MySQL DATE_FORMAT() Function

In MySQL, the DATE_FORMAT() function formats a date or datetime value into a specific pattern.

`DATE_FORMAT()` Syntax

Here is the syntax of MySQL DATE_FORMAT() function:

DATE_FORMAT(date, format)

Parameters

date: Required. A date or datetime value.
format: Required. The pattern to use to format the date.

The specifiers shown in the following table may be used in the format string.

Specifier	Description
`%a`	Abbreviated weekday name (`Sun`..`Sat`)
`%b`	Abbreviated month name (`Jan`..`Dec`)
`%c`	Month, numeric (`0`..`12`)
`%D`	Day of the month with English suffix (`0th`, `1st`, `2nd`, `3rd`, …)
`%d`	Day of the month, numeric (`00`..`31`)
`%e`	Day of the month, numeric (`0`..`31`)
`%f`	Microseconds (`000000`..`999999`)
`%H`	Hour (`00`..`23`)
`%h`	Hour (`01`..`12`)
`%I`	Hour (`01`..`12`)
`%i`	Minutes, numeric (`00`..`59`)
`%j`	Day of year (`001`..`366`)
`%k`	Hour (`0`..`23`)
`%l`	Hour (`1`..`12`)
`%M`	Month name (`January`..`December`)
`%m`	Month, numeric (`00`..`12`)
`%p`	`AM` or `PM`
`%r`	Time, 12-hour (`hh:mm:ss` followed by `AM` or `PM`)
`%S`	Seconds (`00`..`59`)
`%s`	Seconds (`00`..`59`)
`%T`	Time, 24-hour (`hh:mm:ss`)
`%U`	Week (`00`..`53`), where Sunday is the first day of the week; `WEEK()` mode 0
`%u`	Week (`00`..`53`), where Monday is the first day of the week; `WEEK()` mode 1
`%V`	Week (`01`..`53`), where Sunday is the first day of the week; `WEEK()` mode 2; used with `%X`
`%v`	Week (`01`..`53`), where Monday is the first day of the week; `WEEK()` mode 3; used with `%x`
`%W`	Weekday name (`Sunday`..`Saturday`)
`%w`	Day of the week (`0`=Sunday..`6`=Saturday)
`%X`	Year for the week where Sunday is the first day of the week, numeric, four digits; used with `%V`
`%x`	Year for the week, where Monday is the first day of the week, numeric, four digits; used with `%v`
`%Y`	Year, numeric, four digits
`%y`	Year, numeric (two digits)
`%%`	A literal `%` character
`%x`	`x`, for any “`x`” not listed above

Return value

The DATE_FORMAT() function formats a date or datetime value into a specific pattern and returns the formatted date or datetime as a string.

The DATE_FORMAT() function will return NULL if any of the arguments are NULL.

`DATE_FORMAT()` Examples

Here are some examples of the DATE_FORMAT() function.

Example 1: Formatting dates

SELECT
    DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-28', '%Y'),
    DATE_FORMAT('2014-02-28', '%W'),
    DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-01', '%M %d, %Y'),
    DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-01', '%M %e %Y'),
    DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-28', '%W, %M %e, %Y')\G

           DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-28', '%Y'): 2022
           DATE_FORMAT('2014-02-28', '%W'): Friday
    DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-01', '%M %d, %Y'): February 01, 2022
     DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-01', '%M %e %Y'): February 1 2022
DATE_FORMAT('2022-02-28', '%W, %M %e, %Y'): Monday, February 28, 2022

Example 2: Formatting datetime

SELECT NOW(), DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%Y%m%d%H%i%S')\G

                             NOW(): 2022-04-12 03:18:38
DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%Y%m%d%H%i%S'): 20220412031838

DATE_FORMAT() Syntax