Louis Vuitton Date Code Guide

Louis Vuitton bags do not have unique serial numbers or authenticity cards unlike other luxury French fashion houses for their luxury bags however the Louis Vuitton brand has a date code and a manufacturer location code on the inside of the bag. This code does not authenticate the bag. The “Date Codes” are found in all Louis Vuitton bags and are stamped on the interior tag.

A lot of the date codes are a combination of letters and numbers. The letters indicated the country in which the Louis Vuitton item was produced while the numbers indicate the month/year of the production date. The format of the date codes are as follows:

  • Prior to early 1980s. No date codes.

  • Early 1980s. Three or four numbers with the first two numbers representing the year and last number(s) representing the month. E.g. "835" would indicate a manufacturing date of May, 1983.

  • Early to late 1980s. Three or four numbers followed by two letters with the first two numbers representing the year, the next number(s) representing the month and the last two letters representing the country (see right sidebar for factory location codes). E.g. "835VX" would indicate a manufacturing date of May, 1983 and factory location in France. Late in the 1980s, the letters representing the factory location came before the three or four numbers representing the manufacturing date.

  • 1990 to 2006. Two letters followed by four numbers with the first two letters representing the factory location, the first and third numbers representing the month and the second and forth numbers representing the year. For example, “VI1025” would indicate a factory location in France and a manufacturing date of December, 2005.

  • 2007 and newer. Two letters followed by four numbers with the first two letters representing the factory location, the first and third numbers representing the week of the year, and the second and forth numbers representing the year. For example, “SD2107” would indicate a factory location of USA and a manufacturing date of the 21 week (or May) of 2007.