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| # | Code | Made | Age | Advice |
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Find the letters DOT on the sidewall. The code after them ends in four digits: the first two are the week and the last two the year it was made. 2219 means the 22nd week of 2019. The weeks run Sunday to Saturday, and week 01 is the first full week of the year.
The full code with the date may be on only one side of the tire, which can be the side facing the car. Look on both sides, or turn the wheel to the other side. The digits are often in a small oval at the end of the code.
Rubber ages even when the tread looks fine. NHTSA says some vehicle and tire manufacturers recommend replacing tires that are six to 10 years old, regardless of treadwear. Some tire makers, such as Michelin, also advise a yearly inspection once a tire has been in use for five years. Your vehicle's manual may give its own limit.
Tires made before mid-2000 used three digits: two for the week and one for the year, so 039 is the 3rd week of 1999, 1989 or earlier (tires from the 1990s may have a small triangle after the code). Four digits were required from July 2000, and some tires from late 1999 already have them. Either way a 3-digit tire is more than 25 years old and should be replaced.
The first two or three characters are the plant code, which says which factory made the tire. Plants assigned a code since 2015 have three characters, every tire made from April 13, 2025 uses a three-character code, and plants that already had a code got a 1 in front of it, so AB became 1AB. The rest, up to six characters, is the manufacturer's own code, often for the size and type of tire.
New tires can spend months or even a few years in a warehouse before they're sold, and no federal rule sets a limit. Their age counts from the date code, not the day you buy them, so check it and ask for the newest stock if it matters to you.
Yes, even if it has never touched the road. Spare tires are prone to aging because they seldom get replaced, so check the spare's code along with the other four.
Road tires sold in the US must carry the DOT code, and many tires sold elsewhere have it too, since makers often build one tire for many markets. The four-digit week-and-year date at the end reads the same way.
Free tire age checker: type the DOT code from a tire's sidewall, or just its last four digits, to see the week and year it was made, how old it is, whether it's due for replacement, and which factory made it. Check all four tires and the spare at once.