StringToDate()

Converts a date string to a different format.

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

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.

1StringToDate(dateString)

The StringToDate() function has one parameter:

• dateString (string): Required. The date or timestamp to format.

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.

To use this function, pass it a date or timestamp in a supported format.

1%%[
2  Var @endDate
3  Set @endDate = "2023년 8월 5일"
4]%%
5<p>This offer is valid until %%=StringToDate(@endDate)=%%.</p>

The example returns the timestamp in a format that aligns with the current locale settings.

1This offer is valid until 8/5/2023 12:00:00 AM.