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Return System Date and Time values

Overview​

The return system date and time value functions covered in this section are:

GETDATE​

GETDATE returns the current database system timestamp as a datetime value without the database time zone offset. This value is derived from the operating system of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running.

Return Type​

datetime

Syntax​

SELECT GETDATE()

GETUTCDATE​

GETUTCDATE Returns the current database system timestamp as a datetime value. The database time zone offset is not included. This value represents the current UTC time (Coordinated Universal Time). This value is derived from the operating system of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running.

Return Type​

datetime

Syntax​

SELECT GETUTCDATE()

SYSDATETIME​

SYSDATETIME returns a datetime2(7) value that contains the date and time of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running.

Syntax​

SYSDATETIME ( )

Return Types​

datetime2(7)

Example 1​

The below example returns the current System Date and Time.

SELECT
  SYSDATETIME(),
  SYSDATETIMEOFFSET(),
  SYSUTCDATETIME(),
  GETDATE(),
  GETUTCDATE()

/*
Returned:
SYSDATETIME()        2020-04-30 13:10:02.0474381
SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()  2020-04-30 13:10:02.0474381 -07:00
SYSUTCDATETIME()     2020-04-30 20:10:02.0474381
GETDATE()            2020-04-30 13:10:02.047
GETUTCDATE()         2020-04-30 20:10:02.047
*/

Example 2​

The below example returns the current System Date.

SELECT
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSUTCDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, GETDATE()),
    CONVERT(date, GETUTCDATE())

/* All returned 2020-04-30 */

Example 3​

The below example returns the current System Time.

SELECT
    CONVERT(time, SYSDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(time, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()),
    CONVERT(time, SYSUTCDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(time, GETDATE()),
    CONVERT(time, GETUTCDATE())

/*
Returned:
SYSDATETIME()        13:18:45.3490361
SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()  13:18:45.3490361
SYSUTCDATETIME()     20:18:45.3490361
GETDATE()            13:18:45.3470000
GETUTCDATE()         20:18:45.3470000
*/

SYSDATETIMEOFFSET​

SYSDATETIMEOFFSET returns a datetimeoffset(7) value that contains the date and time of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running. The time zone offset is included.

Syntax​

SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()

Return Types​

datetimeoffset(7)

Example 1​

The below example shows the formats returned by the Date and Time Functions

SELECT
    SYSDATETIME() AS [SYSDATETIME()],
    SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS [SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()],
    SYSUTCDATETIME() AS [SYSUTCDATETIME()],
    GETDATE() AS [GETDATE()],
    GETUTCDATE() AS [GETUTCDATE()]

Example 2​

The below example converts Date and Time to Date

SELECT
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSUTCDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, GETDATE()),
    CONVERT(date, GETUTCDATE())

SYSUTCDATETIME​

SYSUTCDATETIME returns a datetime2 value that contains the date and time of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running. The date and time are returned as UTC time (Coordinated Universal Time). The fractional second precision specification has a range from 1 to 7 digits. The default precision is 7 digits.

Syntax​

SYSUTCDATETIME()

Return types​

datetime2

Example 1​

SELECT
    SYSDATETIME() AS [SYSDATETIME()],
    SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS [SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()],
    SYSUTCDATETIME() AS [SYSUTCDATETIME()],
    GETDATE() AS [GETDATE()],
    GETUTCDATE() AS [GETUTCDATE()]

Example 2​

SELECT
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()),
    CONVERT(date, SYSUTCDATETIME()),
    CONVERT(date, GETDATE()),
    CONVERT(date, GETUTCDATE())