SQL Server Date and Time Functions with Examples

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Problem

SQL Server has several different date and time functions and trying to remember every function is not that easy.  So, I put together this tutorial that shows the different date and time functions all in one place along with examples to make finding what you are looking for much easier.

Solution

I think you’ll find this tutorial handy. It was put together as a quick reference to common SQL Server date and time functions. It’s broken in the same sections as the Microsoft documentation:

  • Higher Precision functions
  • Lesser Precision functions
  • Date and Time Parts functions
  • Date and Time from Parts functions
  • Date and Time Difference Values functions
  • Modify Date and Time Values functions
  • Validate Date and Time Values functions

The SQL was tested on SQL Server 2016 and GETDATE() is used wherever possible as I thought it made things simpler. Note: most of these functions will work for versions earlier than SQL 2016, but some may not.

SQL Server SYSDATETIME, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET and SYSUTCDATETIME Functions

SQL Server High Precision Date and Time Functions have a scale of 7 and are:

  • SYSDATETIME – returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on
  • SYSDATETIMEOFFSET – returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on plus the offset from UTC
  • SYSUTCDATETIME - returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on as UTC
-- higher precision functions 
SELECT SYSDATETIME()       AS 'DateAndTime';        -- return datetime2(7)       
SELECT SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS 'DateAndTime+Offset'; -- datetimeoffset(7)
SELECT SYSUTCDATETIME()    AS 'DateAndTimeInUtc';   -- returns datetime2(7)
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT SYSDATETIME() AS 'DateAndTime'; -- return datetime2(7) DateAndTime 2019-03-08 10:24:34.4377944
SELECT SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS 'DateAndTime+Offset'; -- datetimeoffset(7) DateAndTime+Offset 2019-03-08 10:24:34.4377944 -05:00
SELECT SYSUTCDATETIME() AS 'DateAndTimeInUtc'; -- returns datetime2(7) DateAndTimeInUtc 2019-03-08 15:24:34.4377944

SQL Server CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, GETDATE() and GETUTCDATE() Functions

SQL Server Lesser Precision Data and Time Functions have a scale of 3 and are:

  • CURRENT_TIMESTAMP - returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on
  • GETDATE() - returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on
  • GETUTCDATE() - returns the date and time of the machine the SQL Server is running on as UTC
-- lesser precision functions - returns datetime
SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP AS 'DateAndTime'; -- note: no parentheses   
SELECT GETDATE()         AS 'DateAndTime';    
SELECT GETUTCDATE()      AS 'DateAndTimeUtc'; 
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP AS 'DateAndTime'; -- note: no parentheses DateAndTime 2019-03-08 10:28:23.643
SELECT GETDATE() AS 'DateAndTime'; DateAndTime 2019-03-08 10:28:23.643
SELECT GETUTCDATE() AS 'DateAndTimeUtc'; DateAndTimeUtc 2019-03-08 15:28:23.643

SQL Server DATENAME Function

  • DATENAME – Returns a string corresponding to the datepart specified for the given date as shown in the following table
-- date and time parts - returns nvarchar 
SELECT DATENAME(YEAR, GETDATE())        AS 'Year';        
SELECT DATENAME(QUARTER, GETDATE())     AS 'Quarter';     
SELECT DATENAME(MONTH, GETDATE())       AS 'Month Name';       
SELECT DATENAME(DAYOFYEAR, GETDATE())   AS 'DayOfYear';   
SELECT DATENAME(DAY, GETDATE())         AS 'Day';         
SELECT DATENAME(WEEK, GETDATE())        AS 'Week';        
SELECT DATENAME(WEEKDAY, GETDATE())     AS 'Day of the Week';     
SELECT DATENAME(HOUR, GETDATE())        AS 'Hour';        
SELECT DATENAME(MINUTE, GETDATE())      AS 'Minute';      
SELECT DATENAME(SECOND, GETDATE())      AS 'Second';      
SELECT DATENAME(MILLISECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MilliSecond'; 
SELECT DATENAME(MICROSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MicroSecond'; 
SELECT DATENAME(NANOSECOND, GETDATE())  AS 'NanoSecond';  
SELECT DATENAME(ISO_WEEK, GETDATE())    AS 'Week';        
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DATENAME(YEAR, GETDATE()) AS 'Year'; Year 2019
SELECT DATENAME(QUARTER, GETDATE()) AS 'Quarter'; Quarter 1
SELECT DATENAME(MONTH, GETDATE()) AS 'Month'; Month March
SELECT DATENAME(DAYOFYEAR, GETDATE()) AS 'DayOfYear'; DayOfYear 67
SELECT DATENAME(DAY, GETDATE()) AS 'Day'; Day 8
SELECT DATENAME(WEEK, GETDATE()) AS 'Week'; Week 10
SELECT DATENAME(WEEKDAY, GETDATE()) AS 'WeekDay'; WeekDay Friday
SELECT DATENAME(HOUR, GETDATE()) AS 'Hour'; Hour 11
SELECT DATENAME(MINUTE, GETDATE()) AS 'Minute'; Minute 25
SELECT DATENAME(SECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'Second'; Second 44
SELECT DATENAME(MILLISECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MilliSecond'; MilliSecond 426
SELECT DATENAME(MICROSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MicroSecond'; MicroSecond 426666
SELECT DATENAME(NANOSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'NanoSecond'; NanoSecond 426666666
SELECT DATENAME(ISO_WEEK, GETDATE()) AS 'Week'; Week 10

