How to Read a Samsung Appliance Serial Number (Full 15-Digit and 11-Digit Guide)
Samsung major appliances use either a 15-character or 11-character serial. On 15-character serials, the 8th character is the year code and the 9th is the month. On 11-character serials, position 4 = year and position 5 = month. Year letters cycle on a 20-year repetition. The 2024 Samsung range recall (1.1M units) makes serial-date verification critical for any Samsung range manufactured between May 2013 and August 2024.
Why Samsung's Scheme Is Different from US Brands
US brands like Whirlpool and GE developed their serial encoding in the 1970s–1980s for purely domestic manufacturing. Samsung developed its system in Korea in the 1990s for global export, which is why the format is longer, the positions are different, and the cycle is 20 years instead of 12. Understanding these differences prevents the most common decoding errors.
The 15-Character Format (Most Common)
The 15-character format is used on most Samsung refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges, and newer washers/dryers.
Position 8 = year code · Position 9 = month code
| Letter | Year | Letter | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| K | 1998, 2018 | B | 2011, 2031 |
| L | 1999, 2019 | C | 2012, 2032 |
| M | 2000, 2020 | D | 2013, 2033 |
| N | 2001, 2021 | F | 2014, 2034 |
| P | 2002, 2022 | G | 2015, 2035 |
| Q | 2003, 2023 | H | 2016, 2036 |
| R | 2004, 2024 | J | 2017 |
| S | 2005 | K | 2018 |
| T | 2006 | A | 2010, 2030 |
| V | 2007 | (letters I, O, U, W, X, Y, Z not used) | |
Month code (position 9): Numbers 1–9 for January–September; letters A, B, C for October, November, December respectively.
The 11-Character Format
Older Samsung units and some commercial models use an 11-character serial. The rule shifts:
Position 4 = year code · Position 5 = month code
The year and month letter/number charts are identical to the 15-character format.
Worked Examples
Example 1 — 15-character refrigerator: Serial B078G8DK901569A
- Count: 15 characters ✓
- Position 8: K = 1998 or 2018
- Position 9: 9 = September
- Cross-check with model (RF28R7351SG introduced 2018): September 2018.
Example 2 — 15-character washer: Serial 04K95ESHC00123N
- Position 8: H = 2016
- Position 9: C = December
- Result: December 2016.
Samsung TVs vs Samsung Appliances — Different Schemes
Samsung TV serial numbers use a completely different encoding scheme. If you are dating a Samsung television, the rules above do not apply. This guide covers only Samsung major home appliances (refrigerators, ranges, washers, dryers, dishwashers, microwaves).
20-Year Repetition and How to Disambiguate
Samsung's 20-year cycle means a year letter could represent two possible decades. For example, K = 1998 or 2018. Disambiguation methods:
- Model number design year: Samsung model numbers often contain a year indicator in the suffix (e.g., WF45R6100AW — the "R" in the suffix suggests 2020 era)
- Physical condition and styling: Samsung appliance design changed significantly between 1998 and 2018
- Owner's manual print date
- ApplianceIQ: cross-references model + serial to resolve decade automatically