GE serial number lookup: how old is the appliance?

The serial number is on a tag inside the appliance, usually on a wall of the fresh-food compartment or on the frame of the door opening. A GE serial starts with two letters: the first is the month and the second is the year.

Decode a GE serial number

How to read a GE serial number

Built since the 1970s

Month letter, then year letter

The first letter is the month and the second letter is the year. Both use the same twelve letters, and the year letters repeat every 12 years.

Shape: two letters, six digits and usually one more letter.

LmonthTyear081195Q

Example: serial LT081195Q reads as June 2022. The same code also fits 2010, 1998, 1986 or 1974.

Month letter

A January
D February
F March
G April
H May
L June
M July
R August
S September
T October
V November
Z December

Year letter

L 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
M 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
R 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
S 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
T 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
V 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Z 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
A 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
D 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
F 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
G 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
H 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017

GE’s own chart covers the cycle back to 1970. It lists two letters each for 1972 and 1973, so the decoder starts at 1974. A few websites say the first letter is the year. GE’s page and the prefixes in recall notices show that the month comes first.

Where to find the serial number

GE prints the model and serial numbers together on one tag. Its position depends on the appliance.

Appliance	Where the serial tag is
Refrigerator	Top-freezer: upper left wall of the fresh-food side, or the freezer ceiling near the front. Bottom-freezer: a fresh-food side wall near the top. Side-by-side: behind or beside the crisper drawers, or on the ceiling
Freezer	Upright: top interior wall toward the rear. Chest: on the outside, on a side or the back
Washer	Front-load: inside the door, on the face of the wash compartment. Top-load: under the lid by the right hinge, or on the back of the control panel
Dryer	Inside the front face of the dryer opening, on the left or right, with the door open
Dishwasher	On the left or right front inside edge of the tub, or on the right edge of the door
Range	On the front frame behind the oven door or the storage drawer. Gas models: on a flip-up tag behind the rear control panel
Wall oven	Inside the door, on the front face of the oven
Microwave	Inside on the left wall, or on the back

If the serial number does not decode

GE’s own advice for a repeating code: look for a short print date, such as 02-20 or 04/17, on the first or last page of the owner’s manual. It will not match the serial exactly, but it shows which 12-year cycle applies.
GE Profile, Café, Monogram and Hotpoint appliances use the same code.
GE-brand products built by other companies, such as some microwaves, may not follow it.

What the age tells you

Equipment	Typical service life
Refrigerator	12 to 14 years
Clothes washer	10 to 13 years
Clothes dryer	13 to 14 years
Dishwasher	9 to 15 years
Range or oven	13 to 17 years

About GE

GE Appliances has been owned by Haier since 2016 and uses the GE name under licence. Its major appliances share one two-letter date code. GE-brand tank water heaters were built by Rheem and follow Rheem’s serial system instead.

Questions and answers

Which characters in a GE serial number show the date?

The first letter is the month and the second letter is the year. Both use the same twelve letters, and the year letters repeat every 12 years. This applies to units built since the 1970s.

The decoder shows more than one possible year. Which one is right?

Part of the GE date code repeats, so the serial alone fits more than one year. A manufacture date printed on the rating plate, the print date of the owner’s manual or the installation record settles it. For equipment that is still running, the more recent year is usually the right one.

Sources

GE Appliances: how to determine the age of an appliance from the serial number (manufacturer): https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=16195
CPSC recall: GE cooktops made in 2022, serial prefixes LT, MT, RT and ST (US Consumer Product Safety Commission): https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2024/GE-Appliances-a-Haier-Company-Recalls-Electric-Cooktops-Due-to-Burn-Hazard
CPSC recall: GE front-load washers made December 2006 to February 2010, serial prefixes by month (US Consumer Product Safety Commission): https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2010/GE-Recalls-Front-Load-Washers-Due-to-Fire-and-Shock-Hazards
Electrical Forensics (Ray Franco, forensic engineer): GE date codes (independent reference): https://www.electrical-forensics.com/MajorAppliances/GeDateCodes.html
GE Appliances: find your model and serial number (manufacturer): https://www.geappliances.com/ge/find-model-serial-number/

Formats last checked against these sources on October 5, 2026. Found a serial that does not fit? Send a correction. How formats are verified: method and sources.