Serial number decoder

John Deere Serial Number Checker

Deere is where serial dating gets argued about, because Deere itself published two different lists. Ours is the production-year list drawn from the Serial Number Registers — the one Green Magazine's research stands behind — and any result the old fiscal-year list would date differently says so on its face.

Decode your serial number

Pick the brand, pick the model, type the number exactly as stamped. The answer shows the bracket your number fell in and the sources behind it.

The tables, in the open

These are the exact tables the decoder reads from — every one assembled from two independent published sources. Check our work.

John Deere A

Where the number is: Serial plate on the right side of the tractor, above the belt pulley.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
1934410,000412,865
1935412,866424,024
1936424,025442,150
1937442,151466,786
1938466,787476,999
1939477,000487,999
1940488,000498,999
1941499,000510,238
1942510,239520,003
1943520,004524,422
1944524,423542,699
1945542,700555,333
1946555,334569,609
1947569,610587,348
1948587,349611,920
1949611,921640,245
1950640,246666,306
1951666,307682,601
1952682,602703,384

John Deere A traps

  • The frame changed mid-1947: angle-iron frame up to serial 583999, pressed-steel 'late styled' frame from 584000. A 1947 can be either — the serial settles which.
  • Deere's warehouse/shipping dates are not build dates; a tractor built as a 1947 model could ship in late 1946.

Sources: TractorData model A table, following J.R. Hobbs' research in Deere's Serial Number Registers (Green Magazine lineage); cross-checked against the Steiner Tractor published Deere chart.

John Deere B

Where the number is: Unstyled B (serial under 60000): left side of the transmission case, upper front corner, under the governor. Styled B (60000 and up): right side, on top of the case, under the magneto.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
19351,00012,011
193612,01227,388
193727,38946,174
193846,17559,999
193960,00080,999
194081,00095,999
194196,000118,720
1942118,721136,314
1943136,315149,218
1944149,219167,699
1945167,700179,787
1946179,788191,302
1947191,303209,294
1948209,295230,043
1949230,044253,024
1950253,025275,241
1951275,242293,029
1952293,030310,772

John Deere B traps

  • The 'late styled' B with the pressed-steel frame starts at serial 201000, partway through the 1947 model year — a 1947 B can be early or late styled.
  • BR and BO orchard models ran a separate 325000-series — if your number starts 325, it is an orchard tractor, not this table.

Sources: Two-Cylinder Club membership-card list (from Deere's registers) via retiredtractors.com; TractorData late-styled B table — identical for 1948–1952.

John Deere H

Where the number is: Serial tag on the main case — behind the flywheel on the earliest tractors, moved to the belt pulley area during 1941 production (around serial 27000).

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
19391,0009,999
194010,00020,614
194120,61535,698
194235,69944,753
194344,75445,641
194445,64247,795
194547,79653,326
194653,32758,613
194758,61461,161

John Deere H traps

  • The H's serial tag is the ONLY reliable date reference — Deere kept no casting-date system for this model that outsiders can read.
  • Mid-year changes (electric start provisions, tag location) happened inside model years, so features alone can misdate an H by a year.

Sources: The revised Deere beginning-serial list (Green Magazine / Mr. Thinker lineage, the list collectors treat as corrected); Yesterday's Tractors Deere board verification (stamped-steel front wheels begin exactly at the 1945 start, 47796).

John Deere M (Dubuque)

Where the number is: Serial plate on the right side of the main case, in the magneto/distributor area. The very first M, serial 10001, shipped April 1, 1947.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
194710,00113,742
194813,74325,603
194925,60435,658
195035,65943,524
195143,52550,579
195250,58059,999

John Deere M (Dubuque) traps

  • Do not confuse the Deere M with the Farmall M — different tractor, different factory, different table. This is the small Dubuque-built Deere.
  • MT (tricycle) and MI (industrial) variants share this series.

Sources: Steiner Tractor published Deere beginning-serial chart; MachineFinder / The Plowshare (Deere collector publication) confirm the 10001 start and Dubuque production.

John Deere 50

Where the number is: Serial plate on the main case, right side, in the magneto/distributor area.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
19525,000,0015,001,253
19535,001,2545,016,040
19545,016,0415,021,976
19555,021,9775,030,599
19565,030,6005,033,200

John Deere 50 traps

  • Seven-digit numbers: a missing digit makes a 50 read as a much older tractor. Count the digits before you decode.
  • The 50 replaced the B — same size class, new number series starting at 5000001.

Sources: Steiner Tractor published Deere chart; Deere Tractors 1918–1976 serial list — identical starting numbers.

1946 or 1947? The disagreement, explained

Serial 577582 on a Model A: 1947 here, 1946 on sites copying Deere's abandoned fiscal-year list — the list with the misprinted 588817 that copyists "corrected" to 558817. Read the whole story.

The $39 Buyer's Check Kit

The decoder gives you the year. The kit gives you the rest of the check before money changes hands: serial-verification worksheets, the two-numbers check that catches swapped engines, year-split parts traps, and an inspection checklist for each family.

Included in the $39 Buyer's Check Kit

See what's inside