Your appliance model number is printed on a rating plate attached to the machine itself, usually somewhere that only shows when a door, lid or drawer is open. It is not the name on the front of the machine. Where the plate sits changes with the type of appliance and it also changes with the manufacturer, so there is no single place to tell you to look. Start by opening the door and reading the frame, the liner and the inside edge of the opening. If it is not there, go to your manufacturer's own model number locator, because they publish the position for each of their product lines.
That last point is the reason this page is written the way it is. Plenty of guides give one confident answer per appliance. Compare two manufacturers' own published documentation and the confident answer stops being true.
Why the model number is the thing that unlocks everything
It is worth knowing what you get for the two minutes of looking.
Parts. Spare parts are matched to a model, not to a brand or a product family. The same manufacturer will run several drain pumps, several door seals and several ice maker assemblies across machines that look identical from the front. Ordering a part on the strength of the brand name is how people end up with a component that does not fit, which is a real cost on something like an ice maker that has stopped making ice, where the part is the whole repair.
The manual. Manufacturer support sites index manuals by model number, and the manual is where the model-specific answers live: whether your dishwasher is supposed to hold a little standing water, where your particular fridge's condenser coils are, what your washer's error codes mean.
Recalls. Recall notices are published against specific model numbers and serial ranges, because that is the only precise way to identify the affected machines. In the United States, recalls are published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission at cpsc.gov. Without the model number you cannot check, and a brand name alone will not tell you.
Warranty and service. Every manufacturer service line asks for the model and serial number before anything else. Having both to hand turns a long call into a short one.
Age. The serial number often encodes when the machine was built, which is the number that actually matters when you are deciding whether to repair or replace it.
The name on the front is not the model number
This trips up more people than the location does.
The word on the door is the brand. The word next to it is often a marketing series name. Neither is the model number. A model number is a code, typically a mix of letters and digits, and it is only ever printed on the rating plate, in the manual and on the original packaging or receipt.
Two manufacturers publish rules of thumb for their own codes, which is useful when you are staring at a plate covered in numbers and trying to work out which one you need:
- GE Appliances states on its model and serial number locator, read 2026-09-07, that "GE and GE Profile model numbers ALWAYS begin and end with a letter."
- LG states, read 2026-09-07, that "LG product model numbers always start with a letter while the serial number starts with 3 numbers."
Those rules apply to those brands only. Do not carry them across to a third one.
Where to look, by appliance type
Use this as a starting point, then confirm against your own manufacturer's locator.
Refrigerators. Open the fresh food compartment and read the side walls near the top. Frigidaire's owner support states that on a top freezer model "the model number can be seen along the upper left side wall of the fresh food compartment," and that on French door and side-by-side models it "can be seen along the upper right side of the fresh food compartment." LG says that on most of its refrigerators "the model and serial number are located inside the refrigerator on the right hand side of the liner," and on newer models on the left. If it is on neither wall, check the ceiling of the compartment, behind the crisper drawer and behind the kickplate at the bottom front. Knowing the model also tells you which coil layout you have, which is the first thing you need before cleaning refrigerator coils, because on some machines they are on the back and on others underneath.
Dishwashers. Open the door fully and read the edge of the door itself and the rim of the tub. Frigidaire places it "either along the interior side of the door or along the right side of the tub of the dishwasher." LG says "the tag is located on the right side of the door, when opened." This is the plate you want in hand before you start work on a dishwasher that will not drain, because filter design, air gap requirements and standing-water behavior all vary by model.
Washing machines. For a front-loader, open the door and read the panel around the drum opening: LG describes "a silver label on the front panel behind the door," and Frigidaire says "the model number can be seen along the trim of the door." For a top-loader, lift the lid and look at the back of the tub opening, which is where Frigidaire puts it, or check the rear panel near the top and the upper corner of the side panel, which is where LG says its own top-loaders carry it.
Dryers. This is the clearest example of why one answer does not fit. Frigidaire says its dryers carry the number "along the top of the door opening." LG says its dryers carry it on "a silver label on the front panel behind the door," in the same position as its washers. Same appliance class, two different published positions. Open the door and read all the way around the opening.
