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Date and Time Conversions Using SQL Server

By: MSSQLTips (/sqlserverauthor/11/mssqltips/) | Updated: 2022-12-08 | Comments (59) | Related: 1

(/sqlservertip/1145/date-and-time-conversions-using-sql-server/) | 2 (/sqlservertip/2655/format-sql-server-
dates-with-format-function/) | 3 (/sqlservertip/2507/determine-sql-server-date-and-time-parts-with-datepart-
and-datename-functions/) | 4 (/sqlservertip/1616/sql-server-2008-date-and-time-data-types/) | 5
(/sqlservertip/1712/sql-server-function-to-convert-integer-date-to-datetime-format/) | More (/sql-server-
developer-resources/) > Dates (/sql-server-tip-category/121/dates/)

Problem
There are many instances when dates and times don't show up at your doorstep in the format you'd like it to
be, nor does the output of a query fit the needs of the people viewing it. One option is to format the data in
the application itself. Another option is to use the built-in functions SQL Server provides to format the date
string for you.

Solution
SQL Server provides a number of options you can use for formatting a date/time string in SQL queries and
stored procedures either from an input file (Excel, CSV, etc.) or a date column (datetime, datetime2,
smalldatetime, etc.) from a table. One of the first considerations is the actual date/time value needed. The
most common is the current date/time using getdate() (/sqlservertip/6817/sql-current-date/). This
provides the current date and time according to the server providing the date and time. If a universal
date/time (UTC) is needed, then getutcdate() (/sqlservertip/6817/sql-current-date/) should be used. To
change the format of the date, you convert the requested date to a string and specify the format number
corresponding to the format needed.

How to get different date formats in SQL Server

1. Use the SELECT statement with CONVERT function and date format option for the date values needed
2. To get YYYY-MM-DD use this T-SQL syntax SELECT CONVERT(varchar, getdate(), 23)
3. To get MM/DD/YY use this T-SQL syntax SELECT CONVERT(varchar, getdate(), 1)
4. Check out the chart to get a list of all format options

Below is a list of SQL date formats and an example of the output. The date used for all of these examples is
"2022-12-30 00:38:54.840".

DATE ONLY FORMATS

Format # Query Format Sample

1 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 1) mm/dd/yy 12/30/22

2 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 2) yy.mm.dd 22.12.30

3 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 3) dd/mm/yy 30/12/22

4 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 4) dd.mm.yy 30.12.22

5 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 5) dd-mm-yy 30-12-22

6 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 6) dd-Mon-yy 30 Dec 22

7 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 7) Mon dd, yy Dec 30, 22

10 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 10) mm-dd-yy 12-30-22

11 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 11) yy/mm/dd 22/12/30

12 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 12) yymmdd 221230

23 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 23) yyyy-mm-dd 2022-12-30

31 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 31) yyyy-dd-mm 2022-30-12 (tel:2022-30-12)

32 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 32) mm-dd-yyyy 12-30-2022

33 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 33) mm-yyyy-dd 12-2022-30 (tel:12-2022-30)

34 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 34) dd-mm-yyyy 30-12-2022

35 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 35) dd-yyyy-mm 30-2022-12 (tel:30-2022-12)

101 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 101) mm/dd/yyyy 12/30/2022

102 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 102) yyyy.mm.dd 2022.12.30

103 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 103) dd/mm/yyyy 30/12/2022

104 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 104) dd.mm.yyyy 30.12.2022

105 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 105) dd-mm-yyyy 30-12-2022

106 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 106) dd Mon yyyy 30 Dec 2022

107 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 107) Mon dd, yyyy Dec 30, 2022

110 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 110) mm-dd-yyyy 12-30-2022

111 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 111) yyyy/mm/dd 2022/12/30

112 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 112) yyyymmdd 20221230

TIME ONLY FORMATS

8 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 8) hh:mm:ss 00:38:54

14 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 14) hh:mm:ss:nnn 00:38:54:840

24 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 24) hh:mm:ss 00:38:54

108 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 108) hh:mm:ss 00:38:54

114 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 114) hh:mm:ss:nnn 00:38:54:840

DATE & TIME FORMATS

0 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 0) Mon dd yyyy hh:mm AM/PM Dec 30 2022 12:38AM

9 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 9) Mon dd yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn AM/PM Dec 30 2022 12:38:54:840AM

13 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 13) dd Mon yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn AM/PM 30 Dec 2022 00:38:54:840AM

20 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 20) yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss 2022-12-30 00:38:54

 21 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 21) yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-12-30 00:38:54.840

22 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 22) mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss AM/PM 12/30/22 12:38:54 AM

25 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 25) yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-12-30 00:38:54.840

26 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 26) yyyy-dd-mm hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-30-12 (tel:2022-30-12) 00:38:54.840

27 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 27) mm-dd-yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn 12-30-2022 00:38:54.840

28 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 28) mm-yyyy-dd hh:mm:ss:nnn 12-2022-30 (tel:12-2022-30) 00:38:54.840

29 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 29) dd-mm-yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn 30-12-2022 00:38:54.840

30 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 30) dd-yyyy-mm hh:mm:ss:nnn 30-2022-12 (tel:30-2022-12) 00:38:54.840

100 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 100) Mon dd yyyy hh:mm AM/PM Dec 30 2022 12:38AM

109 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 109) Mon dd yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn AM/PM Dec 30 2022 12:38:54:840AM

113 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 113) dd Mon yyyy hh:mm:ss:nnn 30 Dec 2022 00:38:54:840

120 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 120) yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss 2022-12-30 00:38:54

121 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 121) yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-12-30 00:38:54.840

126 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 126) yyyy-mm-dd T hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-12-30T00:38:54.840

127 select convert(varchar, getdate(), 127) yyyy-mm-dd T hh:mm:ss:nnn 2022-12-30T00:38:54.840

ISLAMIC CALENDAR DATES

130 select convert(nvarchar, getdate(), 130) dd mmm yyyy hh:mi:ss:nnn AM/PM

131 select convert(nvarchar, getdate(), 131) dd mmm yyyy hh:mi:ss:nnn AM/PM 10/12/1444 12:38:54:840AM

You can also format the date or time without dividing characters, as well as concatenate the date and time
string:

Sample statement Format Output

select replace(convert(varchar, getdate(),101),'/','') mmddyyyy 12302022

select replace(convert(varchar, getdate(),101),'/','') + replace(convert(varchar, 12302022004426

mmddyyyyhhmmss
getdate(),108),':','') (tel:12302022004426)

If you want to get a list of all valid date and time formats, you could use the code below and change the
@date to GETDATE() or any other date you want to use. This will output just the valid formats.