# JavaScript Parse a Date String into a Date Object

> Call new Date(dateString) with an ISO 8601 formatted string, and append a Z to the end of the string to parse it as UTC instead of local time

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/parsing-a-string-to-a-date-in-javascript/

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## The Problem

You have a string representing a date that you want to convert to a [`Date`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date) object. You may want to do this so that you can manipulate the date easily or display the date in various formats. How can you do this?

## The Solution

Call the [`Date()` constructor](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/Date) with the [`new`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/new) operator to create a `Date` object. The `Date()` constructor can be called with a variable number of arguments and different types of arguments. One way to call it is with a `dateString` argument. The `dateString` argument needs to be in the [ISO 8601 format](https://tc39.es/ecma262/#sec-date-time-string-format):

```
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sssZ
```

The string that you want to parse into a `Date` should match this format or a portion of this format. The "T" character separates the date from the time portion of the string. The "Z" character is the UTC offset representation. UTC is [Coordinated Universal Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time), which is the primary time standard used to regulate times worldwide. It is equivalent to [Greenwich Mean Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time) (GMT). The "Z" character can also be a "+" or "-" character followed by a time expression to indicate local time ahead of or behind UTC.

This date format includes date-only forms, such as `YYYY-MM`, and date-with-time forms, such as `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss`. Date-only strings are formatted as UTC. Date-time strings use the local time zone, so the browser's timezone affects the parsed date.

It's best practice to store dates and manipulate them in UTC format. You can then use different `Date` methods to display the date in UTC or in a user's local time zone, as needed. You can display a date in UTC using the [`toUTCString()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/toUTCString) method. You can use the [`toString()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/toString) method to display a date in the user's local time zone.

If you can, use the full date and time in your date string.

To parse a date string as UTC, append a "Z" to the end of the date:

```javascript
const date1 = new Date('2023-01-14T09:00:05.123');
const date2 = new Date('2023-01-14T09:00:05.123Z');

console.log(date1.toUTCString()); // Sat, 14 Jan 2023 07:00:05 GMT
console.log(date1.toString()); // Sat Jan 14 2023 09:00:05 GMT+0200 (South Africa Standard Time)

console.log(date2.toUTCString()); // Sat, 14 Jan 2023 09:00:05 GMT
console.log(date2.toString()); // Sat Jan 14 2023 11:00:05 GMT+0200 (South Africa Standard Time)
```

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/parsing-a-string-to-a-date-in-javascript/](https://sentry.io/answers/parsing-a-string-to-a-date-in-javascript/)*