Step 1: Find the label
Almost every refrigerator carries its model and serial number on a label or rating plate inside the fresh-food (refrigerator) section. Open the door and check the side walls near the top first, then the ceiling, then behind the crisper drawers.
- 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)
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.
| Brand | Where the manufacturer says the fridge label is |
|---|---|
| Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid | Inside the refrigerator compartment: left-hand side (top-freezer, bottom-freezer, French-door); right-hand side (side-by-side). KitchenAid quad-door: ceiling or back panel |
| GE, GE Profile, Café | Several possible spots: fresh-food wall near the top, ceiling, floor or behind the crispers; top-freezer models also on the freezer ceiling or near the temperature controls |
| LG | Inside, right-hand side of the liner on most models; left-hand side on newer models |
| Samsung | French-door and side-by-side: inside on the left-hand side, plus a second label outside at the bottom left. Top- and bottom-mount: inside the fridge compartment and on the lower exterior |
| Frigidaire, Electrolux | Top-freezer: upper left wall of the fresh-food compartment. French-door and side-by-side: upper right side |
| Bosch | The rating plate carries the E-Nr (model) and FD (production) numbers. Bosch’s refrigerator finder shows the sticker position for French-door, bottom-freezer, side-by-side and single-door styles |
| Kenmore | Upper side wall of the fresh-food compartment, ceiling, frame behind the crispers, or inside the freezer on some models |
Basis: official manufacturer support pages (Whirlpool, KitchenAid, GE, LG, Samsung, Frigidaire, Bosch) and Sears PartsDirect for Kenmore. The Samsung locations are from Samsung Canada’s support page, which covers the same North American styles.
Step 2: Decode the serial by brand
| Brand | Where the date is | Cycle | A 2026 build shows | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE family | 1st letter = month, 2nd letter = year | 12 years | D (e.g. SD… = Sep 2026) | LR821547C = June 2020 (or 2008) |
| Whirlpool, Maytag (modern), KitchenAid, Amana, JennAir | Year character after the 1–2 letter plant code, then 2-digit week | Letters: 1990s or 2020s; digits: 2010s | F | C60842986 = week 8, 2016 |
| LG | 1st digit = year’s last digit; digits 2–3 = month | 10 years | 6 | 410… = Oct 2014 or 2024 |
| Frigidaire, Electrolux | 3rd character = year’s last digit; 4th–5th = week | 10 years | 6 | LA81503430 = week 15 (April), 1998 |
| Samsung | 15 characters: 8th = year, 9th = month. 11 characters: 4th = year, 5th = month | 20 years | Not confirmed | see below |
| Bosch, Thermador | FD number: first two digits = year, last two = month | Unique 1970–2029 | FD 06xx | FD 9111 = Nov 2011 |
| Maytag (legacy) | Last two letters: year, then month | 24 years | Not used now | 16240783NR (JennAir) = Sep 2008 |
| Kenmore | Use the real maker, from the model prefix | Varies | Varies | 795 prefix → LG rule |
Basis: GE’s rule is official (GE’s age page). LG’s rule is official (LG support). The rest come from independent date-code references (electrical-forensics.com and others), cross-checked against documented units. None of those brands publishes a decoder. Full tables are on the brand pages: GE, Whirlpool, LG, Frigidaire, Maytag, KitchenAid, Amana, Bosch and Kenmore. Samsung and Bosch are also covered below.
Samsung refrigerators
Count the characters in the serial. On a 15-character serial, the 8th is the year and the 9th the month. On an 11-character serial, use the 4th and 5th.
| Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2001 or 2021 | Z | 2010 |
| T | 2002 or 2022 | B | 2011 |
| W | 2003 or 2023 | C | 2012 |
| X | 2004 or 2024 | D | 2013 |
| Y | 2005 or 2025 | F | 2014 |
| A or L | 2006 | G | 2015 |
| P | 2007 | H | 2016 |
| Q | 2008 | J | 2017 |
| S | 2009 | K | 2018 |
| M | 2019 | ||
| N | 2020 |
Months: 1–9 = January–September, A = October, B = November, C = December.
Basis: electrical-forensics.com (covers 2001–2017) and an accepted answer on Samsung’s own US community forum (covers 2001–2025), which agree where they overlap. Samsung publishes no official appliance decoder. The 2026 code is unverified. If the 20-year cycle holds it would repeat 2006’s letter, but no source confirms that yet. Sears PartsDirect’s Kenmore guide lists E for 2014; both sources above list F.
Example: refrigerator serial B11343BCB00158A (an example serial from tab-tv’s Samsung guide). Character 8 is C (2012) and character 9 is B (November), so it was built in November 2012. For comparison, a Samsung range serial J0V07DDD801404K has D (2013) and 8 (August) in those spots, which gives August 2013 (electrical-forensics).
Bosch refrigerators (FD number)
Look for FD followed by four digits on the rating plate. The first two digits give the year and the last two the month.
- For 50–99, add 1920 to the first two digits: FD 9111 = November 2011.
- For 00–09, the code has wrapped into the 2020s: FD 0301 = January 2023 (03 = 2023, 01 = January).
Basis: electrical-forensics.com (rule and the FD 9111 example) and other decoding references. electrical-forensics’ rule implies the 2020s wrap, and tab-tv’s chart lists FD 0301 = January 2023; treat post-2019 readings as likely rather than certain. Bosch’s own documentation says where the FD is but doesn’t explain how to read it.
Step 3: Settle the decade
Most codes repeat, so check the decode against at least one of these:
- Model number. Look it up on the manufacturer’s support site. The period covered by its manuals and parts shows the era.
- Owner’s manual print date. GE’s advice: most manuals show a print date on the front or back page. If it’s close to your decoded date, you’ve picked the right cycle.
- Paperwork. A receipt, delivery note or registration card.
- Design. Styling and features differ a lot between decades.
If the label is missing or unreadable
- Check every possible spot. GE lists up to six on a top-freezer fridge. Samsung puts a second label outside at the bottom left. KitchenAid quad-door models may have it on the back panel.
- Find paperwork. KitchenAid notes that the registration card packed with its refrigerators also shows the serial. Ask the seller for any receipt, manual or card.
- Use the model number alone. It still gives the era and lets you run a recall check, though not the exact build month.
- Contact the manufacturer with whatever numbers you have.
If you can’t find any age evidence at all, treat the age as unknown when you judge the price. The used refrigerator price page explains how age moves value.
What the age means
A build date tells you roughly how far into its service life a fridge is. See how long refrigerators last for typical lifespans. If you’re weighing a repair, use the repair or replace calculator.
Warranties are normally counted from the purchase or delivery date. The exception is GE, which states it uses the manufacture date when there’s no proof of purchase.
Limitations
- The serial shows the build date, not when the fridge was sold, installed or last serviced.
- Decoding rules for most brands come from well-corroborated independent references, not the manufacturer. GE’s is the only fully official chart.
- The Samsung 2026 code and Bosch’s 2020s FD reading are less certain than the older ranges.
Next steps
- Enter the brand and serial in the checker above.
- Check for recalls with the recall check.
- Inspect the fridge with the used appliance buying checklist.
Checked against the sources below on 26 September 2026.