Drywall Type IdentificationGuide to drywall identification
Here we illustrate identifying stamps, labeling, paper imprints, and other details that can help identify specific drywall or gypsum board products.
These markings can help forming an estimate of building age and also help identify drywall products that might contain asbestos.
This article series discusses the identification and history of both modern and older interior building surface materials such plaster and lath, Beaverboard, and Drywall - materials that were used to form the (usually) non-structural surface of building interior ceilings and walls. Our page top photo shows hand-split wooden lath backing for a plaster interior wall.
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Here we provide an index to drywall identification stamps, date codes, and markings that help identify brands and types of drywall or gypsum board.
We discuss and illustrate the various types and forms of drywall or gypsum board product identification markings.
Since 2017, in North America, the following general format is used for drywall identification stamps (USGA 2017)
COMPANY NAME AAA2 0101010930 CCC
Watch out: depending on when it was manufactured, your drywall may be unmarked or may use stamps and imprints that pre-date or for other reasons do not follow the 2017 guideline given above.
Details for all drywall manufacturers' identifying stamps are
at DRYWALL MANUFACTURER IDENTIFICATION STAMPS & DATE CODES
If using the 2017-and-later drywall date stamp decoder just above does not give sensible results then here are more drywall ID stamp decoding tools:
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Summary of Fire-Resistant Drywall Types |
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| Drywall Type 1 | Thickness | Fire Rating | Comments |
| Type C Drywall | 1/2" (12.7mm) 5/8" (15.9mm) |
1-hour | Fire resistant drywall |
| Type eXP-C Core | 1/2" / 5/8" | Fire resistant drywall with extra moisture resistance | |
| Type FSW-C / eXP-C | 5/8" / 1" | Fire-Shield Wallboard, special additives improve fire resistance of type C drywall | |
| Type FSW-C Core | 1/2" / 5/8" | Improved fire resistance of fire-rated drywall | |
| Type FSW / FSW-6 | 5/8" | Fire Shield Drywall with moisture resistance | |
| Type VI Drywall | ... | ... | citation & details needed |
| Type X | 1/2" (12.7mm) 5/8" (15.9mm) 1" |
1-hour | Fire resistant drywall, ASTM C1396,Standard Specification for Gypsum Board - different definitions for each board thickness |
| Type X Shaftliner 5, 6 | 1" (24.5 mm) | 1-hour+ | Type X-Shaftliner drywall is a still-thicker fire-resistant drywall used in areas where extra fire-resistance is needed such as in elevator shaft walls and area separation firewalls, typically in commercial buildings. |
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If necessary, you can also identify the country where the drywall was probably manufactured (if you don't already know), using the table just below.
ISO Country Codes |
|
| ISO Code | Country Name (English) |
| BEL | Belgium |
| BRA | Brazil |
| CAN | Canada |
| CHN | China |
| COL | Columbia |
| DEU | Germany |
| DNK | Denmark |
| HON | Honduras |
| ITA | Italy |
| MEX | Mexico |
| USA | United States of America |
...
Review the formats and decodings of drywall stamps by various drywall manufacturers given below at this page starting at
Look for patent numbers in the drywall stamp
as often we can research the patent number to identify both the manufacturer and to set a ceiling on guesses at the age of the product.

The drywall stamp shown above is part of a production run identification time stamp, telling when during the production day that drywall came off of the production line. Looks as if it's about 3:10 AM
Here is an end-tape from USG's Sheetrock drywall brand that we think was produced in the 1930s - cited and discussed below on this page
Below is an example of a drywall stamp that identifies water-resistant wallboard, from Murphy Wall Products, courtesy of InspectApedia reader Kris E.
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The ABC's of Decoding or Guessing Older Drywall Age From the Numbers on its Back Surface
Hello i got this Number on back of my drywall anyone knows when it was manufactured ?
07226505112 Thank you On 2022-05-05 by Sly Bryjak
@Sly Bryjak,
Have you tried entering that number into one of the online UPC decoders?
I gave that a shot - doesn't look like a UPC.
So we treat the number sequence as a production date-code.
At the start of this article we note that since 2017 there has been a standard drywall date code format used in the U.S. But for older drywall in older buildings or older remodeling efforts, there is not one single standard format for drywall production time/date stamps.
We could guess at decoding the numeric string you gave from the back of your drywall, but we could make a far more-credible guess if we had some contextual information including
Armed with that information that permits a reasonableness or "sanity check" on your (or our) guess at the drywall age date code-decoding, then take a look at the drywall date code decoding suggestions found in the article above.
The content of your numeric drywall stamp suggests that your building and this drywall were put up before 2017.
I guess that because since that year the date is encoded as YYMM in the first four digits of the stamp. But 0722 does not yield a year - month (since we just have 12 months in a year).
You might then try several guesses at the drywall's date code translation, checking them for reasonableness against what else we know about the building.
So 07226505112
might be
YYDDDNNNNNN or year -07 day 226 followed by a production plant and sequence number
or
NNNNNNYYDD or plant and sequence number followed by year -05 day 112
...

