Chanel serial numbers: how to date your bag and check its card

From 1986 to 2021, every Chanel bag left the workshop with a numbered sticker inside and a card bearing the same number. This serial number does not give an exact date, but a production window. Here is where to find it, how to read it, and what it can, or cannot, help you check.

Where to find the serial number on a Chanel bag

The number is printed on a small sticker inside the bag. It is attached either to a leather tab matching the lining or directly to the lining, often in a corner, at the bottom or in an inside pocket. It is covered by a clear protective film.

On a bag that is twenty or thirty years old, the sticker may have yellowed, partly peeled off or disappeared. An older bag without a sticker is not necessarily fake: this is quite common, especially if the lining has been cleaned or the bag has been used a lot.

7 or 8 digits: how to read the series

What matters is how the number starts:

• 7 digits (until the mid-2000s): the first digit gives the series.
• 8 digits (from around 2005): the first two digits give the series.

A 7-digit number starting with 5 therefore belongs to series 5, and an 8-digit number starting with 15 to series 15. Then simply look the series up in the table below.

Chanel serial numbers by year

Chanel has never published an official chart. The ranges below are the ones used by authentication specialists; they can differ by about a year depending on the source.

The number tells you when the bag was made, not which collection it belongs to. To place a model in a specific season, you need other clues: colour, material, hardware, original tag.

The sticker has changed over the years

The first stickers, in the late 1980s, are simple: black digits on a white background, with no security features. From the late 1990s, Chanel added anti-tampering features: fine X-shaped cuts that tear the sticker if someone tries to peel it off, then holographic patterns and gold flecks in the 2000s.

The style of the sticker should therefore match its series. A recent-looking sticker with a series 2 number, for example, does not add up.

The authenticity card

Until 2021, the bag came with a black card with a gold border, embossed with the same number as the sticker. The two numbers must be identical: a mismatch is a serious red flag.

The card alone proves nothing, though. It is easier to imitate than a bag, and cards sometimes circulate on their own. Conversely, many authentic vintage bags have lost their card over the years. Having it is still a plus, especially for resale.

Since 2021: a chip instead of a number

In spring 2021, Chanel replaced the sticker and card with a small metal plate engraved with an eight-character code mixing letters and digits, and with an electronic chip embedded in the bag. This code cannot be used to date the bag, and only the House can read the chip.

A bag presented as made after 2021 that still has a sticker and a card is therefore inconsistent.

Does the serial number prove a bag is authentic?

No. Counterfeiters reproduce stickers and cards, sometimes using real numbers copied from authentic bags. A well-formed number guarantees nothing. Its main use is to check that everything is consistent:

• the period matches the years in which the model, its material and its hardware were produced;
• the number on the card is identical to the one on the sticker;
• the style of the sticker matches its series;
• the sticker is in a usual place for that model.

Serious authentication also examines the leather, the quilting stitches, the CC clasp, the chain, the “CHANEL” and “Made in” stamps and the quality of the finish. That is what we do for every bag before it goes online, and an Entrupy certificate of authenticity can be added to your order.

Find an authenticated pre-owned Chanel bag

The bags in our Chanel collection are listed with their original accessories and a condition grade based on our grading scale. Our black caviar leather Shopper, for example, comes with its authenticity card. Looking for a Timeless, a Boy or a specific colour? Our personal shopping service will find it for you.