How to Check Tires for Recalls (and Find the DOT Tire Identification Number)

How to find the DOT Tire Identification Number on a tire sidewall, what the last four digits mean, and how to use NHTSA’s official tire-recall search — which returns general results, not a VIN-style lookup.

Updated November 13, 2026. Checked against NHTSA’s tire-safety and recalls pages and 49 CFR Part 574 on that date.

Quick answer

Find the DOT Tire Identification Number on the tire sidewall — NHTSA says to check both sides, because it may not appear on both — then use NHTSA’s official recall search to look up tire recalls. A tire search returns general results, not a vehicle-specific VIN result. Register your tires and, as NHTSA advises, check recalls twice a year.

How to find the Tire Identification Number

NHTSA’s TireWise / tire-safety page explains how to tell how old a tire is: look on the sidewall for your DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN). The last four digits of the TIN indicate the week and year the tire was made. If the TIN reads 0308, it was made in the third week of 2008. Look on both sides of the tire; the TIN may not be on both sides.

49 CFR 574.5 is the federal labeling rule. For new tires (except non-pneumatic tires or assemblies, which have their own marking rule), the manufacturer must conspicuously label one sidewall with a TIN of 13 symbols, permanently molded into or onto the sidewall in the manner and location specified in Figure 1 of that section. A retreaded tire is labeled with a 7-symbol TIN, and an “R” mark (which is not part of the TIN) identifies a retread.

The current TIN grouping in § 574.5(b) is: a three-symbol plant code assigned by NHTSA; a six-symbol manufacturer’s code; and a four-symbol date code for the week and year of manufacture. The calendar week runs Sunday through Saturday; 01 is the first full calendar week of the year. The only symbols allowed in the TIN are A, B, C, D, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and 0 through 9 (the letters I, O, Q, G, and S are not in that authorized set). This page does not reproduce the official figures or walk through older two-symbol plant codes; use the regulation if you need those details.

The DOT symbol, when required, is a certification that the tire conforms to an applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. It is not a substitute for the TIN, and the regulation says it must not appear on tires to which no FMVSS is applicable, with a limited retreader option described in the same section.

How to check for a tire recall

NHTSA’s tire-safety page has a section titled “Tires Get Recalled, Too,” and tells you to search for tire recalls and to report a tire safety complaint to NHTSA. On the recalls page, a search for tires produces general results for recalls, investigations, complaints, and manufacturer communications — not the vehicle-specific unrepaired-recall result you get from a VIN or license-plate search.

NHTSA also says to register your vehicle, tires, car seats, and equipment, and to check recalls twice a year. 49 CFR Part 574 exists so purchasers can be notified of defective or nonconforming tires; independent dealers either provide a registration form or send or transmit the purchaser’s information to the manufacturer. This guide does not inventory every manufacturer’s registration website.

A VIN recall check on the car itself is still worth doing, because it can show an unrepaired vehicle recall. It is not a tire-by-tire recall search. See our guide on how to check a car for open recalls by VIN.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Tire Identification Number?

NHTSA’s tire-safety page says to look on the sidewall for the DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN), and to look on both sides of the tire because the TIN may not be on both sides. 49 CFR 574.5 requires a new-tire manufacturer to conspicuously label one sidewall with a 13-symbol TIN, molded into or onto the sidewall in the manner and location specified in the regulation’s Figure 1.

What do the last four digits mean?

NHTSA says the last four digits of the TIN indicate the week and year the tire was made. The example on the tire-safety page is 0308, meaning the third week of 2008. 49 CFR 574.5 uses the same date-code rule: the first two symbols of the four-digit date code are the week (01 is the first full calendar week of the year), and the last two are the year.

Can I look up a tire recall the same way I look up a car recall?

Not with the same VIN search. NHTSA’s recalls page says that when you search by license plate or VIN, you learn whether a specific vehicle needs a recall repair. When you search for tires (or car seats or equipment, or by year, make, and model), you get general results for recalls, investigations, complaints, and manufacturer communications. The agency also tells drivers to register tires and to check recalls twice a year.

Is the DOT symbol the same thing as the TIN?

No. Under 49 CFR 574.5, the DOT symbol is a certification that the marked tire conforms to an applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. It is placed relative to the TIN as shown in the regulation’s figures, but it is not itself the identification number.

Sources

MotorDeets is not affiliated with NHTSA or any tire or vehicle manufacturer. Always confirm current tire-recall information on nhtsa.gov. This page does not look up a specific tire for you.