Serial number dating / PRS
PRS serial number lookup
Find the year a PRS was built, read from PRS’s own numbering scheme.
Can't read a digit? Type ? in its place. Looked-up serials are kept, never tied to you. How it works
Type the serial or code from the instrument. We read it as you type.
Cross-check with a pot code
The number stamped on a potentiometer inside the guitar. It dates the part, not the whole instrument.
Example PRS serials and how they read
Made-up serials in each of PRS’s formats, read by the dater above.
| Serial | Reads as | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 08136580 | 2008 | USA electric, two-digit year prefix (2008+) |
| 200212345 | 2020 | USA electric, two-digit year prefix (2008+) |
| CTIH012345 | 2025 | SE, Cor-Tek Indonesia (CTI + year letter) |
| CTCF12345 | 2022 | SE, Cor-Tek China (CTC + year letter) |
How PRS serials date
- Amplifier / speaker cabinet
- USA acoustic
- S2 series
- USA electric, two-digit year prefix (2008+)
- SE, Cor-Tek Indonesia (CTI + year letter)
- SE, Cor-Tek China (CTC + year letter)
More on PRS serial numbers
Where this comes from
We date a PRS from the two-digit year that leads the serial from 2008 on, and the SE import prefixes, read the way PRS's own Year Identification article reads it. The source is PRS's Year Identification article.
Worked example. A serial like 08136580 reads as 2008, made in the USA, at high confidence: the first two digits are the year.
Before 2008 a PRS serial led with a single year digit that repeats each decade, so a 6 is 1986, 1996 or 2006, and an older serial needs PRS's chart to place it.
Where to find the serial
USA electrics: the back of the headstock; acoustics: a soundhole label ('A' prefix); amps: the back panel ('AMP'/'SPK').
How sure is it
Every result carries its confidence. Treat the year as a strong guide, not proof: a serial can be replaced, a neck and body can be from different years, and reissues copy old numbering. For anything that matters, confirm the year against the neck date, the pot codes and PRS's Year Identification article.
We also check the serial against the millions of listings we track and show whether that exact number has been advertised before, where, and at what price.
Other brands
This is one of many brands the serial number dater covers.