How do I read a Celine date code?

Take the four digits at the end of the code. Digits 1 and 3 give the week and digits 2 and 4 the year, so S-CU-3196 is week 39 of 2016. Before mid-2014 Celine is reported to have used the month instead of the week, so S-AT-0112 reads January 2012. The letters are not a date: the pair is reported to be a factory code.

Where is the date code on a Celine bag?

Inside the main compartment. On the Luggage, Trapeze, Phantom and Triomphe canvas it is embossed on a small leather tab, often in the exterior colour rather than the lining colour. On the Classic Box, the Belt bag and the Triomphe flap bags it is usually embossed straight into the lining or a pocket wall, with no tab.

Does a correct Celine date code mean my bag is real?

No. Most fakes we see carry a well-formed code with a believable date, and some carry a code we have also found on genuine bags. Celine codes are batch codes, so genuine bags share them too. A clean decode proves nothing; only a code that breaks the format, gives an impossible date or predates the model tells you something.

Can I look up a Celine serial number?

No. Celine has no public lookup, and the code is a batch code rather than a unique serial number, so many genuine bags carry the same one. What you can check is whether the code fits Celine's format and whether its date is possible for the model, which is what this tool does.

My vintage Céline bag has a code like MC97/2. Is that wrong?

No. Before about 2009 Céline used a different marking, letters and digits such as MC97/2, CE00/15 or M14, often with MADE IN ITALY on the same tab. No key to these holds up, so the tool recognises them and does not decode them. The Celine 16 uses a five-digit foil number instead, which is not an error either.

Can a Celine Triomphe have a date code from before 2018?

That would be worth questioning. The Triomphe family launched in 2018, and every genuine Triomphe-family bag we checked, including the canvas pieces and the Ava, decodes to 2019 or later. The tool flags a Triomphe code dated before 2018 and notes a 2018 date as early production rather than a flag.

Free Tool

Celine Date Code Checker

The four digits inside a Celine bag are a production date. This tool reads them, checks that the date can exist and fits the model, and flags codes that break Celine’s format. A code that decodes cleanly proves nothing: fakes copy codes. A mismatch is the useful signal.

Last reviewed 6 October 2026

Where to find the code

Leather tab	A small embossed tab sewn into the main compartment (Luggage, Trapeze, Phantom, Triomphe canvas, Ava). The tab is often the exterior colour, not the lining colour, and on canvas bags it is leather on a fabric lining.
The lining itself	Embossed straight into the leather lining or a pocket wall, with no tab (Classic Box, Belt bag, Triomphe flap bags, some Phantoms). A blind deboss with no foil.
Two lines	Some bags carry two codes, one above the other. Each decodes on its own.

Enter the code inside the bag

Inside the main compartment, on a small leather tab or embossed straight into the lining, Celine stamps one letter, two letters and four digits, for example S-CU-3196. Spaces or dots instead of dashes are fine. For Celine bags only: sunglasses use a different code.

Date code

Which model is it? (optional)

Two lines of code? (optional)

Second line

Counterfeiters copy codes from genuine bags. Most fakes we see carry a well-formed code with a believable date, and some carry a code we have also found on genuine bags.

Celine codes are batch codes, not serial numbers. Many genuine bags share the same code, so a code can’t be looked up or registered. This tool tells you whether a code is consistent with Celine's format and dates. It never says a bag is genuine. A match is expected on genuine and fake bags alike; only a mismatch tells you something. Code looks right but still unsure? Get the bag checked from $25 →

How to read a Celine date code

Since about 2009 the code has been one letter, two letters and four digits: S-CU-3196. The digits read the same way as a Louis Vuitton date code. Digits 1 and 3 give the week, digits 2 and 4 the year. On the genuine bags we checked, the date lined up with the bag’s era: every Hedi Slimane-era Triomphe and Ava read 2019 or later, and every Phoebe Philo-era Luggage, Trapeze and Phantom read 2010 to 2018.

Part	Meaning
First letterS	One capital letter. S, F, U, W and T are all common on genuine bags. Its meaning is unknown.
Letter pairCU	Two capital letters, reported to be a factory or location code. The same pairs turn up across years and across very different models.
Digits 1 and 33 _ 9 _	The period: the week of the year (01 to 53). Before mid-2014 Celine is reported to have used the month (01 to 12) instead.
Digits 2 and 4_ 1 _ 6	The year: 1 and 6 make 2016. So S-CU-3196 reads week 39 of 2016.

Some resellers read the digits in plain order instead (week, then year: 0416 as week 04 of 2016). We have seen one genuine Phantom that only makes sense that way, so when the usual reading gives an impossible date, the tool tries the plain order before it flags anything, and says so.

