# DateParse()

Returns a formatted date from a date string.

## Availability

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>Marketing Cloud Engagement</td>
    <td>✅ Yes</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Marketing Cloud Next</td>
    <td>✅ Yes, <a href="#differences-between-marketing-cloud-engagement-and-marketing-cloud-next">with some differences</a></td>
  </tr>
</table>

This function became available in Marketing Cloud Next during the Summer ’26 release (API version 67.0).

## Differences Between Marketing Cloud Engagement and Marketing Cloud Next

In Marketing Cloud Engagement, this function returns a dateTime object that other functions can reformat.

In Marketing Cloud Next, this function returns a string formatted with the `G` standard format. This format uses a combination of a short date value and a long time value. For example, in the `en_US` locale, this function outputs a timestamp that’s similar to this example: `5/15/2026 1:23:45 PM`. Because the output is a string and is formatted based on locale rules, you can’t reliably pass it through other functions that expect a date-time string, such as `FormatDate()`. If your use case requires you to parse and then format a date, use `FormatDate()` instead.

## Syntax

```
DateParse(dateString, boolUseUtc)
```

The `DateParse()` function has two parameters:

- `dateString` (string): Required. A string that contains a date or timestamp.
- `boolUseUtc` (boolean): If `true`, the function returns the date and time in UTC time. If `false`, the function uses the local time defined by your Business Unit. The default value is `false`.

## Supported Date Formats

You can specify a date string in several formats, including:

- ISO 8601 timestamp: `2023-08-05T13:41:23-06:00`
- ISO 8601 date: `2023-08-05`
- US date and time notation: `8/5/2023 1:41 PM`
- Long-form notation: `5 August 2023` or `August 5, 2023`
- Date and time: `2023-08-05 1:41:23 PM`
- Time only: `1:41 PM`
- Chinese and Japanese notation: `2023 年 8 月 5 日`
- Korean notation: `2023년 8월 5일`

The function doesn’t support these formats:

- Dates in which the day includes an ordinal suffix, such as `August 5th, 2023` or `5th August 2023`.
- Little-endian numeral notation, such as `5/8/2023` to represent the 5th of August, 2023.
- Month names in languages other than English, such as `5 août 2023`.
- Dates that include any numerals other than Western Arabic numerals, such as `٢٠٢٣/٨/٥`.
- Dates based on any calendar system other than the Gregorian calendar, such as `18 Av, 5783` or `18 Muharram, 1445`.

## Usage

This example prints the current time in UTC.

```
%%[
  Var @now, @nowUtc
  Set @now = Now()
  Set @nowUtc = DateParse(@now, true)

]%%
<p>The current UTC time is: %%=v(@nowUtc)=%%.</p>
```