- Written by ApplianceWorth Editorial Team
- Technically reviewed by Victor — appliance technician
- Applies to Bosch appliances
- Date formats covered 1
- Sources Manufacturer service documentation, field-repair experience and owner-confirmed serial numbers · Methodology · Report a correction
How Bosch serial numbers encode the date
Bosch does not print the manufacture date in plain text on most units — it is encoded into the serial number. The decoder recognises one format for this brand:
FD production code
The FD number is four digits: the 1st is the decade, the 2nd is the year within that decade, and the last two are the calendar month (01–12).
The decade digit counts ten-year blocks from 1920, so 0 is the 1920s, 9 is the 2010s, and it then starts again — 0 also means the 2020s. The month is a real month, so this format gives an exact date rather than an approximation.
| Year code | Means |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1920 · 2020 |
| 1 | 1930 |
| 2 | 1940 |
| 3 | 1950 |
| 4 | 1960 |
| 5 | 1970 |
| 6 | 1980 |
| 7 | 1990 |
| 8 | 2000 |
| 9 | 2010 |
Worked examples
Each example below is decoded by the same engine that powers the tool on this page, so what you see here is exactly what you would get by typing it in.
This tool returns November 2011 · high confidence
A dishwasher from Bosch's own worked example: decade digit 9 (the 2010s), year 1, month 11 — November 2011. Exact, with no week-to-month approximation involved.
This tool returns July 2024 · high confidence
A 2020s code. The decade digit has wrapped back round to 0, which is why a rule that read these first two digits as a plain year got current appliances so badly wrong.
Where to find the Bosch serial number
The serial number is printed on the rating label, usually alongside the model number — never on the front of the appliance where you would look first. Where that label sits depends on what the appliance is:
| Bosch appliance | Where the rating label usually is |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Inside the fresh-food compartment on a side wall; near the upper shelf; behind crisper drawers; or on the exterior side/rear panel. |
| Washer | Front-load: on the cabinet or door frame behind the open door, near the hinge, or on the rear panel. Top-load: under the lid near a hinge, on the rear console, or near the water-inlet connections. |
| Dryer | Around the drum opening behind the door; on the cabinet side; or on the rear panel. |
| Dishwasher | On the left, right or top edge of the door; on the tub frame; sometimes on the kick plate. |
| Range / Oven | On the frame behind the oven door; behind the lower drawer; beneath the cooktop; or on the rear panel. |
| Microwave | Inside the door frame or cavity wall; on the vent grille housing for over-the-range models. |
Photograph the label rather than copying it by hand. The character that carries the year is one of about a dozen on the line, and a 0 read as an O costs you the lookup. Our label location guide has the same guidance for every brand.
Common questions about Bosch appliance age
How old is my Bosch refrigerator?
Read the serial number off the rating label and type it into the tool at the top of this page. It returns the month and year the unit left the factory, which is not the day it was sold: an appliance commonly spends six to twelve months between the production line and a kitchen, and clearance stock far longer.
Does a Bosch serial number contain the manufacture date?
Yes, but encoded rather than printed. Bosch carries the date in one format, where one character stands for the year and another for the month. The tables above name those positions, so you can check the tool's answer by hand.
Where is the serial number on a Bosch refrigerator?
Inside the fresh-food compartment on a side wall; near the upper shelf; behind crisper drawers; or on the exterior side/rear panel. It sits on the same label as the model number. Photograph it — misreading one character is the usual reason a lookup fails.
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