How to find out what year your outboard is
Every outboard has an identification plate or sticker on the clamp (transom) bracket, the part that clamps to the boat. It carries the model code and the serial number. Which one tells you the year depends on the brand:
| Brand | What gives the year | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Serial number, looked up in Mercury’s ranges for that horsepower; published up to 1996 [1][5] | 0D182000 on a 50 HP: 1993 |
| Yamaha | Last letter of the model code, 1984–2005 [11][12]; a date sticker after that [26] | E150EURA: 2002 |
| Johnson / Evinrude | Two letters in the model number spell the year with INTRODUCES = 1…0 (from 1980) [15][16] | J10ELENA: EN = 92 → 1992 |
| Suzuki | End of the model code (to 2010), and the serial’s first digit [19][21] | DF140TLK4: 2004 |
| Honda | Frame serial range or model code, from Honda’s own chronology (to 2006) [25] | BBBL-4410001: 2002 |
Each brand page explains its rules in full, with the complete tables and more worked examples.
Model year, not build date
The result is the model year the maker gave the motor. That isn’t necessarily the calendar year it was built, and it isn’t the year it was bought or first used. Newer Yamaha motors carry a production month and year on a sticker instead [26].
Why a motor can show more than one year
- Mercury’s serial ranges differ by horsepower, so the same serial can be a different year for a 9.9 HP and a 150 HP. Pick the horsepower to narrow it down.
- Suzuki serials hold only the last digit of the year, so 4 could be 1984, 1994, 2004 or 2014. Enter the model code too and the decoder keeps only the years both agree on.
- Yamaha used the letter D for both 1990 and 2005 [11], and Suzuki dropped a letter from some 1980s codes, so D, F, G and J each mean two years [19].
Where the numbers can’t settle it, this decoder lists every possible year rather than guessing. Each result also says how well the rule is supported: confirmed by at least two independent sources, or stated only by the maker (labelled “per Honda”, “per BRP” or “per Suzuki”).
What this decoder doesn’t cover
- Mercury motors from 1997 on: Mercury didn’t publish model-year ranges for them [5]. Newer serial stickers usually print the year.
- Yamaha model codes from 2006 on, which carry no year; read the production-date sticker on the starboard side of the bracket instead [26].
- Suzuki model codes from 2011 on (use the serial) and Honda motors after 2006.
- Evinrude model numbers before 1980, E-TEC G2 models, and other brands such as Tohatsu, Nissan, Chrysler/Force and Mariner.
Common questions
How do I tell what year my outboard motor is?
Find the plate on the clamp bracket, note the model code and serial number, and enter them above with the brand. If the plate or a sticker prints a model year or production date, that wins.
Where is the serial number on an outboard?
On the plate or sticker on the clamp (transom) bracket [19][26]. Suzuki also stamps the serial on the engine block [21].
Can I look up an outboard’s year online by serial number?
For older motors, yes: that’s what this page does with the makers’ published tables. For newer motors the makers keep the records in their dealer systems, so a dealer can look the serial up.
Is there a Mercury serial number letter that means the year?
Not reliably. Some sites claim that a serial’s letter (0D, 0G…) is a year, but Mercury’s own chart contradicts that: D000750 is the first 1991 serial, for example [1]. Use the horsepower and the full number.
Brand pages
- Mercury outboard serial number lookup: Serial number + horsepower → model year, 1963–1996 (Mercury didn’t publish later ranges).
- Yamaha outboard year lookup: Model-code year letters (1984–2005) and the Asia-Pacific plate letter.
- Johnson and Evinrude outboard year lookup: The INTRODUCES year code (1980 on) and Johnson’s 1969–79 model numbers.
- Suzuki outboard year lookup: Model-code year letters and K codes, plus the serial number’s year digit.
- Honda outboard serial number lookup: Frame serial ranges and model-code year characters from Honda’s chronology (to 2006).