Shown above is an Underwriters Laboratories Inc., drywall (gypsum board) classification stamp R-5482, Classified Wallboard Type FC3, Issue No. B-912. Additional text tell us that this is a 5/8" thick fire rated drywall product.
Type FC refers to a fire resistant Floor/Ceiling Assembly designation (FC1-FC8) ) for fire resistance. FC-3 has a 1-hour fire resistance rating.
In more detail, Type FC3 (or Firecode Type C) identifies Type C gypsum board (drywall). Type C drywall is an enhanced version of Type-X fire-rated drywall that is rated to keep its structural integrity longer than the original Type-X.
The number R-5482 refers to the Underwriter Laboratories' file number UL File R5492 that identifies "specialized gypsum board products" including type X fire-rated products.
The Issue No. B-912 is a tracking number used by Underwriters' Laboratories Inc. to identify the specific manufacturer. (Possibly Georgia-Pacific).
UL U312 also refers to a 1-hour fire design rating as we show in the tab le below excerpted from this
National Gypsum CONSTRUCTION GUIDE (2000) [PDF] (National Gypsum website)
...
UL drywall type designations FSW and FSW-6 refer to gypsum board or wallboard that are both fire resistant and moisture resistant.
Type FSW Core drywall are designed to meet fire and moisture code requirements in both commercial and residential buildings.
Type FSW drywall is manufactured / sold in thickness ranging from 5/16" to 1" and, using National Gypsum's gypsum board Gold Bond® CP XP products as an example, are also labeled as Type X drywall that the company describes as fire-shield, hi-abuse, hi-impact, or for 1-inch thick drywall, Shaftliner gypsum board.
Type FSW-6 Core drywall describes "glass mat" (fiberglass reinforced" drywall designed for extra moisture resistance for use in high-humidity environments including use as (exterior) sheathing, interior Extreme® Fire-Shield® Type X gypsum board panels, also sold as Gold Bond® eXP® Tile backer (Type X) drywall and even as a 5/8" Glass Mat roof board (DEXcell FA®) .
Sources
...

Photo, SF3 R-3660 - Issue No. B 2068 shown above is provided by reader Pepe Cortez who wrote:
Building is circa 1978-1980, duplex in Central TX near Austin. Does the wallboard label attached provide enough information to determine if the wall contains asbestos? Thank you in advance for taking a look. - Pepe Cortez · Aug 21, 2024
Our reply: @Pepe Cortez,
Your photo shows the Underwriters Laboratories data stamp for SF3 wallboard but not the end tapes or other details that might identify the manufacturer.
SF3 Wallboard was a designation for fire-rated gypsum board, one providing a 15-minute fire resistance rating and cited in various design publications including this Portland Oregon Design Document L507 that describing SF3 as a wallboard produced by BPB Celotex - Type FRP or SF3.
CertainTeed Gypsum, Inc. also produced Type 1, Type SF3, FRPC, ProRoc Type C, ProRoc Type X or Type EGRG wallboard products.
To guess at the age of this drywall we could research the fire resistance standards included in that data stamp, but you already have a ballpark guess at the age of your home. As it's original to the building, this wallboard will have been manufactured at or not long before the date of the home.
Older wallboard or drywall might contain asbestos, and more likely the joint compound used to finish joints on the interior or room side may contain asbestos.
But most often in simple residential applications it won't.
In the same years as when your home was constructed, I built and repaired buildings using 5/8 in thick fire rated drywall.
It was the 5/8 inch thickness (rather than standard 1/2" thickness) -without asbestos - that provided that fire rating.
For example we used standard, non-asbestos 5/8 inch drywall on the common wall between the garage and the home interior (and in certain other areas) to meet fire code requirements.
More significant, it's absolutely no hazard whatsoever if you are leaving it undisturbed.
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Quoting from the source below:
Type FSW-C and Type eXP-C are the UL type designations that identify Gold Bond gypsum board products that are formulated with special additives to improve their fire resistance beyond standard gypsum boards.
Type FSW-C Core: This core type enhances the fire-resistant properties of XP and Fire-Shield boards, making them suitable for more demanding fire-rated wall assemblies.
...

Our reader asked:
What is the modern equivalent of this Type VI R-4155 R wallboard? What is the "R" designation after the R-4155 number? - Lindsey Watson, 1 December 2025
Type VI Wallboard is a fire resistant drywall classification from UL. This fire resistant drywall board rated for use in some indoor wall & partition & ceiling structures.
The R-4155 R stamp is what UL (Underwriters Laboratories) calls a "Unique Identifier" that accesses more product details in UL's product database. For drywall R-4155 provides what UL calls "Conditions of Acceptability".
In turn, those conditions include a description of the tests that the product underwent, how the product should be installed, and the identity of companies who manufacture this product.
