japan, SQ prefix: about 1983–1984. Illustrative number made up to show the format, not a real instrument.[1]
What the serial can’t tell you
- Fender’s odd-serial article calls Korean CN and VN dating unclear, even though its Korea article gives years for them.[3]
- Fender calls dating Korean instruments made before 1993 highly uncertain.[2]
- Squier prefixes for instruments made in China or Indonesia (such as CY, CGS, COS, ICS or ISS) appear only in third-party guides, so we don’t decode them.
Ask Squier
- Fender Serial Number Lookup: Try Fender’s own database; it may hold records for some Squier serials.[5]
Sources
Facts on this page are restated in our own words from the manufacturer documents below. Formats change between factories and years, so check the document for your instrument’s era.
- How can I find out when my Japanese-made instrument was manufactured?Fender Musical Instruments Corporation · Product Dating: Japanese-made instrument tables · retrieved
- How can I find out when my Korean-made instrument was manufactured?Fender Musical Instruments Corporation · Product Dating: Korean-made instrument table · retrieved
- How can I find out how old my instrument is if it uses an odd or non-standard serial numbering scheme?Fender Musical Instruments Corporation · Product Dating: odd and non-standard serial table · retrieved
- Where can I find my serial number?Fender Musical Instruments Corporation · Product Registration section · retrieved
- Serial Number LookupFender Musical Instruments Corporation · Landing page · retrieved
Primary publishers: Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Spotted an error? Email the address in the footer with the model and the document you are using.