Epiphone

Epiphone's serial history is dominated by the FYYMMRRRR factory-prefix format, used from 1993 through 2008 across a sprawl of Asian contract manufacturers. Around 2008 production moved to an all-numeric YY+MM+6-digit sequence. Pre-1993 Epiphones used a variety of regional formats that we don't yet cover.

Sources 1 Manufacturer 2 Communitys view all

Decode a Epiphone serial

Quick pick

Find your shape, jump to the format

SI + 8 digits Factory prefix (1993–2008) primary e.g. SI03021234 1993–2008
10 digits All-numeric (2008+) primary e.g. 1210123456 2008+

Supported formats

Factory prefix (1993–2008)

1993–2008

Example SI03021234 Try it →

1 or 2-letter factory code + YY + MM + 4-digit rank. Factory codes: SI = Samick Indonesia, CI = Cort Indonesia, EE = Qingdao Electric (China), EA = Qingdao Acoustic (China), DW = DaeWon (China), MC = Muse (China), SJ = SaeJun (China), UC = Unsung China, FN = Fine Guitars (Korea), SM = Samil (Korea); single-letter codes S/U/P/R/I/F/T/Z/K/O/J for Korean/Japanese factories.

Gotchas & format-specific sources

The 1993-2008 window is exact; some outliers exist outside it — check the Epiphone Wiki for edge cases.

All-numeric (2008+)

2008+

Example 1210123456 Try it →

Ten-digit all-numeric serial: YY + MM + 6-digit rank. Gated on YY in 08-29 range and valid month 01-12.

Where to find your serial

Epiphone serials are almost universally on the back of the headstock (stamped, decaled, or inked). Some acoustic models have a label visible through the soundhole.

Back of headstock

Standard location across all modern (1993+) Epiphone production.
Label inside soundhole (acoustic hollowbodies)

Some Epiphone acoustic archtops and hollowbodies also carry a label on the inside of the body.

Sources

Epiphone — Serial Number Search (official) Manufacturer

Epiphone's own serial-number search tool.
Epiphone Wiki — Serial Number Decoding Community

Canonical community decoder documenting 25+ factory codes across Korea, Indonesia, China, Japan.
Killerrig — Epiphone Factory Codes Community

Additional dealer-compiled factory-code reference.

Every format rule on this page traces back to at least one of the sources above. If you spot an error or have an additional authoritative source, see the methodology.