How to read a DOT tire date code

The last four digits of the DOT code are the manufacture date: the first two are the week and the last two are the year, so 2324 is the 23rd week of 2024.

Updated 2026-10-27

Find the code on the sidewall

Look for the letters DOT on the sidewall. After DOT is the tire identification number. The last four digits are the date. The first two of those four are the week of the year, and the last two are the year.

2324 means the 23rd week of 2024. 0198 would be the first week of 1998 on an old three-or-four-digit reading, but tires made from 2000 onward use four digits. If you only see three digits, you are looking at a very old tire or at a partial stamp.

The full identification number is required on one sidewall. The other sidewall may show only part of it, without the date. If you cannot find four digits, check the other side before you decide the tire has no date.

What the date is, and what it is not

The date is when the tire was manufactured, not when it was sold or installed. A tire can sit in storage before it is mounted. The date code does not reset when someone installs it.

The date is not a tread depth, not a safety rating, and not a grade. Two tires from the same week can be in very different condition. You still have to look at the rubber.

The characters before the date identify the plant and the tire size and type in the DOT system. You do not need to decode the plant to decide whether the tire is old.

How people use the date

Many tire makers suggest an inspection around five years from the date code and replacement by about ten years, even with tread left. Some recommend replacement closer to six years. Those are maker recommendations and they differ. They are not a single law in Canada or the United States.

On a used tire, an unreadable date is a reason to skip it. You cannot judge age you cannot read.