DIOR CODE CHECK

Dior date code checker, find the month and year

Enter the code from your Dior tag, including the letters.

This checker does not tell you whether your Dior is genuine. A date code can be copied onto a fake as easily as it appears on a real one, and only a professional authentication can settle that. Have your Dior authenticated by an expert

IN SHORT

What a Dior date code actually tells you

A Dior date code is a short string like 09-MA-0161, and the production date sits in the last four digits, read in an interleaved order rather than left to right. The first and third digits give the month, the second and fourth give the year. The two letters in the middle identify the workshop, not the date.

A Dior date code is a manufacturing reference. Counterfeiters print plausible codes routinely, and on Dior in particular the typeface and depth of the stamping carry far more signal than the digits do, because current bags carry so little hardware that the logo and the code are two of the few checkable elements. A code that decodes cleanly tells you the numbers are internally consistent, nothing more.

DIOR DATE CODE FORMATS

Dior date codes era by era

Era What the marking looks like Example
Style · factory · date code Two digits, two letters, then four digits 09-MA-0161 → June 2011, Italy
Date group only, four digits The four-digit group on its own 0161 → June 2011
Older format, factory letters then the date group Two letters then four digits, with no leading pair RU0928 → February 1998, Italy

Compiled from professional authentication reference material and reviewed in-house.

THE FULL CHART

Dior date code chart by country

Made inCodes
ItalyBO MA RU
FranceID
SpainMC

Compiled from professional authentication reference material and reviewed in-house.

WHERE TO LOOK

Finding the date code on your Dior

Style · factory · date code Usually stamped on the reverse of the interior leather tag, sometimes on its own tag, and occasionally heat-stamped straight into the leather. Within the four-digit group the 1st and 3rd digits give the month and the 2nd and 4th give the year. So 0161 reads as month 06, year 11, June 2011. The two letters are the factory: MA, BO and RU are the three Italian plants and account for most bags, ID is France and MC is Spain, both of them uncommon. A two-letter group we cannot source still gets you the date, with the country left blank rather than guessed. The read order is the same one Louis Vuitton uses.
Date group only The last four characters of the stamped code. The whole date lives in these four digits, so a code read only to the end still dates the piece. What is lost is the factory, which is carried by the two letters in front of them.
Older format Reverse of the interior leather tag, as on newer pieces. Older Dior pieces carry the factory letters first and no leading two digits. The date group is read exactly the same way, so the same rule dates both formats. The advanced handbook photographs one of these on a MADE IN SPAIN tag stamped MC 0071.
NO CODE

If your Dior has no code, or the code looks scrambled

Not every Dior item carries a readable date code, and some genuinely show irregular sequences. Dior only began stamping these codes around 1997, so a piece older than that will not have one at all, and its absence is not a fault. Small leather goods in particular are inconsistent. Check the reverse of the interior leather tag first, then any separate tag, then the leather itself; some codes are heat-stamped straight into the lining rather than onto a tag.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Dior date code questions

The things people actually ask us about Dior date codes, answered by the team that reads them for a living.

How do I read a Dior date code?

Take the four-digit group at the end. First and third digits give the month, second and fourth the year. So 0161 is June 2011. The two digits in front of the letters are not part of the date. It is counter-intuitive, which is why so many guides misread it.

What do the two letters in the middle mean?

They identify the factory. MA, BO and RU are Dior's three Italian plants and account for most bags. ID is France and MC is Spain, and both are uncommon. Other two-letter groups do turn up, mostly on vintage pieces, and we have no sourced country for them, so the checker returns the date and leaves the factory blank rather than guessing. On older pieces the letters come first, with no leading pair of digits, and the date is read the same way.

Where is the date code on a Dior bag?

Usually on the reverse of the interior leather tag. Some pieces carry it on a separate tag, and occasionally it is heat-stamped straight into the leather.

Does the date code prove my Dior is real?

No. It gives a production date, not a verdict. Dior fakes frequently carry codes that decode perfectly well; the giveaway is the shape of the digits, the spacing and the depth of the stamp rather than the numbers themselves.

My code decodes to a month that doesn't exist, what now?

Usually a misread digit rather than a fake. 0 and 8, and 1 and 7, are easy to confuse in Dior's stamping. Photograph the tag in raking light and check again.

Do Dior shoes and small leather goods use the same code?

The same format, but they are the least consistent items in the range. Small leather goods are where irregular sequences turn up most often, and the code can be heat-stamped into the lining rather than printed on a tag. Treat a missing or odd code on a small item as much weaker evidence than on a bag.

What should the digits themselves look like?

On Italian-made pieces the strokes are deliberately uneven in weight: the 1 leans its head in close to the body, the 3 is small on top and larger below, the 5 has a flat C-shaped belly, the 6 and 9 sit at a slight slant, and the 8 is smaller on top than underneath. Size, height and spacing vary between characters, which is normal, because each factory runs several sets of dies. A French-made code uses a different face again and is not directly comparable.

Why does the typeface matter more on Dior than on other brands?

Because most current Dior bags carry very little hardware, so the logo and the code are two of the few hard, checkable elements on the piece. Before 2019 the three Italian factories changed their die sets on a regular pattern, which is why a code can read correctly and still be wrong for its stated year.

Still not sure? Ask the authenticators The people who read these markings for a living, and who check your item
FREE LEARNING

Free Dior authentication guides

A code narrows things down. These guides cover what it cannot: the stitching, the hardware and the leather on a real Dior. , our guide author since 2019, draws every method from what our authenticators have documented across 2 million+ real items. Read his Dior guides, or browse the full library of free guides covering 100+ luxury brands.

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