How to Find the Model Number on Any Appliance

You're on a service call. The customer says the dishwasher is leaking. You need the model number to pull up the service manual, look up the right parts, and figure out what you're dealing with. The customer shrugs. "I don't know, it came with the house."

Now you're hunting.

Every appliance has a model number. Manufacturers are required to label them. But they hide the rating plates in different spots depending on the brand, the appliance type, and apparently how much they enjoy watching technicians contort themselves.

Here's where to look — organized by appliance, because that's how you'll need this information in the field.

Refrigerators

Inside the fresh food compartment. Check the sidewall near the top — usually the left wall. Pull out any bins or shelves blocking your view. Samsung and LG almost always put it here.

On the door frame. Open the fridge door and look at the frame where the door seal meets the cabinet. Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Maytag favor this spot.

Behind the kick plate. Some GE and Frigidaire models put the rating plate behind the lower front panel. Pop off the kick plate and check with a flashlight.

On the back. Older models sometimes have the plate on the rear exterior panel. You'll need to pull the fridge out from the wall.

Washers

Under the lid or inside the door. For top-loaders, open the lid and check the underside or the rim of the tub opening. For front-loaders, open the door and check the door frame or the front face of the tub opening. This is the most common spot across brands.

Behind the front panel. Some Whirlpool and Maytag top-loaders put it on the back side of the front panel, visible only when you pull the panel forward.

On the back. Older units. You'll need to pull it away from the wall.

Dryers

Inside the door. Open the door and check the doorframe or the area around the lint filter opening. Most brands — Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, GE, Maytag — use this location.

On the back. More common on older dryers. Pull it out and look.

Behind the kick plate. Some GE models. Same drill as the fridge — pop off the lower panel.

Dishwashers

Inside the door, on the left or right side panel. Open the door all the way and look along the inside edges of the door or along the tub rim. This is where nearly every brand puts it.

On the kick plate area. Some models put a secondary label on the side of the tub, visible when you remove the lower front panel.

If you can't find it inside the door, check the top edge of the door itself.

Ranges and Ovens

Behind the storage drawer. Pull out the bottom storage drawer (or broiler drawer) and look at the frame underneath the oven cavity. This is the most common spot for freestanding ranges across all brands.

On the door frame. Open the oven door and check the front face of the frame, similar to where dishwashers hide theirs.

On the back. Slide-in and drop-in ranges sometimes have the plate on the rear panel. You'll need to pull the range out — make sure you know if it's gas (shut off the valve first) or electric (kill the breaker).

Microwaves

Inside the door frame. Open the door, check the left or right edge of the frame.

On the back. Very common for over-the-range microwaves. You may not be able to see it without unmounting the unit, but sometimes angling a phone camera behind it works.

Inside the cavity. Some models put a label on the inside wall of the microwave cavity, near the top or side.

What You're Looking For on the Rating Plate

The rating plate has a lot of information packed into a small sticker. Here's what matters for your diagnosis:

Model number — This is the big one. It's usually the longest alphanumeric code on the label. Examples: WFW9620HW0 (Whirlpool washer), RF28R7351SR/AA (Samsung fridge), FGES3065KFD (Frigidaire range).

Serial number — Useful for determining manufacturing date, which tells you the age of the appliance and sometimes which revision of the control board is installed.

Voltage and frequency — Tells you whether it's 120V or 240V, and the expected frequency (60Hz in the US). Useful if you're diagnosing a power issue.

Don't confuse the model number with the serial number, the UPC code, or the energy rating. The model number is what you type into any parts lookup or manual search.

When the Rating Plate Is Gone

It happens. Labels peel, fade, get painted over during kitchen renovations, or just vanish. When the rating plate is completely gone, you still have options:

Check the parts themselves. Major components like control boards, motors, and compressors have their own part numbers stamped on them. You can sometimes reverse-lookup the appliance model from a component part number.

Look for a date code or serial stamp. Even if the main label is gone, there's sometimes a serial number stamped into the metal frame of the appliance.

Check the owner's documents. Ask the customer if they have the purchase receipt, warranty card, or owner's manual. The manual always lists the model on the cover page.

Use your phone camera. If the label is faded but still partially there, take a photo and zoom in. Modern phone cameras can often pick up text that's invisible to the naked eye under bad lighting.

MyPros+ includes camera-based model number lookup — snap a photo of the rating plate and the AI reads it for you using OCR. No squinting at tiny text in a dark laundry room. It pulls the model number automatically and shows you every service document available for that unit.

The One-Minute Habit That Saves You Every Time

Before you do anything else on a service call — before you pull tools, before you listen to the customer's theory about what broke — find the model number and write it down. Or take a photo of the rating plate.

Make it the first thing you do every single time. It takes 60 seconds, and it means you have the exact information you need to look up parts, pull the service manual, and cross-reference symptoms.

The techs who struggle are the ones who get halfway through a diagnosis, realize they need the manual, and then spend ten minutes hunting for the model number with greasy hands and a customer watching.

Get the model number first. Everything else flows from there.

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