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Lot code and date code decoder
Paste a lot, batch or date code and the decoder lists every common date format it could be, with the date each reading gives, ranked by how sensible that date is today. Morsa’s server then looks for the maker’s published code format and explains the most likely reading and the formats it ruled out. It is a best-effort reading: only the maker can confirm what its own code means.
Updated October 12, 2026
A best-effort reading, not the maker’s answer. Formats vary by company, plant and product line, and only the maker can confirm what a code means. For food, drugs or safety recalls, check the maker’s notice or the regulator’s. Related: Julian date converter, shelf-life calculator.
How to read a lot code
Find the digits. Letters in a lot code usually mark a plant, line, shift or product, and the date hides in a run of digits.
Count them. Five digits is very often YYDDD, a two-digit year and a day of the year. Four can be a one-digit year and day (YDDD), or a week and year (WWYY). Six or eight are usually a calendar date in some order.
Check each reading against reality. A production date is usually in the recent past; an expiry date is usually ahead. A reading that lands ten years away is probably the wrong one.
Confirm with the maker. Companies publish their code formats on product or FAQ pages, and their customer service can read a code for you.
Common generic date-code formats
| Format | Example | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| YYDDD | 26032 | 2026, day 32: February 1, 2026 |
| YDDD | 6032 | Year ending in 6, day 32: February 1, 2026 or 2016 |
| WWYY | 0526 | Week 05 of 2026. Tires use this order by federal rule |
| YYMMDD | 260201 | February 1, 2026 |
| MMDDYY | 020126 | February 1, 2026 in US order |
| DDMMYY | 010226 | February 1, 2026 in day-first order |
| CYYDDD | 126032 | JD Edwards form: February 1, 2026 |
Six-digit codes are the hardest: 050626 is May 6, 2026 in US order and June 5, 2026 in day-first order. The decoder shows both when both are real dates.
What the best-effort reading does and does not do
It ranks only the readings the decoder already computed. It cannot invent a date.
It never states a company’s format from memory. Add a brand and it looks for the maker’s own page about its codes, or reads the link you give, then quotes the sentence it relied on. The quote is checked against the page before it is shown, with a link to that page.
The code, brand and link are sent to Morsa’s server to check them, and are not stored or logged. We count how many readings run, not what they contain.
Is it a production date or an expiry date?
The code itself rarely says. As a rule of thumb, a Julian date inside a lot code is usually when the product was made or packed, and a calendar date printed next to words such as BEST BY or EXP is the expiry. Type the product’s shelf life in the optional field and each reading also shows the expiry date and the days left, taking the code as the production date. The shelf-life calculator does the same for one date and shows the share of shelf life left.
Questions
Can this tell me a specific brand’s code format?
Only when the maker’s own page states it. Add the brand and the decoder looks for that page, or give the link yourself; it then quotes the page and links to it. Otherwise it shows generic readings and says which is most likely.
Why are there several possible dates?
The same digits fit more than one format. 0526 can be week 5 of 2026 or May 2026, and a five-digit code like 26032 could be a Julian date or part of something longer. The ranking favors dates close to today.
WHERE MORSA FITS
Supplier dates slipping?
Morsa is an AI COO for operations. It chases suppliers and open purchase orders, keeps delivery dates honest and warns you before a shortage stops a line, in email, Teams, WhatsApp or whatever your team already runs on, connected to your ERP.
