Where Is the Model Number on My Faucet? A Brand-by-Brand Guide [2026]

Where is the model number on my faucet? Before you look anywhere else, know that it’s rarely on the shiny part you see every day. Manufacturers tuck it on the back of the spout, under a removable handle cap, on a tag zip-tied to the supply line, or buried in a box you probably recycled years ago — and if you guess wrong about what you’re reading, you can order a part that looks right and still doesn’t fit.

Moen’s own identification guide points to four places for the model number: the product, the packaging, the receipt, or the installation guide. Moen Sink Faucets identification guide

This guide walks through where the model number actually hides on a faucet — in order from easiest to check to most involved — across Moen, Delta, Kohler, and Pfister, plus a note on American Standard and no-name fixtures. It also covers the numbers that get mistaken for a model number, what to do when nothing is stamped anywhere, and when it’s cheaper to pay a plumber for a 30-minute identification visit than to keep guessing.

Quick answer. Check, in order: the back of the spout or front curve under the spout, a removable handle cap (unscrew or pop off, then look underneath), a tag zip-tied to the supply lines under the sink, the original box or installation sheet, and — as a last resort — the cartridge itself once the faucet is apart. A red or blue button and a code reading A112.18.1 are not model numbers. Moen Sink Faucets identification guide

Where Is the Model Number on My Faucet? Method 1 — Check the Faucet Body and Handle First

Start with the fixture itself before you touch anything else. Moen says kitchen faucets may carry a number on the back of the water spout, lavatory (bathroom sink) faucets may have a series of numbers on the front curve underneath the spout, and some Moen faucets have a removable handle cap — imprinted with the Moen name — with a number engraved on the underside (Moen Sink Faucets identification guide). To read it, pop or unscrew the cap off. Kohler’s guidance points the same direction: product identification often comes from numbers stamped directly on the product, in addition to packaging, literature, or spec sheets (Kohler service parts).

Pfister’s model number is typically an 8-character-style code such as F-529-7AYY, and while it’s usually printed on the box and instruction manual, it’s worth checking the fixture body first since Pfister organizes its whole support flow around that code once you have it. Pfister parts support

Before you commit to a number as “the model,” rule out two common false positives. Moen specifically warns that a red or blue plug button is a generic hot/cold symbol used by multiple manufacturers, not a brand or model marker — and that a code reading A112.18.1, which can appear stamped on a spout, an aerator, or a spray wand, is not a model number at all. Moen Sink Faucets identification guide That single mix-up sends a lot of homeowners into a manufacturer’s parts search with the wrong string of characters.

If your fixture is a Delta, the same “check the body first” logic applies; in our view, the thing to watch is that Delta’s model numbers and its RP-prefixed replacement-part numbers are easy to confuse. That distinction — and how to decode a Delta model number segment by segment once you find it — gets its own deep walkthrough in how to read a Delta faucet model number.

Method 2 — Look Under the Sink for Tags, Stickers, and Supply-Line Labels

If nothing on the visible fixture gives you a clean number, go under the sink next — this is often the single best place to find the model number on a faucet less than fifteen years old. Moen’s identification guide lists “Packaging/Sticker” as a direct model-number source and shows original-box, UPC, retail-box, wholesale-box, and sticker examples as valid places to look (Moen Sink Faucets identification guide). Even with the box long gone, check under the sink: a sticker or tag may still be attached to a supply line or the underside of the sink deck.

Kohler’s guidance backs the same approach: product identification may come from packaging, literature, or specification sheets in addition to a stamped number on the product itself, which puts under-sink tags and paperwork on equal footing with decorative trim guesses — and often ahead of them, since decorative trim rarely carries the full model code (Kohler service parts). Pfister’s support flow works the same way once you have that packaging in hand: its parts support page is built to take a known model number directly, and its cartridge FAQ points back to the packaging and instruction manual as the source for that number (Pfister parts support).

Method 3 — Check the Box, Receipt, or Installation Guide

If the fixture and the area under the sink both come up empty, the paper trail is next. Moen’s identification guide lists the original installation guide as a valid source, noting the model information typically appears under the product description, under the faucet picture, or in the top-right corner of the sheet (Moen Sink Faucets identification guide). Pfister says the same thing about its own instruction manuals: the product model number is shown right below the product name, and once you have it, the “Installation & Support” section on Pfister’s site opens the parts diagram and helps identify the cartridge (Pfister parts support).

Receipts and invoices count too, especially for a faucet bought through a home center, wholesaler, builder, or remodeler — Moen lists both as valid identification sources (Moen Sink Faucets identification guide). If all you can find is a SKU or UPC code rather than a true model number, that’s not nothing: Moen says SKU and UPC numbers are retailer-oriented codes that can sometimes be searched online, or supplied directly to Moen support for help pinning down the model (Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification).

Method 4 — Use the Manufacturer’s Official Lookup Tool

Every major faucet brand runs a parts-lookup tool built around a known model number, and most now accept a photo when the model number itself is the thing you’re missing. Delta’s “Find Parts and Identify Your Product” tool takes a known model number and routes straight to that product’s parts page — or, if you don’t have a model number at all, lets you browse by issue type (leaks, hose problems, low flow, touch-technology issues, handle trouble) instead. Delta Find Parts and Identify Your Product

Moen’s Faucet Finder goes a step further: upload a clear photo with the faucet as the main subject, and if it’s a Moen product, the tool can automatically suggest a model number (Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification). Kohler offers a comparable photo-upload tool called Scout, though Kohler explicitly labels it a beta feature — worth trying, but worth double-checking against the actual parts diagram before you order anything (Kohler service parts). Pfister’s tool leans on filters instead of photos: pick faucet category, finish, and price/style if the exact model number is unknown, then confirm the match by opening “Installation & Support” on the matching product (Pfister parts support).

