First: appliances or heating and cooling?
“Amana” is two different businesses today, and they don’t share a serial number code.
- Amana major appliances — refrigerators, washers, dryers, ranges, dishwashers and microwaves. Built by Whirlpool Corporation. This page and the checker above cover these.
- Amana furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps — a separate business that stayed with Goodman, which Daikin has owned since 2012. Different products, different date code. We don’t decode these, and you should not use the tables on this page for them. Take the serial to Goodman or Amana HVAC support instead.
The split happened in 2001: Goodman sold the Amana appliance business to Maytag and kept the Amana HVAC brand. Whirlpool then completed its acquisition of Maytag on 31 March 2006, which is how Amana appliances came to use Whirlpool’s code.
Basis: Maytag’s SEC filings for the 2001 Amana purchase and the 2005 merger agreement, Whirlpool’s 2006 completion release, and Daikin’s own history of the Goodman acquisition, all listed below.
Step 1: Find the model and serial label
The model and serial number share one label. Amana’s model-number page gives these spots.
- Upper left wall of the fresh-food section (Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Frigidaire top-freezer; Samsung French-door and side-by-side; newer LG models)
- Upper right wall (LG on most models; Frigidaire French-door and side-by-side; Whirlpool and Maytag side-by-side)
- Ceiling of the fresh-food section (GE, Kenmore, KitchenAid quad-door)
- Beside, behind or under the crisper drawers (GE, Kenmore)
- Outside, low on the front (a second label on Samsung; GE bottom front edge on some models)
- On the rim, trim or frame of the door opening, often at the top (Whirlpool, Maytag, LG, Samsung, Frigidaire, GE)
- Outside, lower right front corner (some GE models)
- Under the lid, on the tub rim or the back of the opening (Whirlpool, Maytag, Frigidaire, LG, GE near the right hinge)
- Back of the control panel or the back panel (GE, LG; Samsung top-loaders on the back)
- Outside, lower corner of the cabinet (some GE models)
- Rim of the door opening, often at the top (Whirlpool, Maytag, Samsung; LG and Frigidaire say the top)
- Left or right side of the drum opening (GE). Ventless Whirlpool and Maytag dryers: behind the water tank
- Left edge of the tub frame (Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, GE, Samsung)
- Right edge of the tub frame (GE, Frigidaire, Samsung)
- Side or top edge of the door, or its inside (LG, GE, Frigidaire, Bosch, Samsung)
- Oven frame or side trim, seen with the door open (Whirlpool, Maytag, Frigidaire, GE, LG)
- Frame of the storage drawer, with the drawer pulled out (Whirlpool, Maytag, Frigidaire, LG, GE)
- Under the cooktop or behind the control panel on some models (GE; Frigidaire and Maytag cooktops underneath)
Basis: Official manufacturer help pages (Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, GE, LG, Samsung, Frigidaire, Bosch) and Sears PartsDirect for Kenmore. Diagrams are simplified; your model's exact spot can differ.
| Appliance | Where Amana says to look |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Inside the refrigerator, on the wall |
| Top-load washer | On the top, at the rear of the well around the clothes container; visible once you open the lid |
| Front-load washer | Vertically on the outer edge of the door |
| Front-load dryer | Horizontally on the shroud inside the door, right in front of the lint screen |
| Top-load dryer | Inside the door, in the upper recessed area of the front panel |
| Dishwasher | In front of the door seal, on the tub, top left-hand corner |
| Freestanding range | On the frame of the range behind the storage drawer |
| Built-in oven | Single oven: left side of the front frame, at the bottom. Double oven: on the lower oven, with the door open |
| Cooktop | On the bottom of the burner box |
Basis: official (Amana’s model-number page). Older units and Amana-built Kenmore models may differ; the manual for your model shows the exact spot.
Read the line marked “S/N” or “Serial”. The model number on the same label is what you need for parts, manuals and recall notices, not for the date.
Step 2: Which of the two formats do you have?
Don’t go by the brand name on the front. Go by the shape of the serial.
| What the serial looks like | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly digits and ends in two letters | Legacy Maytag-group code | 12772864EL |
| Starts with one or two letters, then a year character, then two digits that form a real week (01–53) | Modern Whirlpool code | MX06404786 (a documented Maytag unit; Amana uses the same rule) |
Units built from about 2006 to 2014 can carry either one, so check the pattern every time. The legacy code was shared across the old Maytag group: Amana, Maytag, JennAir, Admiral, Magic Chef, Norge and Crosley.
Step 3a: Decode a legacy Amana serial
Take the last two letters. The first is the year, the second is the month.
