How to find your Mac's serial number
Apple Support, a repair shop, an insurer or a buyer will ask for your Mac's serial number before they do anything else. It is also what Apple's coverage checker wants when you look up whether a Mac is still under warranty or AppleCare. This guide shows where the number lives on screen, how to copy it without a typo, and where to find it when the Mac won't switch on.
What you'll need: Any Mac. The main steps use About This Mac, which looks the same on every version of macOS from Ventura (13) onwards. Older versions and a Mac that won't start are covered under Variations.
Click the Apple menu
Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of the screen. It is there whichever app is in front.
Choose About This Mac
Click About This Mac, the first item in the menu. A small window opens with a picture of your Mac and a short list of facts about it.
Find the Serial number line
Read down the list under the picture. After the chip and memory you will see Serial number, followed by a string of letters and digits with no spaces. That is the number you need.
Copy it rather than typing it
Click at the start of the serial number and drag across it to select it, then press Command-C. Paste it with Command-V into the email, form or chat window that asked for it.
Serial numbers mix digits with capital letters, so a 0 and an O, or a 1 and an I, are hard to tell apart on screen. Copying the text avoids the mistake entirely.
Variations
Open System Settings from the Apple menu, click General in the sidebar, then About. The Serial number line sits under the Mac's picture, next to a Coverage line that tells you whether the Mac is still under warranty or AppleCare. This is the same page the More Info… button in About This Mac opens.
Click the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and make sure the Overview tab is selected. The serial number is listed there with the model name, processor and memory. Select it by clicking and dragging, as in step 4.
The serial number is printed in small text on the Mac itself: on the underside of a MacBook, the bottom of a Mac mini or Mac Studio, and the underside of an iMac's stand. It is also on the barcode label on the original box and usually on the receipt or invoice.
If the Mac is signed in to your Apple Account, go to account.apple.com, sign in, and open the Devices section. Click the Mac and its serial number is shown. On an iPhone signed in to the same account, open Settings, tap your name at the top, scroll down to the list of devices and tap the Mac.
Open Terminal (it is in Applications › Utilities, or press Command-Space and type Terminal). Paste this line and press Return:
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep SerialIt prints one line, Serial Number (system): followed by the number. This is handy when you are helping someone over a remote connection, or writing down the serial numbers of several Macs.
Troubleshooting
Use the System Settings route above, where the Serial number line can be selected and copied, or run the Terminal command, which puts it in a window where any text can be selected.
Almost always a mistyped character. Check for a 0 typed as O, a 1 as I, or a 5 as S, and check that you haven't added a space or picked up a stray character at either end. If you typed it from the label on the underside, go back to About This Mac and copy it instead.
Make sure it is the serial number and not the model number, which also appears on the underside label and begins with the letter A.
This can happen if the logic board was replaced during a repair, because the serial number is stored on the board. Apple's records follow the number About This Mac reports, so use that one for support and coverage checks, and mention the mismatch if it comes up.
Need a calculator rather than a guide? Try Simplicalcs →