SQL Server Date Formats¶
One of the most frequently asked questions in SQL Server forums is how to format a datetime value or column into a specific date format. Here's a summary of the different date formats that come standard in SQL Server as part of the CONVERT function. Following the standard date formats are some extended date formats that are often asked by SQL Server developers.
It is worth to note that the output of these date formats are of VARCHAR data types already and not of DATETIME data type. With this in mind, any date comparisons performed after the datetime value has been formatted are using the VARCHAR value of the date and time and not its original DATETIME value.
Standard Date Formats¶
| Date Format | Standard | SQL Statement | Sample Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon DD YYYY HH:MIAM (or PM) | Default | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), GETDATE(), 100) | Jan 1 2005 1:29PM |
| MM/DD/YY | USA | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 1) AS [MM/DD/YY] | 11/23/98 |
| MM/DD/YYYY | USA | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 101) AS [MM/DD/YYYY] | 11/23/1998 |
| YY.MM.DD | ANSI | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 2) AS [YY.MM.DD | 72.01.01 |
| YYYY.MM.DD | ANSI | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 102) AS [YYYY.MM.DD] | 1972.01.01 |
| DD/MM/YY | British/French | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 3) AS [DD/MM/YY] | 19/02/72 |
| DD/MM/YYYY | British/French | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 103) AS [DD/MM/YYYY] | 19/02/1972 |
| DD.MM.YY | German | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 4) AS [DD.MM.YY] | 25.12.05 |
| DD.MM.YYYY | German | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 104) AS [DD.MM.YYYY] | 25.12.2005 |
| DD-MM-YY | Italian | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 5) AS [DD-MM-YY] | 24-01-98 |
| DD-MM-YYYY | Italian | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 105) AS [DD-MM-YYYY] | 24-01-1998 |
| DD Mon YY | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(9), GETDATE(), 6) AS [DD MON YY] | 04 Jul 06 1 |
| DD Mon YYYY | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(11), GETDATE(), 106) AS [DD MON YYYY] | 04 Jul 2006 1 |
| Mon DD, YY | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 7) AS [Mon DD, YY] | Jan 24, 98 1 |
| Mon DD, YYYY | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(12), GETDATE(), 107) AS [Mon DD, YYYY] | Jan 24, 1998 1 |
| HH:MM:SS | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 108) | 03:24:53 |
| Mon DD YYYY HH:MI:SS:MMMAM (or PM) 1 | Default + milliseconds | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(26), GETDATE(), 109) | Apr 28 2006 12:32:29:253PM |
| MM-DD-YY | USA | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 10) AS [MM-DD-YY] | 01-01-06 |
| MM-DD-YYYY | USA | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 110) AS [MM-DD-YYYY] | 01-01-2006 |
| YY/MM/DD | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 11) AS [YY/MM/DD] | 98/11/23 |
| YYYY/MM/DD | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 111) AS [YYYY/MM/DD] | 1998/11/23 |
| YYMMDD | ISO | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(6), GETDATE(), 12) AS [YYMMDD] | 980124 |
| YYYYMMDD | ISO | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 112) AS [YYYYMMDD] | 19980124 |
| DD Mon YYYY HH:MM:SS:MMM(24h) | Europe default + milliseconds | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(24), GETDATE(), 113) | 28 Apr 2006 00:34:55:190 |
| HH:MI:SS:MMM(24H) | - | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(12), GETDATE(), 114) AS [HH:MI:SS:MMM(24H)] | 11:34:23:013 |
| YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS(24h) | ODBC Canonical | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(19), GETDATE(), 120) | 1972-01-01 13:42:24 |
| YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS.MMM(24h) | ODBC Canonical (with milliseconds) | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(23), GETDATE(), 121) | 1972-02-19 06:35:24.489 |
| YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS:MMM | ISO8601 | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(23), GETDATE(), 126) | 1998-11-23T11:25:43:250 |
| DD Mon YYYY HH:MI:SS:MMMAM | Kuwaiti | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(26), GETDATE(), 130) | 28 Apr 2006 12:39:32:429AM |
| DD/MM/YYYY HH:MI:SS:MMMAM | Kuwaiti | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(25), GETDATE(), 131) | 28/04/2006 12:39:32:429AM |
Extended Date Formats¶
Here are some more date formats that does not come standard in SQL Server as part of the CONVERT function.