SQL Server DATEPART Function

  • DATEPART – returns an integer corresponding to the datepart specified
-- date and time parts - returns int
SELECT DATEPART(YEAR, GETDATE())        AS 'Year';        
SELECT DATEPART(QUARTER, GETDATE())     AS 'Quarter';     
SELECT DATEPART(MONTH, GETDATE())       AS 'Month';       
SELECT DATEPART(DAYOFYEAR, GETDATE())   AS 'DayOfYear';   
SELECT DATEPART(DAY, GETDATE())         AS 'Day';         
SELECT DATEPART(WEEK, GETDATE())        AS 'Week';        
SELECT DATEPART(WEEKDAY, GETDATE())     AS 'WeekDay';     
SELECT DATEPART(HOUR, GETDATE())        AS 'Hour';        
SELECT DATEPART(MINUTE, GETDATE())      AS 'Minute';      
SELECT DATEPART(SECOND, GETDATE())      AS 'Second';      
SELECT DATEPART(MILLISECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MilliSecond'; 
SELECT DATEPART(MICROSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MicroSecond'; 
SELECT DATEPART(NANOSECOND, GETDATE())  AS 'NanoSecond';  
SELECT DATEPART(ISO_WEEK, GETDATE())    AS 'Week';        
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DATEPART(YEAR, GETDATE()) AS 'Year'; Year 2019
SELECT DATEPART(QUARTER, GETDATE()) AS 'Quarter'; Quarter 1
SELECT DATEPART(MONTH, GETDATE()) AS 'Month'; Month 3
SELECT DATEPART(DAYOFYEAR, GETDATE()) AS 'DayOfYear'; DayOfYear 67
SELECT DATEPART(DAY, GETDATE()) AS 'Day'; Day 8
SELECT DATEPART(WEEK, GETDATE()) AS 'Week'; Week 10
SELECT DATEPART(WEEKDAY, GETDATE()) AS 'WeekDay'; WeekDay 6
SELECT DATEPART(HOUR, GETDATE()) AS 'Hour'; Hour 10
SELECT DATEPART(MINUTE, GETDATE()) AS 'Minute'; Minute 36
SELECT DATEPART(SECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'Second'; Second 14
SELECT DATEPART(MILLISECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MilliSecond'; MilliSecond 43
SELECT DATEPART(MICROSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'MicroSecond'; MicroSecond 43333
SELECT DATEPART(NANOSECOND, GETDATE()) AS 'NanoSecond'; NanoSecond 43333333
SELECT DATEPART(ISO_WEEK, GETDATE()) AS 'Week'; Week 10

SQL Server DAY, MONTH and YEAR Functions

  • DAY – returns an integer corresponding to the day specified
  • MONTH– returns an integer corresponding to the month specified
  • YEAR– returns an integer corresponding to the year specified
SELECT DAY(GETDATE())   AS 'Day';                            
SELECT MONTH(GETDATE()) AS 'Month';                       
SELECT YEAR(GETDATE())  AS 'Year';                       
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DAY(GETDATE()) AS 'Day'; DAY 8
SELECT MONTH(GETDATE()) AS 'Month'; MONTH 3
SELECT YEAR(GETDATE()) AS 'Year'; YEAR 2019

SQL Server DATEFROMPARTS, DATETIME2FROMPARTS, DATETIMEFROMPARTS, DATETIMEOFFSETFROMPARTS, SMALLDATETIMEFROMPARTS and  TIMEFROMPARTS Functions

  • DATEFROMPARTS – returns a date from the date specified
  • DATETIME2FROMPARTS – returns a datetime2 from part specified
  • DATETIMEFROMPARTS – returns a datetime from part specified
  • DATETIMEOFFSETFROMPARTS - returns a datetimeoffset from part specified
  • SMALLDATETIMEFROMPARTS - returns a smalldatetime from part specified
  • TIMEFROMPARTS - returns a time from part specified
-- date and time from parts
SELECT DATEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1)                         AS 'Date';          -- returns date
SELECT DATETIME2FROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0,1)          AS 'DateTime2';     -- returns datetime2
SELECT DATETIMEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0)             AS 'DateTime';      -- returns datetime
SELECT DATETIMEOFFSETFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0,0,0,0) AS 'Offset';        -- returns datetimeoffset
SELECT SMALLDATETIMEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0)            AS 'SmallDateTime'; -- returns smalldatetime
SELECT TIMEFROMPARTS(6,0,0,0,0)                        AS 'Time';          -- returns time
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DATEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1) AS 'Date'; Date 2019-01-01
SELECT DATETIME2FROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0,1) AS 'DateTime2'; DateTime2 2019-01-01 06:00:00.0
SELECT DATETIMEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0) AS 'DateTime'; DateTime 2019-01-01 06:00:00.000
SELECT DATETIMEOFFSETFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0,0,0,0,0,0) AS 'Offset'; Offset 2019-01-01 06:00:00 +00:00
SELECT SMALLDATETIMEFROMPARTS(2019,1,1,6,0) AS 'SmallDateTime'; SmallDateTime 2019-01-01 06:00:00
SELECT TIMEFROMPARTS(6,0,0,0,0) AS 'Time'; Time 06:00:00

