Squier serial numbers
Look up a Squier serial number and get the country, the run and the year. The two Japanese prefixes, JV and SQ, are the Fujigen-built run. The Korean prefixes put the year in the digits straight after the letters. Four charts, and every one of them names the country outright.
Enter the serial as it appears on the instrument.
Where to find the serial number
Where the number sits changed between the two runs. The Japanese instruments carry it stamped on the neck plate at the back of the body, with the headstock decal beside it reading Made in Japan or Squier; the Korean ones carry it on a sticker on the back of the headstock where the neck joins the body, or stamped into the neck plate. Either way it is the letters at the front of the number that decide which chart reads it, wherever you found it.
Japan-made Squier (JV and SQ, 1982 to 1984): Stamped on the neck plate at the back of the body, with 'Made in Japan' or 'Squier' wording on the headstock decal. The JV and SQ prefixes are what set these apart from the later letter-prefix runs.
Korea-made Squier (CN, VN, KC, KV), 1993 to 2012: Printed on a sticker on the back of the headstock where the neck joins the body, or stamped into the neck plate, prefixed with the factory letter or pair of letters.
A JV or SQ number cannot tell you whether the instrument under it is genuine. Both prefixes are collectible, and the community authentication threads our tables cite treat reproduction decals, re-stamped neck plates and Squier-to-Fender logo swaps as the things to rule out on one. How often any of that happens is not something we can put a number on. On both Japanese charts our tables say the same thing: the year one of these numbers returns is only as trustworthy as the instrument carrying it.
Fender's own records are the limit on the Korean readings. Fender states that its digital records for Korea reach back only to the middle of 1993, with little record before that, so a year read off a Korean prefix comes back as probable rather than certain. The letters are firmer than the digits: our tables carry the country as definitive on all four charts, which is more than they will say about any year.
Squier places the serial in more than one spot depending on the era. Match the row above to your instrument before you read the number.
Some Squier serial numbers can't be dated from the number alone: Squier Strat Bullet instruments with an NC prefix (United States); Korea, KC and KV prefixes past the charted run (KC13 through KC29 and KV13 through KV29); Korea, CN and VN prefixes with a 7, 8 or 9 (past the charted 1993 to 1996 run).
Japan, JV prefix (Made in Japan Squier, 1982 to 1984)
| Years |
|---|
| 1982–1984 |
Japan, SQ prefix (Made in Japan Squier, 1983 to 1984)
| Years |
|---|
| 1983–1984 |
Korea, CN and VN prefixes (1993-1996)
| Years |
|---|
| 1993–1996 |
Korea, KC and KV prefixes, 1997-2012
| Years |
|---|
| 1997–2012 |
Frequently asked questions
Which years does GearSerials cover for Squier serial numbers?
We cover Squier serial numbers from 1982–2012.
How many Squier serial-number formats does GearSerials track?
We track 4 serial-number formats across 4 eras for Squier.
Where is the serial number on a Squier instrument?
It depends on the era. We document 2 placements for Squier instruments. See "Where to find the serial number" above for the exact spot for your instrument's era.
Are there Squier serial numbers GearSerials can't date?
Yes. Some Squier serial numbers can't be dated from the number alone: Squier Strat Bullet instruments with an NC prefix (United States); Korea, KC and KV prefixes past the charted run (KC13 through KC29 and KV13 through KV29); Korea, CN and VN prefixes with a 7, 8 or 9 (past the charted 1993 to 1996 run).
What do the letters at the start of a Squier serial number mean?
They name the country and the plant. JV and SQ are the Made in Japan run, both built at Fujigen. CN and VN are Korean, from Cor-Tek and from Saehan/Sunghan; KC and KV name those same two plants again, with two digits after the letters carrying the year instead of one. Our tables carry the country as definitive on all four charts, whatever the year comes back as.
Why does a Squier JV or SQ serial number come back as more than one year?
Because Fender publishes those prefixes as spans and does not break them down. JV covers 1982 to 1984 and SQ covers 1983 to 1984, and no marking on the instrument separates the years inside either span, so the answer holds the whole set and asks you nothing, because there is no question that would narrow it.
How does a Korean Squier serial number give the year?
From the digits right after the letters. On a CN or VN number a single digit carries the year; on a KC or KV number two digits do. Fender's digital records for Korea start in the middle of 1993 and there is little before that, which is why the year comes back as probable on both.
My Squier has an NC serial number. What year is it?
We do not put a year on it, because Fender declines to date that prefix itself. The answer names the era the number belongs to and links the guide for it. What can date the instrument is on the instrument: look for a neck-heel date pencilled or stamped where the neck bolts on, and match the headstock logo, the tuners and the pickup layout against a known Bullet production span.
Why does my Squier serial number match nothing here?
Our four charts cover the Japanese JV and SQ run and the Korean letter prefixes, and Squier has built instruments outside both. Where a number matches no chart and no era we name, the answer says nothing in our data matches it.
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