Batch code guide
The code printed on the base of a bottle usually encodes the date of manufacture. Here is how to read one — and what it can and cannot tell you.
What a batch code is
Most perfume houses print a short alphanumeric code on the bottle base, the box, or both. Its length and structure vary by house, but it almost always contains a year and often a month or a production line identifier.
What it can tell you
- Roughly when the bottle was filled — useful for identifying pre-reformulation stock.
- Whether the box and the bottle were produced together (the codes should match).
What it cannot tell you
- Whether the bottle is genuine. Counterfeiters print batch codes too. A code that decodes correctly is not evidence of authenticity.
- How the bottle has been stored. Heat and sunlight degrade a fragrance in a way no code records.
Per-house documentation
We are building per-house batch code references, each published with a confidence level and a cited source. Entries are added as they are verified.
Status
The interactive batch code lookup tool is in development. Until it launches, our per-house documentation is published as reference pages.
Per-house batch code documentation will appear here as it is verified.