Really? OPINION: Well yes but regrettably, because in the United States product rating, testing, and certification is generally handled by for-profit private companies such as UL, it can be next to impossible for a normal consumer to access those details. You can, however, sign with UL for limited free access (if you can navigate their system) or for more-detailed paid-access.
I spent half an hour trying to search UL's database for R-4155 details, finally stumbling onto 166 rows of documents in UL's Product iQ system and for "Type VI Wallboard" findin 734 entry lines, not one of which was decipherable nor helpful.
Hi - I found this within the chimney chase of my home built in the mid 1980s. I am wondering what type VI wall board is.? The type A chimney pipe is almost touching it.
On 2022-09-13 by Craig Kafura
by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - Type VI fire rated gypsum board
@Craig Kafura,
Type VI gypsum board meets U.S. Federal Standard SS-L-30D describing specific intended uses such as for interior walls and ceilings, plasterbase, fire resistant plasterboard intended to receive 1 or 2 coats of veneer plaster as its finished surface.That is also a fire-rated gypsum board, as we see in the text of the stamp itself as well.
Please tell us
- the location of your building: country and city
- the age of your building
- whether or not you have observed that the interior (room) side of the plaster board whose stamp you show is in fact coated with plaster.2022 guide to contemporary gypsum board types and identification codes
Readers:
For a more recent guide to gypsum board types and identification codes see
GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS TYPES, USES, SIZES, AND STANDARDS [PDF] (2022) US Gypsum Association, 6525 Belcrest Road, Ste 480 Hyattsville, MD 20782 USA, Tel: 301-277-8686 Web: www.gypsum.org - retrieved 2022/09/13, original source: https://www.gypsum.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/223-04.pdf
And for the older standard see
GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS TYPES, USES, SIZES, AND STANDARDS [PDF] (2017) USGA, Op. Cit., - retrieved 2022/09/13,original source https://www.americangypsum.com/sites/default/files/2022-01/ga-223_gypsum_panel_products_types_uses_sizes_and_standards.pdf
Members in 2017:
- American Gypsum Company LLC
- Certainteed Gypsum Canada, Inc.
- Certainteed Gypsum, Inc. Cgc Inc.
- Continental Building Products Operating Company LLC
- Georgia–Pacific Gypsum LLC
- National Gypsum Company
- Pabco® Gypsum
- United States Gypsum Company
...
Below: an Underwriters Laboratories wallboard fire-rating stamp
See details at
...
Type X is a fire rated drywall product defined by ASTM E119 and ASTM C1396, that we cite below. Note that some of thes standards will use a different definition for each gypsum board thickness: 1/2", 5/8" and 1".
Type X drywall may be installed on both sides of 2x4 (nom.) wood stud walls 16" o.c. or 3 5/8" steel stud walls 24" o.c. as per various building codes.
Here is what CertainTeed says about Type X drywall in our article
Both regular and Type X gypsum board are covered under the ASTM C 1396, gypsum board standard specification.
Regular drywall has naturally occurring fire resistance due to the presence of gypsum in the core but is not fire rated.
Type X drywall has special core additives that allow it to be used in fire rated designs and usually comes in 5/8” thickness.
Type X drywall products will have a UL/ULC Marking printed on the back of each board identifying it as a fire-resistance rated board. - Certainteed, retrieved 2021/07/17 original source: https://www.certainteed.com/drywall/what-difference-between-regular-and-type-x-gypsum-board/
and
Fire rated gypsum drywall is more fire resistant because it contains glass fiber reinforcement and other additives within its specially formulated gypsum core to help it hold up longer to a fire exposure.
Fire rated drywall is referred to as “Type X” and must be third-party certified by an independent testing and listing agency such as UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) and ULC (Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada) to meet the fire performance requirements prescribed in the ASTM C1396 (CAN/CSA-A82.27) Standard Specification for Gypsum Board. - 2021/07/17 Certainteed, https://www.certainteed.com/drywall/what-fire-rated-gypsum/
We add that in comparison with Type X drywall, Type C products are Type X drywall with special additives and have a “C” in their trade names to designate they have increased fire resistance. (Thanks to National Gypsum for this detail)
Related to ASTM C1396 are these ASTM Standards:
Related to Type X is Type C drywall, but unlike Type X, Type C drywall (an "enhanced" product) isn't described by an ASTM standard.
See also
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Drywall Manufacturers' Identification Stamps & Codes
Moved to DRYWALL MANUFACTURER IDENTIFICATION STAMPS & DATE CODES - alphabetical list - separate web page
Gypsum Board Lath Sheets Used for Plaster Walls & Ceilings = Rock Lath, Plaster Lath, Rock Lathe & Button Board
Now moved to GYPSUM BOARD PLASTER LATH SYSTEMS.
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Continue reading at DRYWALL MANUFACTURER IDENTIFICATION STAMPS & DATE CODES - who made this drywall?, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see DRYWALL TYPE IDENTIFICATION STAMP ID FAQs - questions & answers posted originally on this page
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DRYWALL TYPE IDENTIFICATION STAMPS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
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