Once you’ve got a candidate model or part number from any of these tools, run it through our free Repair Finder to cross-check the match before you buy — it’s a quick second opinion that can save a return trip to the hardware store if the manufacturer’s suggestion turns out to be ambiguous.

Method 5 — Identify by the Cartridge Once the Faucet Is Apart

Sometimes the honest answer to “where is the model number on my faucet” is “nowhere you can see without taking it apart.” This is common on tub and shower valves, where the visible trim identifies the decorative collection but not necessarily the cartridge or rough-in valve behind it. Moen’s own guidance for this scenario says to shut off the water first, cover the drain, and use a 3/32-inch hex wrench and a flashlight to expose the cartridge nut for a visual ID. Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification

Here’s a fact worth knowing before you start: none of the major manufacturers publish a homeowner-facing formula for decoding a faucet serial number into a manufacture date the way some appliance makers do. Delta’s product-registration page says warranty claims can only be processed with a valid serial number, and it doesn’t explain how to read one. Delta Find Parts and Identify Your Product So for identification purposes, focus on physical generation cues instead of chasing a date code that isn’t published.

Moen’s own example shows exactly how useful those physical cues are. Three visually similar Moen service kits — the 1255, the 150257, and the 160657 — share the same cartridge, handle screw, and hex wrench, but use cartridge nuts that are not interchangeable: the 1255 uses a hexagonal black non-metallic nut, the 150257 uses a hexagonal brass nut, and the 160657 uses a black non-metallic nut with two flat sides (Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification). So two faucets that look alike from the outside can need different parts once you see the nut under the handle, which is why guessing from the trim style alone is a risk.

Where Is the Model Number on My Faucet? Brand-by-Brand Cheat Sheet

What to Do If You Still Can’t Find a Model Number

If the fixture is unmarked, the tags are gone, and the paperwork never survived a move, take clear photos before you disassemble anything further. Both Moen’s Faucet Finder and Kohler’s Scout tool are built around a usable photo. Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification Kohler service parts Danco

Photograph the full fixture, the handle straight-on, the back of the spout, the underside, the supply-line area, and — once removed — the cartridge itself.

If the faucet is already apart, identify the cartridge, stem, or valve body instead of guessing from the trim. Pfister’s cartridge section supports a direct search by known part number or by visual matching against thumbnail images and exact specifications. Pfister parts support Universal parts from a source like Danco are a reasonable fit for small external items — aerators, O-rings, common washers — where dimensions are easy to confirm by eye, but they’re a poor bet for a hidden pressure-balance cartridge or a touch-technology valve, where the wrong “close enough” part can fail outright. Danco

At some point, replacing the whole fixture beats continuing to chase an identification dead end — particularly when the finish is failing, the fixture is an unbranded import with no parts diagram anywhere, or the valve body itself looks corroded. For a shower or tub valve specifically, replacement is more invasive because the rough-in valve is behind the wall, so a confirmed cartridge swap is usually the better move if the valve body itself is sound.

When to Call a Plumber for ID

Some identification jobs cross the line from “look and confirm” into live plumbing work — and that’s when it’s worth paying for help rather than pushing through alone. Call a plumber when the water needs to be shut off to see a cartridge nut, a handle is stuck, a shutoff valve won’t fully close, shower trim has to come off to expose the valve, or you suspect the leak is happening behind a wall rather than under a sink.

Moen’s own instructions for cartridge-nut identification start with shutting off the water supply and covering the drain — a sign that “just looking” can turn into a real plumbing task fast. Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification

A short identification visit is often cheaper than buying the wrong part twice, especially once you’re dealing with a case like Moen’s 1255/150257/160657 group, where three similar-looking kits use non-interchangeable nuts (Moen 1255/150257/160657 cartridge identification). HomeGuide puts most plumbers’ minimum service call-out fee or flat rate at $50 to $200 (HomeGuide plumber cost guide), though that depends heavily on your market and on whether repair work happens during the same visit, so treat it as an estimate, not a quote.

What to Do Next

Once you’ve confirmed where the model number is on your faucet — and which of the numbers you found is actually the model, not a part number or a standards code — the rest of a repair gets a lot more predictable. For the broader, five-method walkthrough of identifying a faucet’s brand and model from scratch, see how to identify faucet brand and model. If your fixture turned out to be a Delta, how to read a Delta faucet model number breaks down exactly what those segments mean once you’ve found the number.

For everything else in a faucet repair — from diagnosing a leak to replacing a cartridge once you know which one you need — the Complete Guide to Faucet Repair, our Pillar 1 hub, covers the full cluster.

Sources

• Moen — Sink Faucets identification guide
• Moen — How to Tell the Difference Between a 1255, 150257, and 160657 Cartridge
• Moen — IH2300 Model and Serial Number
• Delta — Find Parts and Identify Your Product
• Kohler — Support
• Kohler — Service & Replacement Parts
• Pfister — Parts Support
• Pfister — Replacement Parts
• American Standard — Parts/Support
• American Standard — Where can I find the model number of my bathroom faucet?
• American Standard — Where can I find the model number of my kitchen faucet?
• Danco — home page (StemFinder and photo-based part matching)
• Angi — how much do plumbers charge
• HomeGuide — plumber cost guide

Educational content only. Not a substitute for licensed professional advice. Local plumbing codes vary by jurisdiction. Use of any guidance from this guide is at your own risk.