Louis Vuitton date codes, explained.
6 min read · By the Gaby's Bags team
A Louis Vuitton date code tells you approximately when and where a bag was made. It's one of the first things authenticators check — and one of the most misunderstood details in pre-loved luxury.
Here's how to find your code, decode it by era, and understand what it can and can't tell you.
What a date code is (and isn't)
A date code identifies the factory and production period of a bag. It is not a unique serial number — thousands of bags can share one code, and Louis Vuitton has never published an official registry.
That means a date code alone can't authenticate a bag. Counterfeiters stamp valid-format codes all the time. What a code can do is disqualify a bag: an impossible format, a week number over 53, or a factory letter that contradicts the "made in" stamp are all hard red flags.
Where to find it
Inside an interior pocket, stamped directly into the lining or a leather tab.
On a small leather tab sewn into an interior seam — sometimes tucked deep, so check every pocket edge.
On smaller leather goods, often stamped inside a pocket or slot in a spot you'd only see when looking for it.
Codes stamped on leather wear with use. A faint or partially worn code on an older bag is normal; a crisp code on a heavily worn vintage bag is worth a second look.
How to read the code by era
Early 1980s. Three or four numbers only, indicating year and month (for example, 834 = March 1983). No letters.
Mid-to-late 1980s. Three or four numbers followed by two letters for the factory (for example, 864 AO = April 1986).
1990 to 2006. Two letters then four numbers. The first and third numbers are the month, the second and fourth are the year. Example: SP0965 — the first and third digits (0 and 6) give month 06, the second and fourth (9 and 5) give year 95, so the bag was made in June 1995.
2007 to March 2021. Two letters then four numbers, but the first and third numbers now give the week of the year instead of the month. Example: SD2159 = week 25 of 2019.
After March 2021. No visible date code. Louis Vuitton embeds an RFID microchip readable only with the brand's own equipment. A visibly stamped date code on a style released after 2021 is a red flag.
Factory location letters
The letters map to production workshops. France accounts for most codes (examples include AA, AN, AR, CT, DU, MB, and SD), while bags have also been produced in the USA (examples include FC, FH, OS, and SD), Spain (CA, LO, LB, LM), Italy (BC, BO, CE, FO, MA, SA), and Germany (LP, OL).
Note the overlap: SD, for instance, has been used for both French and American production. That's why the code must be read together with the "made in" stamp rather than in isolation — and why no letter list floating around online is fully definitive.
Using the code when you buy pre-loved
Treat the date code as one consistency check among many: does the era implied by the code match the style's production run, the patina on the vachetta, the hardware, and the heat stamp? When everything tells the same story, confidence goes up.
For real certainty, rely on technology-backed authentication. Every eligible piece at Gaby's Bags is verified with Entrupy's microscopic AI analysis before it's listed — the date code is where we start, never where we stop.
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