Dior Date Code Explained: How to Read the Code Inside a Dior Bag

Real Authentication, a US authentication service, says Dior began adding these codes around 1997, and LegitApp, another authentication service, places the start in the late 1990s. Both describe a code stamped on the back of a small leather tab inside the bag.

The code records production information: where an item was made and in which month and year, not who bought it.

Take a code such as 02-MA-0253. LegitApp calls the first two numbers a control number that can be ignored. The two letters identify where the item was made, and MA is the example both services give. The last four digits hold the date: the first and third digits give the month, and the second and fourth give the year.

Real Authentication says the two leading numbers were added in the early 2000s while the date format stayed the same, so a code without them points to an older item.

Both services describe the same places. In a handbag, the code is on the back of a small leather tab, usually the one whose front carries the Christian Dior Paris stamp. On some models it is on a separate tab hidden in the lining or in a pocket, and on wallets and small leather goods it is inside a pocket or along the edge of a card slot.

Decode the date and compare it with the model's history: when the model, material or design was released, and which hardware and lining it should have. A code dated before a design existed, or an older-style code on a recent model, needs an explanation.

Then compare the stamp itself with references for the same model and period: the typeface, spacing, depth and alignment of the characters, and how the tab is made and attached. LegitApp recommends the same checks of format, font, size and placement.

Dior has added digital identity to some products. NFC World reported in July 2023 that Dior's B33 sneakers came with an encrypted key that leads to a personal platform with the pair's certificate of authenticity and information about how it was made.

Vereev found no public Dior description of an NFC check for its bags. Where an item has no code or chip, compare it with the same model and period before drawing any conclusion.

Real Authentication says even counterfeit items feature correctly formatted date code stamps, and LegitApp says counterfeiters can copy the code. A neat code in the right format shows only that the tab claims a time and place of production.

Use the code with the exact model, Cannage or embroidery, leather, hardware, lining, edge work and the seller's evidence. Vereev is independent of Dior, and its review is not a Dior service decision.