RN and WPL Numbers: What They Tell You About Vintage Clothing

An RN number on a label is a Registered Identification Number issued by the US Federal Trade Commission. It identifies the American company responsible for the garment, not the year it was made. It still helps with dating: RN numbers were first used in 1952, so a garment with one cannot be older than that. A WPL number is the older wool-only equivalent from the Wool Products Labeling Act, which took effect in 1941.

Quick answer

• RN on the label: made in 1952 or later.
• WPL on the label: made in 1941 or later, usually a wool or wool-blend item. WPL numbers stayed in use long after the FTC stopped issuing new ones.
• The number tells you who (manufacturer, importer, distributor or retailer), not when.
• You can look up the company in the FTC RN database, then date the garment from that company's history.
• Online charts that turn RN numbers into issue years are not official. Use them as a rough guide only.

What an RN number is

The FTC issues RNs to US businesses that make, import, distribute or sell products covered by the Textile, Wool and Fur Acts. A business uses the number on its labels in place of its full name. As the FTC's FAQ explains:

• No company is required to have one. A label can carry the full business name instead.
• Each company gets only one. Numbers cannot be transferred or assigned to another firm.
• It is free and is issued on request.
• It identifies the business, not the factory. The holder may be the maker, but it may also be the importer, wholesaler or the store that sold the item under its own label.

The prefix is part of the number: the label must read "RN 12345" or "WPL 1234", not just the digits.

What a WPL number is

The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 was passed on October 14, 1940 and took effect nine months later, in 1941. It required wool products to state their fiber content, and the FTC issued WPL (Wool Products Labeling) numbers so companies could identify themselves on those labels. The FTC no longer issues WPL numbers, but companies that hold them may still use them, so WPL numbers can turn up on garments made decades after 1941.

Because WPL numbers came from the wool law, you will mostly find them on coats, suits, sweaters, skirts and blankets containing wool.

What the numbers prove about age

The 1952 starting point comes from clothing historian Lizzie Bramlett (The Vintage Traveler), who notes that "the RN system was first used in 1952". This matches the general understanding among vintage dealers.

Can you date a garment from the RN number itself?

Only very roughly, and this is where many online guides overreach.

RN numbers are generally understood to have been issued in ascending order, so a lower number should belong to a company that registered earlier. That has led to charts online that match number ranges to issue years. The problems:

1. We have found no official FTC table of issue years. The FTC's public material explains what RNs are and how to search them, but does not publish a number-to-year chart. The charts in circulation were put together by collectors and dealers from examples.
2. An RN shows when the company registered, not when the garment was made. A firm that registered in 1955 could still use the same RN on a garment made in 1995. Long-lived companies make this worse: their low numbers say nothing about which decade a particular piece is from.
3. A high number does set a floor. If the chart is roughly right, a high RN at least tells you the company did not register before a certain point. That is the only direction in which the number helps.

Treat any RN-to-year chart as a rough floor, not a date. If you use one, look for the other clues on the label too: ZIP code versus postal zone, care label, fiber names (see dating by labels).

How to look up an RN or WPL number

1. Write down the full number with its prefix (RN or WPL). Photograph the label in good light, because small digits are easy to misread.
2. Search the FTC RN database. The FTC runs a public RN search at ftc.gov (linked from its RN database page, below). Enter the number to see the company name and address registered to it.
3. Look up the company. Once you have a name, search old newspapers, trade directories, the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource and dealer listings. When did the company trade? What brand names did it use? Did it make dresses or sell them?
4. Use that history to bracket the date. If the company closed in 1974, the garment is 1974 or earlier. If it was founded in 1968, the garment is 1968 or later.

Some practical points:

• Records for long-closed firms can be thin. The database is kept for current business use, so the details for very old or cancelled registrations may be limited or missing.
• Expect retailers and importers. Many RNs belong to department stores, mail-order houses and importers. The Vintage Traveler's example is a 1960s pair of Japanese-made riding breeches. The RN led to the Miller Harness Company, a New York retailer, not to the Japanese maker. That still helped date the piece.
• One RN can cover many labels. A company may use its RN under several brand names. So the brand on the label and the company name in the database often differ.

RN numbers and fakes

RN numbers are sometimes used to check whether a branded item is genuine, by confirming that the RN belongs to the brand owner or its licensee. That can help, but:

• A counterfeiter can copy a real RN as easily as a logo.
• A genuine item may legitimately carry a licensee's or importer's RN, not the brand's.

So a matching RN supports a genuine item but does not prove it. A mismatched RN is worth investigating rather than proof of a fake. Our guides to designer label fakes and fake vintage band tees cover the other checks.

Garments from outside the US

RN and WPL numbers are an American system. Garments made for other markets do not carry them, so their absence on a European or British garment means nothing. The FTC notes that Canadian businesses have their own CA identification numbers, and that a Canadian CA number cannot be used in place of an RN on goods sold in the US. A CA number on a label points to a garment made or sold through Canada.

Putting it together: an example

A wool coat has a label with the store name, "100% Wool" and "WPL 1234" (example number), and no care label.

• WPL means 1941 or later, which fits a wool coat.
• No care label fits a date before 1972, though this is a weak clue.
• If the database search shows a company that traded only from 1945 to 1965, that becomes the best bracket.
• Cut, buttons and lining then narrow it further: see buttons and fasteners and the 1940s and 1950s era guides.

For coats and furs, the value often depends more on the material and condition than on the exact year. See vintage coat and fur values.

Not sure what you have? Appraise a photo

Sources

• FTC — Registered Identification Number: Frequently Asked Questions
• FTC — Registered Identification Number Database
• FTC — Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts
• Cornell LII — 15 U.S. Code § 68 (Wool Products Labeling Act, effective date note)
• The Vintage Traveler — Comparing Details as an Aid to Dating Vintage Clothing
• Wikipedia — Registered identification number