Louis Vuitton date code decoder

Reading

How a code reads

1. early 1980s

   three or four digits, no letters

   The first two digits are the year, the rest the month. The guides put the first codes in 1982; pieces from before carry none.

   834 reads as April 1983

2. mid and late 1980s

   three or four digits, then two letters

   The digits read as above; the letters are the workshop.

   882 VI reads as February 1988, workshop VI (France)

3. 1980s

   two letters, then three or four digits

   The same code with the letters first, which two of the guides (Yoogi’s Closet, Rebag) show for the 1980s; the digits still read as year then month, not as the interleaved form below.

   SD 8610 reads as October 1986, workshop SD

4. 1990 to 2006

   two letters, then four digits

   The first and third digits are the month, the second and fourth the year.

   SP0065 reads as June 2005, workshop SP (France)

5. 2007 to March 2021

   two letters, then four digits

   The first and third digits are the week of the year, the second and fourth the year.

   SR3179 reads as week 37 of 2019, workshop SR (France)

After the codes. From March 2021 Louis Vuitton stamps no date code and fits a microchip that only its own stores read; the “made in” stamp stays. A piece from before 1982 carries no code either, and the French Company and Saks pieces made under licence in the United States never did.

Workshop codes

Notes

• The letters name a workshop, and the guides give the country of each; where they disagree, or a workshop moved, the table carries both countries and says how many of the five bag guides give each. Couture USA’s chart, read as well, adds codes for shoes, scarves, charms and hats and places a few workshops in other countries; those are left out of a table for bags.
• A code is not a serial number: every piece from one workshop in one week carries the same code. The guides say the country the letters name should match the “made in” stamp, with the re-lined DK pieces as the exception.
• The two-letter workshop codes also appear with a digit (A0, A1, A2) and, for special orders, as three letters (AAS).

Sources

Compiled from these published guides; Louis Vuitton publishes no table of its own, and where the guides differ the table says so.

• Yoogi’s Closet, “All About Louis Vuitton Date Codes” (2019) (read November 6, 2026)
• Fashionphile Academy, “A Guide to Analyzing Louis Vuitton Date Codes” (read November 6, 2026)
• Lollipuff, “Louis Vuitton Date Code Guide” (read November 6, 2026)
• Rebag, The Vault, “Louis Vuitton 101: Date Codes” (2020) (read November 6, 2026)
• Madison Avenue Couture, “A Guide to Louis Vuitton Date Codes” (2026) (read November 6, 2026)
• Couture USA, “A Quick Guide to Authentic Louis Vuitton Date Codes” (2021, updated 2026) (read November 6, 2026)

Valentina Petkova checked the table against the sources on November 6, 2026.

A code says where and when the house’s workshop marked a piece, as the trade has recorded the codes; it does not say whether a bag is genuine, and Veliri does not authenticate bags. A code the tables do not read says nothing about the bag on its own.