| Date Format | SQL Statement | Sample Output |
|---|---|---|
| YY-MM-DD | SELECT SUBSTRING(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 120), 3, 8) AS [YY-MM-DD] SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 11), '/', '-') AS [YY-MM-DD] |
99-01-24 |
| YYYY-MM-DD | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 120) AS [YYYY-MM-DD] SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 111), '/', '-') AS [YYYY-MM-DD] |
1999-01-24 |
| MM/YY | SELECT RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 3), 5) AS [MM/YY] SELECT SUBSTRING(CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 3), 4, 5) AS [MM/YY] |
08/99 |
| MM/YYYY | SELECT RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 103), 7) AS [MM/YYYY] | 12/2005 |
| YY/MM | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(5), GETDATE(), 11) AS [YY/MM] | 99/08 |
| YYYY/MM | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(7), GETDATE(), 111) AS [YYYY/MM] | 2005/12 |
| Month DD, YYYY | SELECT DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) + RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(12), GETDATE(), 107), 9) AS [Month DD, YYYY] | July 04, 2006 |
| Mon YYYY | SELECT SUBSTRING(CONVERT(VARCHAR(11), GETDATE(), 113), 4, 8) AS [Mon YYYY] | Apr 2006 |
| Month YYYY | SELECT DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) + ' ' + CAST(YEAR(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(4)) AS [Month YYYY] | February 2006 |
| DD Month | SELECT CAST(DAY(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) + ' ' + DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) AS [DD Month] | 11 September |
| Month DD | SELECT DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) + ' ' + CAST(DAY(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) AS [Month DD] | September 11 |
| DD Month YY | SELECT CAST(DAY(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) + ' ' + DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) + ' ' + RIGHT(CAST(YEAR(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(4)), 2) AS [DD Month YY] | 19 February 72 |
| DD Month YYYY | SELECT CAST(DAY(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) + ' ' + DATENAME(MM, GETDATE()) + ' ' + CAST(YEAR(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(4)) AS [DD Month YYYY] | 11 September 2002 |
| MM-YY | SELECT RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 5), 5) AS [MM-YY] SELECT SUBSTRING(CONVERT(VARCHAR(8), GETDATE(), 5), 4, 5) AS [MM-YY] |
12/92 |
| MM-YYYY | SELECT RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 105), 7) AS [MM-YYYY] | 05-2006 |
| YY-MM | SELECT RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(7), GETDATE(), 120), 5) AS [YY-MM] SELECT SUBSTRING(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 120), 3, 5) AS [YY-MM] |
92/12 |
| YYYY-MM | SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(7), GETDATE(), 120) AS [YYYY-MM] | 2006-05 |
| MMDDYY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 1), '/', '') AS [MMDDYY] | 122506 |
| MMDDYYYY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 101), '/', '') AS [MMDDYYYY] | 12252006 |
| DDMMYY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 3), '/', '') AS [DDMMYY] | 240702 |
| DDMMYYYY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 103), '/', '') AS [DDMMYYYY] | 24072002 |
| Mon-YY | SELECT REPLACE(RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(9), GETDATE(), 6), 6), ' ', '-') AS [Mon-YY] | Sep-02 |
| Mon-YYYY | SELECT REPLACE(RIGHT(CONVERT(VARCHAR(11), GETDATE(), 106), 8), ' ', '-') AS [Mon-YYYY] | Sep-2002 |
| DD-Mon-YY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(9), GETDATE(), 6), ' ', '-') AS [DD-Mon-YY] | 25-Dec-05 |
| DD-Mon-YYYY | SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(11), GETDATE(), 106), ' ', '-') AS [DD-Mon-YYYY] | 25-Dec-2005 |