DOT numbers are a series of numbers and letters which are mandated by the Department of Transportation to be displayed on every tire for a car or truck on the road. Being able to read the DOT codes will ensure you're purchasing a recently manufactured, fresh tire.
Locate the DOT numbers on the sidewall of the tire. These numbers are located on both sides of the tire, however, there is one side that will have the complete DOT number with the date stamp and will be 4-digits longer than the other side. Every DOT number begins with the letters DOT.
Read the next 2 numbers or letters. These are the plant code where the tire was manufactured. This information will only be useful if there is a recall on these tires.
Read the next 3 or 4 letters and numbers. These are simply marketing codes used at the discretion of the manufacturer.
Read the last 4 numbers. These will tell you when the tire was manufactured. The first 2 numbers of the date stamp represent the week of the year it was manufactured, and the last 2 digits are the year it was manufactured. A tire manufactured in the last week of 2008 would have the number 5208 as the last 4 digits in the DOT number sequence. This means the tire was manufactured in week 52 of the year 2008. The number 1208 would indicate the tire was manufactured in the twelfth week of 2008, and is not to be confused with December as the twelfth month.
