How to Find the Age of Your Refrigerator From the Serial Number
By Andrew Norman · Updated May 2026
Whether you're trying to decide if a repair is worth it, filling out a home insurance claim, or evaluating an appliance as a home buyer, knowing the exact age of a refrigerator is surprisingly useful. The serial number is your fastest path to that answer — and most brands encode the manufacture date in a consistent way once you know the pattern.
This guide covers the most common refrigerator brands sold in North America.
Instant decode:
Use our free appliance serial number decoder — paste the serial number and select your brand for an immediate result.
Where to Find the Serial Number on a Refrigerator
Refrigerator serial numbers are almost always inside the unit, not on the exterior. Check these locations:
- Most common: Inside the fresh food compartment, on the wall near the top or side, or on the ceiling of the fridge interior
- French door and bottom-freezer models: Sometimes inside the freezer drawer on the bottom rail or side wall
- Older models: Behind the kick plate at the bottom front of the unit
- Built-in models: Behind a removable grille panel on the front
The label will list both model number and serial number. Serial numbers on refrigerators are typically 8–12 characters long. Take a photo of the full label to avoid transcription errors.
Whirlpool / Maytag / KitchenAid
Whirlpool Corporation manufactures refrigerators under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, and Amana brands. They share a common serial number format.
Format: Two-letter prefix + 7 digits
First letter = Decade code. Second letter = Year within decade.
Third and fourth characters = production week.
| Second Letter | Year (2000s) | Year (2010s) | Year (2020s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
| S | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
| T | 2002 | 2012 | 2022 |
| U | 2003 | 2013 | 2023 |
| V | 2004 | 2014 | 2024 |
| W | 2005 | 2015 | 2025 |
| X | 2006 | 2016 | 2026 |
| Y | 2007 | 2017 | — |
| Z | 2008 | 2018 | — |
| A | 2009 | 2019 | — |
The decade is determined by the first letter (C = 2000s, D = 2010s, E = 2020s for many Whirlpool models — use our decoder for exact results as this varies by product line).
GE / GE Profile / Café
General Electric appliances (now owned by Haier) use a letter-based date code in the second character of the serial number.
GE Format: Two letters + 6 digits
First letter = Month (A=Jan, B=Feb... M=Dec, skipping I)
Second letter or number = Year code
| Letter | Year | Letter | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z | 2001 | F | 2011 |
| L | 2002 | G | 2012 |
| M | 2003 | H | 2013 |
| N | 2004 | J | 2014 |
| P | 2005 | K | 2015 |
| R | 2006 | L | 2016 |
| S | 2007 | M | 2017 |
| T | 2008 | N | 2018 |
| V | 2009 | P | 2019 |
| Z | 2010 | R | 2020 |
LG Refrigerators
LG uses a straightforward date code. The manufacture date is encoded in the first 3–4 characters of the serial number:
LG Format: YYMXXXXXXX
YY = Year (last 2 digits), M = Month (1–9 for Jan–Sep, A for Oct, B for Nov, C for Dec)
Example: 207XXXXXXXX = February 2020 (or 2007 — use context to determine decade)
Samsung Refrigerators
Samsung encodes the manufacture year in the 5th character of the serial number using a letter code:
| 5th Character | Year | 5th Character | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | 2009 | R | 2015 |
| W | 2010 | S | 2016 |
| X | 2011 | T | 2017 |
| Y | 2012 | U | 2018 |
| Z | 2013 | V | 2019 |
| A | 2014 | W | 2020 |
How Long Should a Refrigerator Last?
The average lifespan of a modern refrigerator is 10–15 years. Premium brands (Sub-Zero, Miele) can run 20+ years with maintenance. Budget models may struggle past 8–10 years.
A refrigerator that is 10 years old and needs a compressor repair ($300–$600) is a close call. A fridge that is 7 years old and needs the same repair should almost certainly be fixed — it still has many years of useful life ahead. Under 3 years, even major repairs are almost always worth doing under warranty.
The decode process above works for all major brands, but our automated decoder will identify the exact format and return the date directly — no chart-reading required.