Dior runs one of the most compact batch-code schemes of any major luxury house. Four characters carry the year and the month: a year digit, then a month letter taken from one of two alphabets that alternate by decade. That second character is one of the most useful checks in fragrance — counterfeiters can copy a plausible-looking code, but they often pair a year with the wrong alphabet or use a letter Dior never prints, and the result predates the fragrance or fails to decode at all.
The 4-character scheme
The format has been stable since 1998: year digit + month letter + two lot characters. Pre-1998 Dior used 3 to 5 characters that also start with the year digit but have no month alphabet; the checker is not built for them and can misread them as a later date. They are uncommon in normal circulation but do show up on the vintage market.
The month letter comes from one of two alphabets, each skipping a letter that looks like a digit:
- A B C D E F G H J K L M = January to December, used in 1998–2007 and again from 2018 (I is skipped).
- N P Q R S T U V W X Y Z = January to December, used in 2008–2017 (O is skipped).
The year digit is the last digit of the year, and the alphabet tells you the decade: an N–Z letter can only mean 2008–2017, while an A–M letter means 1998–2007 or 2018–2027 and the decoder takes the most recent fit that is not in the future. The last two characters are the lot; they are not a day of the year. Some cartons add a character or two (a bottle reading 5T01 can sit in a box marked 5T1A1).
The launch-date check
This is what makes Dior interesting from an authentication perspective. Because the month letter pins the decade, a Dior code decodes to one specific month, and that month has to come after the fragrance launched. Sauvage launched in 2015, so a Sauvage code that decodes to 2012 is wrong for that bottle however clean the etch looks; the same goes for a Sauvage Elixir (2021) code that decodes to 2019.
The other quick check is the alphabet itself. Dior never prints I or O as the month letter, and a code whose letter is a digit, or whose first character is a letter, does not follow the scheme. The decoder answers those with "We couldn't read that code" rather than guessing a date.
Where the code lives
Default placement: underside of the bottle, laser-etched in sans-serif. The etch is shallow but consistent across modern production. The carton has a matching code printed on the bottom flap (not stickered — Dior prints directly onto the carton stock).
50 ml and travel-size SKUs sometimes carry the code on the atomiser collar instead of the underside, because the smaller bottles don't have enough flat surface for a clean etch. The format and decoding logic are identical wherever the code is placed.
A genuine Dior laser etch should be:
- Sans-serif, no exceptions
- Flush with the glass surface (you should not feel it under a fingernail)
- Sharp character edges (no blur, no smudge)
- 4 characters on the bottle: a digit, a letter, then two lot characters
A code on the bottle that starts with a letter, such as MA12, does not follow the Dior scheme and is almost always a counterfeit. A code with serif typography is a counterfeit. A code that smudges on contact is a counterfeit (probably an inkjet print under a clear lacquer rather than a real laser etch).
Worked examples
1L01decodes to November 2021. Year digit1, month letterL(November in the A–M alphabet, so 2021 rather than 2011), lot01.1R04decodes to April 2011. Year digit1, month letterR(April in the N–Z alphabet, which only runs 2008–2017), lot04. A Dior Homme Intense owner dated this exact code to April 2011.6A01decodes to January 2026. Year digit6, month letterA(January), lot01— a Sauvage Elixir code posted by an owner in 2026.
Counterfeit Dior in our intake database
Roughly 4% of Dior bottles arriving at intake fail at least one of the 12-point check from our methodology page. The most common fail signals on Dior, in order of frequency:
- A code that decodes to a date before the fragrance launched, or does not follow the year-digit + month-letter layout at all (about half of all rejections).
- Inkjet print under clear lacquer instead of true laser etch (roughly 30%).
- A month letter Dior never uses (I or O — auto-generated by counterfeit code scripts that didn't know the alphabets skip them).
- Bottle weight off by more than 10g against calibrated reference.
- Atomiser collar paint mismatch (Dior anodises; counterfeits paint).
For fresh stock, our Dior collection carries decants of Sauvage, Miss Dior, J'adore, Homme Intense, and the rest of the active Dior fragrance line, sourced from authorised distributors and authenticated at intake.
Reformulations and the date
Dior has reformulated several major fragrances over the last decade and the date alone won't tell you which formulation you have. Sauvage EDT has had at least two notable adjustments since launch (2015 and 2020); Miss Dior has been reformulated more than once; J'adore Eau Lumière and L'Or are sister formulations of the original J'adore that share the 4-character scheme. Use the decoded date as a starting point and cross-reference Reddit r/fragrance threads for the specific reformulation discussion if you care about a particular juice version.
