Home > Where is the serial number on a guitar?
Where is the serial number on a guitar?
Where to look for the serial on solidbody, hollow, acoustic and bass guitars, with the usual Fender, Gibson and Martin locations.
It depends on the guitar. Electric guitars and basses: the back of the headstock or the neck plate where the neck meets the body. Martin acoustics: the neck block, seen through the soundhole. Gibson acoustics and hollowbodies: the back of the headstock; some hollowbodies also have a paper label inside the f-hole. Shine a torch inside to read a label or neck block. Do not remove the neck or pickups to look for a serial; leave that to a technician.
Once you have the number, the right decoder depends on the brand: Martin, Gibson, Fender or the general serial number lookup. If you are not sure what you are looking at, how to read a guitar serial number explains the common formats.
Fender, Gibson and Martin serial locations
| Brand and spot | What you will see |
|---|---|
| Fender, neck plate | Stamped on the metal plate on the back of the body, where the neck meets it. |
| Fender, headstock (front or back) | Often with a letter prefix. Some Mexican-made guitars use prefixes like MN. Mahar's lists the back of the headstock for 1990s-onward US and Mexican guitars; on older ones, look at the neck plate. If one spot is blank, check the other. Location is a clue to the era, not proof. |
| Fender, neck heel or bridge plate | Some imported guitars have the number on the neck heel. On early Telecasters and Precision Basses the bridge plate may carry a short four-digit number. |
| Gibson solidbody, back of headstock | From 1977: an 8-digit number impressed into the wood, with MADE IN USA below it. Gibson USA guitars made since July 2005 have 9 digits, and older guitars use other formats; the Gibson lookup lists which ones it decodes. |
| Gibson hollow or semi-hollow, back of headstock | Older guitars also have a paper label inside the f-hole, usually the bass side. Some have both a stamp and a label. Use a torch. |
| Gibson flat-top acoustic, back of headstock | Modern guitars: an 8-digit number impressed into the back of the headstock. Marks on the neck block are typically factory order numbers, not the serial, so check the Gibson lookup. |
| Martin acoustic, neck block | The model designation and the serial number are etched on the neck block. Look in the soundhole toward the neck. |
Sources: True Vintage Guitar, Fender locations; True Vintage Guitar, Gibson locations; True Vintage Guitar, Gibson hollowbody dating; The Music Zoo, Gibson serial guide; Martin FAQ; Mahar's, Fender serial locations.
If you cannot find a serial
A worn or covered stamp is the usual cause. True Vintage Guitar advises that if the number is not visible right away, you tilt the guitar in bright light and look for a faint ink stamp or impressed stamp. If the spot is blank, painted over or the plate or label has gone, do not guess a year from other features. Ask a guitar technician to look at it, or contact the maker with the model name and photos. A missing serial is also worth noting if you are buying; see the serial number checker guide for buyers and how to tell if a Gibson is fake.
Other makers, including Epiphone, Squier, Ibanez and Taylor: this page has no verified locations for them. Check the back of the headstock, the neck plate and inside the body, and look for a stamped or ink number, a sticker or a paper label. Once you have the number, try the Epiphone decoder.