Not affiliated with Mercury Marine, Yamaha, BRP (Evinrude, Johnson), Suzuki or Honda. Brand names are used only to say which numbers the decoder reads.
Sources
- Mercury Outboards (copy hosted by Inland Marine): Model year starting serial number chart, 1963 thru 1992 models (dated August 29, 1991; scanned copy)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 2.2–6 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 7.5–9.9 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 15–25 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 40 HP (4-cyl) – 50 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 60–100 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 115–150 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: 175–300 HP (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Mastertech Marine (maxrules.com): Mercury outboard model year guide: special hi-performance motors (chart thru 1996)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1963–1992); Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- Sea-Way Marine: Mercury model index, 1998 & before (PDF)Used for: Serial number in Mercury’s model-year ranges (1993–1996).
- eBasicPower.com (Basic Power): Yamaha Outboard Motor Identification: Frequently Asked QuestionsUsed for: Last letter of the model code (1984–2005).
- OBParts (Marine Parts Warehouse): Yamaha Outboard Model Year GuideUsed for: Last letter of the model code (1984–2005); Single letter on line 3 of the ID plate (Australian / Asia-Pacific motors).
- Murray Yacht Sales: Decoding Yamaha outboard motor model number and manufacture date (Stanton Murray, 2022-04-05)Used for: Last letter of the model code (1984–2005).
- Victory Outboard Parts Australia: Yamaha Outboard Serial Number Lookup & Model Code Guide (2026-04-14)Used for: Single letter on line 3 of the ID plate (Australian / Asia-Pacific motors).
- BRP (owner of the Evinrude and Johnson outboard brands): Model number designation and model listings, Johnson and Evinrude outboards 1913–2005 (operator’s guide library, document 8323)Used for: Year code + model-run letter (1980–2006); Year code at the end (small motors, 1980–1999); Year code, 2007–2012 (per BRP’s key); Johnson two-digit year (1969–1979).
- Leeroy’s Ramblings: Johnson & Evinrude 1979–2007 outboard motor model code explanation (updated 2021-02-22)Used for: Year code + model-run letter (1980–2006); Year code at the end (small motors, 1980–1999).
- Leeroy’s Ramblings: OMC 6 hp: model numbers by yearUsed for: Year code + model-run letter (1980–2006); Johnson two-digit year (1969–1979).
- continuousWave: Evinrude-Johnson Model Codes (James W. Hebert, 2020)Used for: Year code, 2007–2012 (per BRP’s key).
- Suzuki (Canada) service bulletin, copy on Yumpu uploaded by hullygully.com: Service Bulletin M09-03: Model & Model Year Identification, 1977–2009 model year outboards (2008-11-03)Used for: Last letter of the model code (1977–2000); K + digit at the end of the model code (2001–2010); First digit of the 6-digit serial (1980 on); Serial starting with C, D or F (1977–1979).
- Southcentral Outboards: Suzuki Model Year GuideUsed for: Last letter of the model code (1977–2000).
- Marine Parts Source: Identifying Suzuki Outboard Engines (2022-10-31)Used for: Last letter of the model code (1977–2000); K + digit at the end of the model code (2001–2010).
- Macomb Marine Parts: Suzuki Outboard Motor Serial Number Lookup: A Complete Guide (2026-03-09)Used for: Last letter of the model code (1977–2000); K + digit at the end of the model code (2001–2010).
- Browns Point Marine Service: Suzuki DF 140 model serial numbers (parts catalog lookup)Used for: K + digit at the end of the model code (2001–2010); First digit of the 6-digit serial (1980 on).
- American Honda Motor Co.: Model identification (revised December 2012)Used for: Year character after the model letter (1998–2006).
- American Honda Motor Co. (copy hosted by Honda Marine Poland): Model chronology: outboard motors, serial number ranges and introduction years (shop manual section 1, issued January 2005)Used for: Year character after the model letter (1998–2006); Frame serial number in Honda’s chronology (1978–2006).
- Yamaha Outboards: Owner Resources FAQs (production date and PID label)