Ranges and wall ovens. Open the oven door and read the interior side trim, then the storage or warming drawer if there is one. Frigidaire lists three possibilities on a range: the interior side trim of the oven, the left-side panel, or the front frame of the storage drawer panel. LG lists the left side of the door, behind the headboard panel, the left frame of the bottom drawer, and beneath the upper lip of the top oven.
Freezers. Frigidaire places it on the interior side trim of an upright freezer, and on a chest freezer "along the left exterior wall, above the access panel."
Range hoods, microwaves and anything mounted overhead. Look underneath, with the filters or the grease screens removed, and on the inside of the door on an over-the-range microwave. If a range hood has stopped working, the model plate is usually visible the moment the filters are out.
How to read the plate once you have found it
The plate carries several numbers and only one of them is the model.
Model number. The code you need for parts, manuals and recalls. Usually the largest or the most prominently labeled.
Serial number. Unique to your individual machine. Warranty registration and service records use it, and it often encodes the build date. LG publishes its own scheme: its serial numbers start "with 3 numbers (first one indicating year of manufacturing followed by 2-digits identifying the month)." Other manufacturers use different schemes, so read yours against that maker's documentation rather than assuming.
Electrical and rating data. Voltage, frequency, current, and on a gas appliance the gas type and input rating. This is the information an installer or technician needs, and it is not something to act on yourself.
Certification marks. The listing marks show which safety standards the machine was certified against. If you are checking whether an appliance is suitable for a particular installation, that is a question for the manual and the installer, not for a home guide.
Photograph the whole plate rather than copying out a string of characters. Character-transcription mistakes are common on these plates: 0 and O, 1 and I, 5 and S. A photo with the flash on takes seconds and it is right the first time.
If the plate is missing or unreadable
Rating plates in laundry rooms and under sinks fade, get painted over, or come off entirely. Three routes remain, in order.
- The paperwork. The model number is on the original invoice, the delivery note, the warranty registration and the manual. Retailer order histories usually list it too, which is often the fastest route for anything bought online.
- A second plate. Many appliances carry the number in more than one place, commonly on the rear panel or the underside as well as inside the door.
- The manufacturer. Support lines can often identify a machine from the serial number alone, or from the date of purchase and the retailer.
What not to do is guess. A part ordered against a guessed model is a part that does not fit, and on a safety-related component it is worse than that.
A two-minute habit worth having
The moment to find these numbers is not the moment the machine breaks.
Walk around the house once with a phone, photograph the rating plate on every major appliance, and put the images in one album or folder. Fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washer, dryer, range, oven, microwave, range hood, water heater. When something fails, you have the number without lying on a wet floor with a flashlight, and if you ever need to check a recall notice you can do it from the sofa.
FAQ
Where is the model number on a washing machine? On a front-loader, open the door and read the panel around the drum opening or the door trim. LG describes a silver label on the front panel behind the door; Frigidaire says the number is along the trim of the door. On a top-loader, lift the lid and look at the back of the tub opening, the rear panel near the top, or the upper corner of the side panel.
Is the model number the same as the serial number? No. The model number identifies the product line and is what parts, manuals and recalls are indexed against. The serial number identifies your individual machine and often encodes its build date. LG states that its model numbers start with a letter while its serial numbers start with three digits, the first being the year of manufacture.
Why do different guides give different locations for the same appliance? Because manufacturers put the plate in different places. Frigidaire publishes the dryer model number as being along the top of the door opening; LG publishes its dryer label as being on the front panel behind the door. Both are correct for their own machines, which is why the maker's own locator beats a general rule.
What if the label has worn away? Check the original invoice, the delivery note, the warranty registration or the manual, then look for a second plate on the rear panel or underside, then call the manufacturer's support line, which can often identify the machine from the serial number or the purchase details. Do not guess a model number to order a part.
Do I need the model number to check for a recall? Yes, in practice. Recalls are published against specific model numbers and serial ranges. In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission publishes them at cpsc.gov, and a brand name on its own will not tell you whether your machine is included.
I don't sell appliances or spare parts, which is why this page sends you to your own manufacturer's documentation rather than telling you the number is always in one place. More about how this site works is on the page about why I started House Tweaks.
