# PHP NOW() Equivalent for Current Date and Time

> Use PHP's date('Y-m-d H:i:s') function to replicate MySQL's NOW() and return the current date and time in the standard YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/now-function-in-php/

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## The Problem

Does PHP have a function like the MySQL `NOW()` function to return the current date and time?

## The Solution

The `NOW()` function in MySQL returns the current date and time of the database server in `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS` format.

In PHP, you can use the `date()` function and pass in the argument `Y-m-d H:i:s` to get the current date and time in the same format. For example:

```php
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s");
```

Output:

```
2023-05-30 17:53:57
```

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/now-function-in-php/](https://sentry.io/answers/now-function-in-php/)*