What does my serial number mean?

UPDATED AS OF 3-28-2018

Q:  What does my serial number mean?

A: Nothing is more frustrating than to know little or nothing about the firearm you own or are about to buy.  Use the information in this page to help determine when your Olympic Arms firearm was produced.  Please read THE ENTIRE PAGE before writing or calling for more information. Most of your questions can be answered with the following information. 

FIRE: The Reason for our Limited Information Database:
As many of you already know, on the 7th of June, 2000, Olympic Arms experienced a devastating fire that destroyed our assembly area, inventory space, and sales offices. In those offices were housed our current as well as archival records with regards to manufacture, acquisition and distribution of firearms. The books that we, as well as all federally licensed firearms dealers are required to keep are commonly known as "Bound Books", or "A&D" (acquisition & distribution) books.

These books, over 25 years of Olympic Arms history and data (to that date), were completely and 100% destroyed in that fire. All A& D book records prior to the 7th of June, 2000 are GONE. Period. Agents of the BATFE were on site as the ashes cooled to verify that these records were inb afct destroyed. This is an unfortunate situation that severely limits our ability to provide product information for any and all firearms produced by Olympic Arms including AR-15 lower receivers and/or complete AR products, as well as bolt-cation rifles and receivers, as well as Safari Arms 1911 handguns and frames manufactured and sold prior to that date. 

What we CAN Provide:
As a result all that we can provide is what you see below, a date "range" in which your serial number was manufactured.

• We CANNOT provide you with the EXACT date the serial number manufactured. 
• We CANNOT provide the exactr date the serial number was shipped.
• We CANNOT provide you with information determining whether a particular serial number was a factory assembled firearm or sold as a stripped receiver.
• We CANNOT tell you into what configuration/model that your serial number was assembled into.
• We CANNOT determine whether or not your particular serial number is a legal grandfathered pre-ban firearm as it pertains to many current (unconstitutional) State laws. 

What Does This List Show Me?
Below you will see a list of serial numbers. At Olympic Arms, we group our serial numbered lowers into "ranges". These serial number ranges are based on the first and last serial numbers as recorded in our hard copy A&D (Bound Book) ledgers. Eachg ledger has a start date and a start serial number that are recorded on the cover opf each ledger. This is how these ranges are then categorized. 

Prior to our fire, the process had begun to record all the information from our paper historical bound book ledgers into an electronic database. All that had been recorded to that date were simply the cover information (start date/start serial number, end date, last serial number) recorded in each ledger. This is the information you see listed below. 

If you'll notice, all the serial number ranges have a letter prefix but one. The initial receivers made by Olympic Arms simply contain a 4 digit serial number, no letter prefix. Each subsequent serial number range (either beginning with 0001, or 1001) will show a 1 or 2 letter prefix. Coincidentally, you may note that these receivers were made from billet aluminum, making Olympic Arms the first manufacturer of billet lower receivers for the AR15. 

Additionally, you will see several lines for serial numbers that begin with the same letter(s) prefix. These prefix series are divided by a date range to their right. These date ranges are the beginning and ending dates of the physical paper ledgers in which those numbers were recorded. In other words, the ledger books were not large enough to contain all of the numbers (0001-9999) from any particular serial number series in one book. For that reason, there is a beginning date and end date for each ledger. That is what you see below.

SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT NOTE: If your receiver's serail number or model number incorporates a 'date stamp', in either the serial number area or model number area, it is a POST-BAN RECEIVER REGARDLESS OF THE DATES LISTED ON THE LIST BELOW.

This date-stamp when used in conjunction with the serial number will be seen in the form of "95.Hxxxx", "94.Vxxx", "95.BLXXXX", or similar. These date stamps may also be seperated from the balance of the serial number by a 'dot' or dash. These numbers will look like: "95.xxxx", or "94-Vxxxx" or similar.

Date stamps may also be incorporated into the MODEL NUMBER of the unit. They would be seen in the formula of: "MFR 94" or "OA93-95" or similar.

This is important, as several serial number series were in production when the 1994 Clinton Era Crime Bill went into effect September 13, 2004. For this reason SOME of those serial numbers were grandfathered in as "Pre-ban" serial numbers, and some were not. Those that were not grandfathered, then received a DATE STAMP that was incorporated into the model number or serial number as exlained.

If you have any questions regarding the interpretation of the markings on your lower, please feel free to send a picture of the left sidfe of the recoiver or any and all of the markings on your lower to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We'll be happy to take a look at the pics and give you some assistance.

Match your receiver up with the letter prefixes on the chart below. Each line is separated into 5 columns.

Column 1: The serial number itself (including prefix).

Column 2: The beginning serial number in that book.

Column 3: The beginning date for that book. If there is only one date listed after the serial numbers in column 2 and/or 2, all of those numbers were manufactured on that same day.

Column 4: End date for that book.

Column 5: Comments regarding that range of serial numbers. The comments as listed would apply to all of the serial numbers with the prefix listed to the left.