SQL Server DATEDIFF and DATEDIFF_BIG Functions

  • DATEDIFF - returns the number of date or time datepart boundaries crossed between specified dates as an int
  • DATEDIFF_BIG - returns the number of date or time datepart boundaries crossed between specified dates as a bigint
--Date and Time Difference
SELECT DATEDIFF(DAY, 2019-31-01, 2019-01-01)      AS 'DateDif'    -- returns int
SELECT DATEDIFF_BIG(DAY, 2019-31-01, 2019-01-01)  AS 'DateDifBig' -- returns bigint
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DATEDIFF(DAY, 2019-31-01, 2019-01-01) AS 'DateDif' DateDif 30
SELECT DATEDIFF_BIG(DAY, 2019-31-01, 2019-01-01) AS 'DateDifBig' DateDifBig 30

SQL Server DATEADD, EOMONTH, SWITCHOFFSET and TODATETIMEOFFSET Functions

  • DATEADD - returns datepart with added interval as a datetime
  • EOMONTH – returns last day of month of offset as type of start_date
  • SWITCHOFFSET - returns date and time offset and time zone offset
  • TODATETIMEOFFSET - returns date and time with time zone offset
-- modify date and time
SELECT DATEADD(DAY,1,GETDATE())        AS 'DatePlus1';          -- returns data type of the date argument
SELECT EOMONTH(GETDATE(),1)            AS 'LastDayOfNextMonth'; -- returns start_date argument or date
SELECT SWITCHOFFSET(GETDATE(), -6)     AS 'NowMinus6';          -- returns datetimeoffset
SELECT TODATETIMEOFFSET(GETDATE(), -2) AS 'Offset';             -- returns datetimeoffset
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT DATEADD(DAY,1,GETDATE()) AS 'DatePlus1'; DatePlus1 2019-03-09 10:38:21.710
SELECT EOMONTH(GETDATE(),1) AS 'LastDayOfNextMonth'; LastDayOfNextMonth 2019-04-30
SELECT SWITCHOFFSET(GETDATE(), -6) AS 'NowMinus6'; NowMinus6 2019-03-08 12:40:22.540 -00:06
SELECT TODATETIMEOFFSET(GETDATE(), -2) AS 'Offset'; Offset 2019-03-08 12:46:22.540 -00:02

SQL Server ISDATE Function to Validate Date and Time Values

  • ISDATE – returns int - Returns 1 if a valid datetime type and 0 if not
-- validate date and time - returns int
SELECT ISDATE(GETDATE()) AS 'IsDate'; 
SELECT ISDATE(NULL) AS 'IsDate';
SQL Server T-SQL Syntax Date Function Result
SELECT ISDATE(GETDATE()) AS 'IsDate'; IsDate 1
SELECT ISDATE(NULL) AS 'IsDate'; IsDate 0
Next Steps

Hopefully you found this tip helpful. 

As this was written to be a quick reference, the following links have more information regarding datetime functions and formatting:



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About the author
MSSQLTips author Joe Gavin Joe Gavin is from the Greater Boston area. He started working with SQL Server and Sybase in 1998 in the financial services industry and has been a SQL Server Database Administrator for a dairy cooperative since 2011. He graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) degree in Computer Technology. Joe has spoken at the Boston and Providence SQL Saturday events.

This author pledges the content of this article is based on professional experience and not AI generated.

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Comments For This Article




Tuesday, November 8, 2022 - 11:03:28 AM - Jay mee Back To Top (90670)
how do i select all records that have an event datetime witin 1 hour before, for example mysql select all that time_diff less than 1 hour from datetime? its for a reminder email i want to make on a cronjob can you help with this sql query?

Monday, April 1, 2019 - 3:26:30 AM - Lubabalo Back To Top (79435)

Good day

Can someone please advise, I have a column called [HOUR] in time(7) data type looking like '12:30:00.0000000', what sql function can I use to format the whole column without changing the data type, I tried a few but I'm not winning.

From hh:mm:ss[.nnnnnnn] to hh:mm

Regards

Lubabalo


Tuesday, March 26, 2019 - 10:40:14 AM - Shar Back To Top (79399)

 Very helpful! Some of these I did not know about, ie the UTC functions. Thanks for putting this together.















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