Where Is the Model Number on a Refrigerator?

It is almost never on the front. Here is exactly where the label hides on each fridge style and brand, and how to find the number when the sticker is gone.

Our fridge stopped making ice on a Sunday. The water filter was the obvious suspect, and every filter on the store's website came with the same question: "Enter your refrigerator model number." I stood there with the door open for a solid minute before I found it, behind a gallon of milk, on a sticker I had looked past for three years.

So here is the short version I wish I had that day: where the label sits on each style of fridge, where each big brand puts it, and what to do when the sticker is gone.

Where to look, by fridge style

The style of your fridge narrows the search faster than the brand does. Start with the first spot listed and work down.

Top freezer

Open the fresh food section, the bottom one. Check the upper left or right side wall, near the front edge. On older units the label sometimes sits on the ceiling next to the light. If both are bare, look inside the freezer on its side walls.

Bottom freezer

Same idea, flipped. The label lives in the fresh food section on top, usually on a side wall near the top. Whirlpool lists the top left of the food compartment as the first place to check.

French door

Open the left door and look at the side wall of the fresh food section, up high. If you see nothing, check the ceiling just inside the doors, and the edge of the cabinet frame that the left door closes against.

Side-by-side

Open the fresh food side, which is the right door, and check the upper side wall. Some models put it on the freezer side instead, so give the left wall a look before you pull anything out.

Built-in, quad door, and column

Built-ins hide it better. KitchenAid says built-in models carry it inside the refrigerator on the left wall. Its quad door models use either the ceiling of the fresh food section or the back panel. Column units often put it behind the lowest drawer.

Mini fridge

Check the back first. Compact fridges usually carry a printed sticker on the rear panel or underneath, because the inside has no room for one.

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Refrigerator model number location by brand

Each manufacturer has a favorite spot. This table uses the brands' own support pages where they publish one.

Two quick checks once you find it. GE says its model numbers always begin and end with a letter, so if yours ends in a digit, you are probably reading the serial. Ours is a GE Profile, model PYE23PSDCSS: P at the front, S at the end. The serial printed right under it starts with letters and ends in digits. And Kenmore numbers start with a three digit prefix like 106 or 795 that tells you who actually built the fridge. Our appliance model number finder decodes those prefixes and covers every other appliance in the house.

No sticker? How to find it anyway

Labels peel. Kids pick at them. A previous owner scrubbed one off with a sponge. If the inside label is gone or unreadable, you still have five ways in.

1. The back panel. Most fridges carry a second rating label on the rear. Lay a towel under the front feet, slide it out slowly, and unplug it before you reach behind.
2. Behind the kick plate. The grille at the bottom front either clips off or comes off with two screws. Some brands put a label there.
3. The owner's manual or the energy guide. The yellow EnergyGuide sticker and the manual cover both list the model. If you lost the manual, our guide to finding any appliance manual online shows where to look.
4. Your order history. Search your email for the retailer's receipt or delivery confirmation. Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy order pages list the exact model.
5. The manufacturer, by serial number. If only the serial survived, the brand's support line can usually look up the model from it.

Model number vs serial number

The label prints both, close together, and they do different jobs.

• Model number names the design. Every fridge of that model shares it. Parts, filters, and manuals key off this one.
• Serial number names your specific unit. It encodes when and where it was built. Warranty claims, registration, and recall checks ask for this one.

Watch for one trap. Some inside labels print a shortened model number that drops the last few characters, the part that marks color or revision. A water filter usually fits anyway. A door bin or an ice maker might not. When a parts site rejects your number, check the label on the back for the full version.

a saved item in kept: model, price, purchase date, and the warranty window, all on one card.

Why you'll need it sooner than you think

A fridge is a 13 year purchase on average, according to the National Association of Home Builders study on home component life. That is a lot of filter changes and at least one repair call.

Water filters. Most makers suggest a new filter every six months. Every filter search starts with the model number.

Repairs. Angi puts the typical refrigerator repair at $200 to $300. The tech will ask for the model before quoting a part, and a wrong guess means a second trip charge.

Warranty and recalls. Claims need the serial and the purchase date. Recall notices list affected model ranges, and you can search yours free against the CPSC and FDA databases with our recall check tool. If you want to know whether you are still covered, here is how to check an appliance warranty with or without the receipt.

Save it once, skip the search forever

I did the dumb thing for years: found the number, used it, forgot it. Then I needed it again eighteen months later for the next filter.

Now I scan the label or the filter box with kept. It reads the barcode or the text, files the model and serial under the fridge, and keeps the purchase date next to it. When the next filter is due, I ask kept "what filter does my fridge take?" and it answers from my own saved items.

scanning the label inside our GE Profile fridge. kept pulls the model and serial straight off it.

The same goes for the dishwasher next to it. Its label hides in a different place, and we wrote up where to find a dishwasher model number by brand too.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the model number on a refrigerator?

On most refrigerators the model number is on a label inside the fresh food compartment, high on the left or right side wall near the front. If it is not there, check the ceiling of the fridge, the wall above the crisper drawers, and the edge of the door frame. The back panel is the last place to look, and it often shows the complete model number when the inside label is shortened.

Where is the model number on a Samsung refrigerator?

Samsung puts the main label on the outside of the fridge, low on the left side near the front. A second label sits inside the refrigerator compartment on the side wall above the top shelf. Both show the model code and the serial number.

How do I find my refrigerator model number without the sticker?

Check the back panel and behind the kick plate for a second label. If both are gone, look at the owner's manual, the yellow EnergyGuide sticker, or your retailer order confirmation, which lists the exact model. If only the serial number survived, the manufacturer's support line can usually look up the model from it.

Is the serial number the same as the model number on a fridge?

No. The model number identifies the design and is shared by every fridge of that model, so you use it for parts, filters, and manuals. The serial number identifies your individual unit and when it was built, so warranty claims, registration, and recall checks ask for it. Both are printed on the same label.

Where is the model number on a French door refrigerator?

Open the left door and check the side wall of the fresh food section near the top. If it is not there, look at the ceiling just inside the doors and the edge of the cabinet frame where the left door closes. On some quad door and built-in models the label is on the back panel instead.