Legacy year letters (24-year cycle)
| Letter | Years | Letter | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1966, 1990, 2014 | E | 1980, 2004 |
| D | 1967, 1991 | G | 1981, 2005 |
| F | 1968, 1992 | J | 1982, 2006 |
| H | 1969, 1993 | L | 1983, 2007 |
| K | 1970, 1994 | N | 1984, 2008 |
| M | 1971, 1995 | P | 1985, 2009 |
| Q | 1972, 1996 | R | 1986, 2010 |
| S | 1973, 1997 | T | 1987, 2011 |
| U | 1974, 1998 | V | 1988, 2012 |
| W | 1975, 1999 | X | 1989, 2013 |
| Y | 1976, 2000 | ||
| Z | 1977, 2001 | ||
| A | 1978, 2002 | ||
| C | 1979, 2003 |
Legacy month letters (two letters per month)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/B | C/D | E/F | G/H | J/K | L/M | N/Q | P/S | R/U | T/W | V/Y | X/Z |
Basis: electrical-forensics.com’s Maytag-group date-code tables, with Hunker independently describing the same 24-letter cycle (no I and no O).
Worked example. Amana dryer, serial 12772864EL. The last two letters are E and L: E is 2004 and L is June, so June 2004. This unit is documented by electrical-forensics.com.
The cycle repeats every 24 years, but for an Amana only one reading is realistic: Amana came into the Maytag group in 2001 and the legacy code was phased out by about 2014, so a legacy Amana serial belongs to roughly 2001 to 2014.
Step 3b: Decode a modern Amana serial
Modern Amana serials follow Whirlpool’s rule. After the plant code (one letter, sometimes two) comes the year character, then two digits for the week.
| Decade | Year codes |
|---|---|
| 2020s | X = 2020, A = 2021, B = 2022, C = 2023, D = 2024, E = 2025, F = 2026 |
| 2010s | Digits 0–9 = last digit of the year (0 = 2010 … 9 = 2019) |
| 2000s | K = 2000, L = 2001, M = 2002, P = 2003, R = 2004, S = 2005, T = 2006, U = 2007, W = 2008, Y = 2009 |
| 1990s | X = 1990, A = 1991, B = 1992, C = 1993, D = 1994, E = 1995, F = 1996, G = 1997, H = 1998, J = 1999 |
Basis: electrical-forensics.com’s Whirlpool date-code table, cross-checked against documented units. The Whirlpool page explains the position rules in full.
How to place the year character. With a one-letter plant code the year is character 2 and the week is characters 3–4. With a two-letter plant code the year is character 3 and the week is characters 4–5. Pick whichever reading gives a week between 01 and 53 — that test decides it, not the length of the serial.
Worked example. Amana uses the same rule as this documented Maytag dryer: serial MX06404786. M is the plant, X is the year and 06 is the week, so early February 2020 (electrical-forensics.com). For an Amana, X can’t mean 1990: Amana only switched to Whirlpool’s code after Whirlpool bought Maytag in 2006. By the same logic a digit in the year position means the 2010s.
Amana-built Kenmore models
If you have a Kenmore with a 596 model prefix, Amana built it — usually a refrigerator. Decide the format the same way as above: if the serial ends in two letters, use the legacy table; otherwise use the Whirlpool rule. Sears PartsDirect describes 596 serials as a year digit followed by a two-digit week, which is the Whirlpool pattern, so most 596 units you’ll meet decode that way. Full prefix table: Kenmore serial number lookup.
The decade problem
Both codes repeat, so a serial usually leaves two plausible years.
- Legacy code: 24 years apart. For an Amana, only readings from about 2001 to 2014 are realistic, so B means 2014.
- Modern code: X and A–J mean the 1990s or the 2020s; digits mean the 2010s or the 1980s. For an Amana, only readings from 2006 on are realistic, so X and A–J mean the 2020s.
The checker above uses the general Maytag-group and Whirlpool tables, so it can list an older alternative date as well. For an Amana, pick the reading that falls inside these windows.
Settle it with:
- The model number. Look it up in Amana’s manual finder; the manual’s print date should be close to the build year.
- Paperwork. A receipt, delivery ticket or registration record.
- The unit’s design. Controls and styling 24 years apart look nothing alike.
What the age means for a used Amana
Compare the year against the typical service life for refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers or ranges. Parts and manuals are looked up by the full model number. Any remaining warranty runs from the original purchase date, not the build date.
Limitations
- Amana publishes no public serial-number age decoder. Both tables come from independent references that agree with documented units, not from Amana.
- Only one documented Amana worked example was available to us (the 12772864EL dryer). The modern-format example is a documented Maytag unit, which follows the same rule.
- Amana units built before 2001, under Raytheon or Goodman, may use a format neither table covers. If neither fits, contact Amana customer care with the model and serial.
- The serial gives the build date, not the sale, install or first-use date.
Next steps
- Enter the serial in the checker above.
- Run a recall check with the full Amana model number.
- Inspect before you pay: used appliance buying checklist.
Checked against the sources below on 26 September 2026.