What the tool flags

Roughly one in four fakes that show a code fail one of these. None of the genuine bags we checked did.

•A code that breaks the shape: an extra character after the digits, three digits instead of four, or the groups in the wrong order.
•Digits that give no possible date: period 00, a week above 53, a year before about 2009, or a date still in the future.
•A date before the model existed, such as a Triomphe dated 2016 (the Triomphe family launched in 2018).
•A handful of exact codes we keep seeing on counterfeits and have never found on a genuine bag. These get a separate “worth a closer look” status, not a mismatch.

What it does not flag

Each of these appears on genuine Celine bags.

•Dot-like separators. On many genuine stamps the dash is short and looks like a dot.
•A tab that does not match the lining colour, or a leather tab on a fabric lining.
•No tab at all, with the code embossed into the lining.
•A period above 12 before 2014. A genuine 2010 Luggage can read period 44.
•Two lines years apart. They are usually within a year, but we have seen a genuine exception.
•A code that appears on another bag. Genuine bags share batch codes.
•MADE IN ITALY on the same tab.

Older Céline bags and the 16

Before about 2009, Céline used a different marking: letters and digits such as MC97/2, CE00/15 or M14, often on the same tab as MADE IN ITALY or on the CELINE PARIS shield. Resellers say “M93 = 1993”, but that cannot explain markings like M14 or M166, and no key we know of holds up. The 16 carries a five-digit number foil-stamped on an inner pocket instead. The tool recognises both and does not treat them as errors.

Celine has never published how these codes work. The date reading comes from resellers, and we checked it against genuine bags in our archive. Two-line codes, a sourced two-letter first group (reported on the Trio) and the month-or-week question around 2014 are all handled, and the result says which parts are checked and which are only reported.

What this tool can't tell you

•Whether the bag is genuine. Most fakes we see carry a well-formed code with a believable date, and some carry a code we have also found on genuine bags. The format and date checks catch roughly one in four fakes that show a code.
•Who made it or which factory. The letter pair is reported to be a factory code, but no list has been confirmed.
•Anything about older Céline markings (such as MC97/2 or CE00/15) or the five-digit number on the 16. The tool recognises them and does not decode them.
•Whether a missing code means anything. Several fakes we have seen have a blank tab, which is worth a closer look, but some genuine models carry a different marking.

Want the full authentication guide?

Read how to authenticate a Celine Luggage bag or the Celine Triomphe guide for the heat stamp, the hardware and the clasp: the checks a copied code cannot pass. This tool is for bags only. Celine sunglasses carry a different code on the temple, covered in the Celine sunglasses guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do I read a Celine date code?: Take the four digits at the end of the code. Digits 1 and 3 give the week and digits 2 and 4 the year, so S-CU-3196 is week 39 of 2016. Before mid-2014 Celine is reported to have used the month instead of the week, so S-AT-0112 reads January 2012. The letters are not a date: the pair is reported to be a factory code.
Where is the date code on a Celine bag?: Inside the main compartment. On the Luggage, Trapeze, Phantom and Triomphe canvas it is embossed on a small leather tab, often in the exterior colour rather than the lining colour. On the Classic Box, the Belt bag and the Triomphe flap bags it is usually embossed straight into the lining or a pocket wall, with no tab.
Does a correct Celine date code mean my bag is real?: No. Most fakes we see carry a well-formed code with a believable date, and some carry a code we have also found on genuine bags. Celine codes are batch codes, so genuine bags share them too. A clean decode proves nothing; only a code that breaks the format, gives an impossible date or predates the model tells you something.
Can I look up a Celine serial number?: No. Celine has no public lookup, and the code is a batch code rather than a unique serial number, so many genuine bags carry the same one. What you can check is whether the code fits Celine's format and whether its date is possible for the model, which is what this tool does.
My vintage Céline bag has a code like MC97/2. Is that wrong?: No. Before about 2009 Céline used a different marking, letters and digits such as MC97/2, CE00/15 or M14, often with MADE IN ITALY on the same tab. No key to these holds up, so the tool recognises them and does not decode them. The Celine 16 uses a five-digit foil number instead, which is not an error either.
Can a Celine Triomphe have a date code from before 2018?: That would be worth questioning. The Triomphe family launched in 2018, and every genuine Triomphe-family bag we checked, including the canvas pieces and the Ava, decodes to 2019 or later. The tool flags a Triomphe code dated before 2018 and notes a 2018 date as early production rather than a flag.

Code looks right but still unsure?

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