A supported Hot Wheels base code can help you interpret when an example was manufactured. It does not, by itself, identify the casting, annual release, variation or value. First copy the complete marking and keep it separate from the copyright date and product number.
Four fields that answer different questions
- Copyright marking
- Record the molded copyright text as written. Do not automatically enter that date as the release year.
- Production code
- The stamped, printed or etched code being interpreted. Preserve extra characters and uncertainty.
- Release year
- The year established by the exact catalog or package reference for the edition.
- Product or toy number
- A product identifier. Keep it distinct from collector numbering and any assortment or set code.
Year-letter chart for the familiar weekly format
For the common letter-and-two-digit format, collectors read the leading letter as a year and the two digits as a production week. The chart below follows the collector-maintained year list on Mattel's community forum through 2022 and the Hot Wheels Wiki base-code reference for subsequent years. A forum hosted by Mattel is not the same as a manufacturer certification.
| Letter | Production year |
|---|---|
| A | 2008 |
| B | 2009 |
| C | 2010 |
| D | 2011 |
| E | 2012 |
| F | 2013 |
| G | 2014 |
| H | 2015 |
| J | 2016 |
| K | 2017 |
| L | 2018 |
| M | 2019 |
| N | 2020 |
| P | 2021 |
| R | 2022 |
| S | 2023 |
| T | 2024 |
| U | 2025 |
| V | 2026 |
How to use the chart
- Locate and photograph the marking. Keep the complete base and a close-up. Record whether the code is on the vehicle or its packaging.
- Check the format. Apply the chart only to the supported year-letter and week component. Do not force a numeric-only mark or a differently structured code into it.
- Keep every character. If a suffix is present, retain it in the transcription. Do not assign a factory or country to an extra letter without evidence for that format.
- Compare the release. Check the car, package and exact catalog entry together. Manufacture and the catalog's release year need not be the same.
- Save the evidence. Store the photograph, the literal code, the interpretation, the source and any uncertainty.
Worked example: in this format, T14 indicates production week 14 of 2024. That interpretation does not establish which casting or retail release the code belongs to. This is an explanation of the format, not a verified record of a particular specimen.
What to do with an unfamiliar code
Leave an unreadable or unsupported code unresolved. Photograph it under different light before deciding whether a character is a letter or number. Longer, numeric-only or unusual markings require their own reference. This chart does not decode every Mattel product line, plant marking or packaging code.
Do not replace a questionable character with the one that produces the year you expected. Keep your literal transcription and interpretation separate, so another collector can challenge the reading without losing the original evidence.
Why a code does not prove a variation or a price
A difference in production code is a useful observation. To describe a distinct variation, document the physical difference and compare examples of the relevant release. To estimate value, identify the exact version and examine comparable completed sales with dates, currency, packaging and condition. This chart assigns no premium to an early week, an unusual character or a missing code.
Use the code within a complete identification
Continue to the casting and variation identification guide, compare wheel details, and use the annual list directory to research a candidate release year. Search the Hot Wheels Wiki by the casting or product identifier rather than treating a date code as a unique vehicle ID.
If a record's date interpretation is wrong, follow the research submission instructions and include its URL, the code as written, a clear photograph and the reference supporting your correction.
Reviewed October 19, 2026. Scope: the year-letter series shown, through V/2026. Later letters and unsupported formats remain outside this chart until documented.
