A Chanel serial number is the six, seven or eight digit number on a sticker inside the bag, repeated on its card. Its first digit, or the first two of eight, is the series, and each series was used for a year or two. Type the number into the decoder.
Drawn for this page. The logos on a real sticker are left out.
Enter a serial number and its series appears here. What you enter is not uploaded. The reading runs in your browser.
A series reading is a range from published resale guides. It is not proof of age or authenticity, and it is not an appraisal.
Looking for a Chanel serial number checker? This decoder only places the number in its series. It does not check authenticity, look the number up in any Chanel record or say when a particular bag was made.
Vintage Bag Index is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Chanel.
Fashionphile says the sticker sits on a small leather tab that matches the interior, or is glued straight onto the lining, and is sealed in place with clear tape.
coutureusa.com adds that most items with a leather lining carry the sticker on the lining itself, where the digits can face either way up.
Yoogi's Closet says the same number is embossed on the card that came with the bag. It also notes that stickers come away over time and cards get lost, so a bag can be missing both.
Type the digits only. The decoder ignores spaces.
Each row is one series. The years are what each guide prints for it, kept in separate columns because the guides do not always agree. An empty cell means that guide does not date the series.
| Series | Serial starts | Yoogi's Closet | Xupes | coutureusa.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 series | 0XXXXXX | 1986 to 1988 | 1986 | Not dated |
| 1 series | 1XXXXXX | 1989 to 1991 | 1989 to 1991 | 1989 to 1991 |
| 2 series | 2XXXXXX | 1991 to 1994 | 1991 to 1994 | Not dated |
| 3 series | 3XXXXXX | 1994 to 1996 | 1994 to 1996 | Not dated |
| 4 series | 4XXXXXX | 1996 to 1997 | 1996 to 1997 | Not dated |
| 5 series | 5XXXXXX | 1997 to 1999 | 1997 to 1999 | 1997 to 1999 |
| 6 series | 6XXXXXX | 2000 to 2002 | 2000 to 2001 | 2000 to 2002 |
| 7 series | 7XXXXXX | 2002 to 2003 | 2001 to 2002 | Not dated |
| 8 series | 8XXXXXX | 2003 to 2004 | 2003 to 2004 | Not dated |
| 9 series | 9XXXXXX | 2004 to 2005 | 2004 to 2005 | 2004 to 2005 |
| 10 series | 10XXXXXX | 2005 to 2006 | 2005 | Not dated |
| 11 series | 11XXXXXX | 2006 to 2008 | 2006 | Not dated |
| 12 series | 12XXXXXX | 2008 to 2009 | 2008 | Not dated |
| 13 series | 13XXXXXX | 2009 to 2010 | 2009 | Not dated |
| 14 series | 14XXXXXX | 2010 to 2011 | 2010 | 2011 |
| 15 series | 15XXXXXX | 2011 | 2011 | Not dated |
| 16 series | 16XXXXXX | 2012 | 2012 | Not dated |
| 17 series | 17XXXXXX | 2012 to 2013 | 2012 to 2013 | Not dated |
| 18 series | 18XXXXXX | 2013 to 2014 | 2013 | Not dated |
| 19 series | 19XXXXXX | 2014 | 2014 | Not dated |
| 20 series | 20XXXXXX | 2014 to 2015 | 2014 to 2015 | Not dated |
| 21 series | 21XXXXXX | 2015 to 2016 | 2015 | Not dated |
| 22 series | 22XXXXXX | 2016 to 2017 | 2016 | Not dated |
| 23 series | 23XXXXXX | 2016 to 2017 | 2016 to 2017 | Not dated |
| 24 series | 24XXXXXX | 2017 to 2018 | 2017 | Not dated |
| 25 series | 25XXXXXX | 2018 and later | 2018 | Not dated |
| 26 series | 26XXXXXX | Not dated | 2019 | 2019 |
| 27 series | 27XXXXXX | Not dated | 2019 | Not dated |
| 28 series | 28XXXXXX | Not dated | 2019 to 2020 | Not dated |
| 29 series | 29XXXXXX | Not dated | 2020 | Not dated |
| 30 series | 30XXXXXX | Not dated | 2020 to 2021 | Not dated |
| 31 series | 31XXXXXX | Not dated | 2021 | Not dated |
Take 10218184. It has eight digits, so the series is the first two: 10. Yoogi's Closet gives the 10 series 2005 to 2006, and Xupes gives it 2005. That is the range for the series, not proof of when the bag was made.
The earliest serials have six digits. Yoogi's Closet says they are 0 series numbers written without the leading zero, which places them in 1986 to 1988. Xupes dates the six-digit serials that start with 1 to 1984 to 1986.
The guides also differ on the first year. Sotheby's and Xupes say Chanel introduced serial numbers in 1984. Fashionphile and coutureusa.com start them in 1986.
Fashionphile says serials had seven digits from 1986 to 2005, with the first digit giving the series, and eight digits from 2005, with the first two giving it. coutureusa.com puts the same break between the 9 series and the 10 series.
Christie's says that before 2021 Chanel bags were identified mainly by the sticker and its card, and that from 2021 the house gradually introduced microchips. Xupes notes that a bag from 2021 can carry either.
The chip sits in a small metal plate. Fashionphile says the plate starts with a letter, always has eight letters and digits, and has no known link to the year the bag was made. coutureusa.com describes a seven-character code, so the two guides differ on its length. The decoder reads a plate code as the microchip era and gives it no year.
1986 to 2005
The series is the first digit.
From 2005
The series is the first two digits.
From 2021
A letter comes first. The code has no known link to a year.
Yoogi's Closet describes the early stickers, up to the first half of the 5 series, as a white label under an opaque film.
From serials starting 57 it describes clear tape over the label, cut lines that tear the sticker if it is lifted, a dark line down the left side and gold speckles through the tape. The drawing in the decoder switches between the two as you type.
These are descriptions of the sticker, not a test. Xupes notes that some counterfeit stickers are made to match the expected year range.
Up to the first half of the 5 series
From serials starting 57
Count the digits. With seven digits the series is the first digit, and with eight it is the first two. Each series was used for a year or two, so the series gives a range of years, not a date. The earliest serials have six digits.
Sources: Yoogi's Closet, coutureusa.com.
Find the series in a published table. Yoogi's Closet dates the 10 series to 2005 to 2006 and Xupes dates it to 2005. The tables differ by a year for many series, so treat the result as a range for the series, not the year the bag was made.
Sources: Yoogi's Closet, Xupes.
Sotheby's says bags made before 1984 have no serial number. A sticker can also come away with wear, and from 2021 new bags carry a metal plate with a microchip instead. A missing sticker does not date a bag on its own, and it does not show whether a bag is genuine.
Sources: Sotheby's, Yoogi's Closet, Christie's.
Christie's says Chanel gradually introduced microchips from 2021, and coutureusa.com dates the change to April 2021. The Xupes table ends with the 31 series in 2021, while Fashionphile counts 32 sticker series.
Sources: Christie's, coutureusa.com, Xupes, Fashionphile.
Not for a date. Fashionphile says the plate carries eight letters and digits that are unique to the item and have no known link to the year it was made. This decoder cannot read a chip.
Sources: Fashionphile.
No. Christie's says no single feature can determine authenticity on its own, and Xupes notes that counterfeit stickers can match the expected year range. A serial that fits its series is one consistency check, not proof that a bag is genuine, and not an appraisal.
Sources: Christie's, Xupes.