Boats & Engines > Outboard Engine Serial Number Year Match-up

Shop Outboard Repair Manuals

Not sure about the year of your outboard motor The serial number can help you determine the year of your engine.

Your serial number or model number can be found on the engine's mid-section. Often this plate is also marked with the engine's year too.

Select your engine make:

Chrysler | Force | Honda | Johnson | Evinrude
Mercury Mariner | Suzuki | Yamaha

---

Johnson Serial Numbers
Johnson has changed how they indicate year in the model number several times. Depending on the year range your motor falls into, you will find your Johnson engine year information differently.

1980-Present
Engines since 1980 use a two letter code at the end of the model number based on the following key :

I	N	T	R	O	D	U	C	E	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0

For example the 'CE' at the end of 100STLCE indicate that the engine is from '89'.
If your are still unsure of your engine year, search for your model number on the Johnson 1980-later serial number year chart located here.

1969-1979
The actual year is found in the model number, not the serial number.
For example, 150TXL78 is a 150hp engine from 1978. 65ESLR72 would be from 1972.

Pre 1969
For engines prior to 1969 refer the the Johnson 1960-1979 serial number year chart located here.

Commercial
If you have a commercial model refer to the Johnson commercial serial number year chart located here.

---

Evinrude Serial Numbers
Evinrude changed how they indicate year in the model number in 1980. Depending on the whether your engine is from before or after that year determins how you will find your Evinrude engine year information.

1980-Present
Engines since 1980 use a two letter code at the end of the model number based on the following key :

I	N	T	R	O	D	U	C	E	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0

For example the 'ED' at the end of VE70TLED indicate that the engine is from '96'.
If your are still unsure of your engine year, search for your model number on the Evinrude 1980-later serial number year chart located here.

Pre 1980
For engines prior to 1980 refer the the Evinrude 1950-1979 serial number year chart located here.

Commercial
If you have a commercial model refer to the Evinrude commercial serial number year chart located here.

---

Honda Serial Numbers
Honda outboard model numbers are set up in the following formats:

Find the model year code in your model number and determine the year using the key below.

Year	Serial ID
2007 & Later	DK AK
2006	D6 A6
2005	D5 A5
2004	D4 A4
2003	D3 A3
2002	D2 A2
2001	D1 A1
2000	DY AY
1999	DX AX
1998	DW AW
1997	DM DT AM AT
Pre 1997	Other Letter Codes

---

Yamaha Serial Numbers
With Yamaha model numbers, the last letter indicates the year.

N	1984	P	1991	W	1998
K	1985	Q	1992	X	1999
J	1986	R	1993	Y	2000
H	1986	S	1994	Z	2001
G	1988	T	1995	A	2002
F	1989	U	1996	B	2003
D	1990	V	1997	C	2004

For example, in SX150TLRY1 the 'Y' tells you the model year is 2000.

Note: Begining in 2005 Yamaha stopped including the year information in the model number. The production date can be found on the transom bracket of post 2004 motors.

---

Suzuki Serial Numbers
With Suzuki model numbers, the last letter indicates the year.

D	1983	M	1991	X	1999
E	1984	N	1992	Y	2000
F	1985	P	1993	K1	2001
G	1986	R	1994	K2	2002
H	1987	S	1995	K3	2003
J	1988	T	1996	K4	2004
K	1989	V	1997
L	1990	W	1998

For example, in DT40CRSN the 'N' tells you the model year is 1992.

---

Chrysler Serial Numbers
Nothing in the Chrysler Outboard engine model numbers or serial numbers provides year information.

Refer to the Chrysler serial number year chart located here.
Search for your serial number by pressing CTRL+F to find the corresponding year.

---

Force Serial Numbers
Nothing in the Force Outboard engine model numbers or serial numbers provides year information.

Refer to the Force serial number year chart located here.
Search for your serial number by pressing CTRL+F to find the corresponding year.

---

Mercury Mariner Serial Numbers
Nothing in the Mercury Mariner Outboard engine model numbers or serial numbers provides year information directly.

The first serial number sold in a year becomes the beginning serial number. Serial numbers between that year's beginning serial number and the next fall into the same year. Search for your engine horsepower on the Mercury Mariner serial number year chart located here to find the beginning serial number for the range that includes your engine.

Back to top

Sign Up to Receive iboats.com Review Newsletter: Includes 'How To' tips, special sales, and more.

Disclaimer for iboats.com Review Articles:
The information and articles provided in this e–monthly and/or in any publications provided by iboats.com are for general purposes only and intended to help you make better decisions about your boat and boating equipment. Such information is not intended to substitute for instructions from the manufacturer, dealer or marina about your specific boat or boating equipment and iboats specifically disclaims any liability for damage to your boat or equipment arising from your following suggestions in this e–monthly. For more details about your equipment or application, we suggest you contact the manufacturer of your boat or other equipment.

Copyright Notice:
All materials contained on the iboats.com site and on this Review publication are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed (except for use of the iboats.com "Email to a Friend"), transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of iboats.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.