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identification

How to find the model and serial number on a Toro mower

Short answer

On a Toro walk power mower the model and serial plate is on the housing — top rear, back rear, or either side — or on the underside of the control panel. Record both numbers: on many Toro mowers the serial number decides which parts fit.

By
Shon Atsil
Published
Last verified

This guide is compiled from the manufacturer’s own documentation, cited below. We have not performed this procedure ourselves and do not claim to have.

Before you start

What you need

  • A rag
  • A phone camera

Procedure

Step by step

  1. 1

    Look on the mower housing first

    Toro lists five places the plate can sit on a walk power mower: the top rear of the housing, the back rear of the housing, the left side, the right side, or the underside of the control panel. Toro does not say which is most likely, so work through all five rather than giving up after one.

  2. 2

    Clean the plate before you read it

    Wipe the plate with a dry rag before you try to read it, and read it in good light. The point is simply that a single misread digit sends the whole order wrong — a 3 that looks like an 8 puts you in a different serial range, and on some machines that means a different maintenance kit.

  3. 3

    Write down both numbers, not just the model

    The model number identifies the machine. The serial number identifies the production run. These are different jobs and you need both, because Toro publishes separate parts listings per serial range for many models.

  4. 4

    Photograph the plate

    Take a photo on your phone. You will need these numbers again — for the next filter, the next blade, and any warranty or dealer conversation.

  5. 5

    Check the engine for its own numbers

    The engine is a separate product from the mower and carries its own identification. If you are buying engine service parts individually rather than as a kit, you will likely be asked for the engine’s numbers rather than the mower’s — so look for them while you have the machine in front of you, and photograph them too.

Why the serial number matters as much as the model

Most people treat the model number as the answer and the serial number as paperwork. On Toro mowers that is backwards often enough to be expensive.

Take the Toro 20340, a 22 in. SMARTSTOW walk-behind. Toro publishes five separate parts listings for that one model number, each covering a different serial range. We have opened two of them: 316000001 to 316999999, and 400000000 to 401499999.

Across those two the blade is the same part number. The engine maintenance kit is not: the earlier range lists kit 20234, and the later range lists kit 130-8148. Order by model number alone and that part is a guess.

This is not unique to that machine or to Toro. It is simply what happens when a model stays in production long enough for a supplier to change.

What to do if you cannot find the plate

If none of the five locations turns up a plate, check the operator’s manual for your machine — it states where the plate sits on that specific model.

If the plate itself is missing or unreadable, an authorized Toro service dealer is the place to go. We are not going to suggest identifying the machine from photographs or by matching it to a similar-looking model: a guessed model number produces guessed parts, and this whole site exists because that guess is expensive.

Related

Provenance

Sources

Last verified against these sources on August 17, 2026.

  1. 1

    Find Your Toro Model & Serial Number Plate

    The Toro Company · Primary source · Accessed August 16, 2026

    Lists the plate locations for walk power mowers: housing top rear, housing back rear, housing left side, housing right side, and control panel underside.

  2. 2

    Parts — 22in Recycler Lawn Mower with SmartStow, model 20340, serial range 316000001–316999999

    The Toro Company · Primary source · Accessed August 16, 2026

    Toro’s official parts listing for this model and serial range. Lists 59534P (22 Inch Recycler Blade) and 20234 (Engine Maintenance Kit for Briggs & Stratton Engine).

  3. 3

    Parts — 22in Recycler Lawn Mower with SmartStow, model 20340, serial range 400000000–401499999

    The Toro Company · Primary source · Accessed August 16, 2026

    Toro’s official parts listing for the later serial range of the same model number. Lists 59534P and 130-8148 (Briggs & Stratton EXi Engine Maintenance Kit Replacement) — note the maintenance kit differs from the earlier range.