PHP Date Format Example

Format dates and times with date() and DateTime. Edit the code below and press Run to execute it with real PHP in your browser.

Code Editor

<?php
$timestamp = mktime(14, 30, 0, 3, 15, 2026); // 2026-03-15 14:30:00

echo "Full: " . date("l, F j, Y", $timestamp) . "\n";
echo "ISO: " . date("Y-m-d", $timestamp) . "\n";
echo "Time: " . date("H:i:s", $timestamp) . "\n";
echo "12-hour: " . date("M d, Y - h:i A", $timestamp) . "\n";

$d = new DateTime("2026-03-15");
$d->modify("+1 month");
echo "Next month: " . $d->format("Y-m-d");

Output

Full: Sunday, March 15, 2026
ISO: 2026-03-15
Time: 14:30:00
12-hour: Mar 15, 2026 - 02:30 PM
Next month: 2026-04-15

How this date format example works

date() formats a Unix timestamp (the current time if omitted) using format characters: Y four-digit year, m month, d day, H 24-hour, h 12-hour, i minutes, A AM/PM, l weekday name. This example uses a fixed timestamp so the output is predictable; remove the second argument to format the current date. DateTime is better for date arithmetic and time zones.