How to Change Date & Time Format in Windows
Win 10 & Win 11

Why You Might Want to Change the Date & Time Format in Windows

Windows uses regional settings to display dates and times throughout the operating system — in File Explorer, the taskbar clock, Microsoft Office, and many third-party applications. By default, the format is set based on the language and region selected during installation.

However, many users have good reasons to customize it further:

Date & Time Format Tokens in Windows — Reference Guide

Windows uses format specifier tokens — short letter codes — to define how date and time values are displayed. Before making changes, it's worth understanding what each token means so you can build exactly the format you want.

📅 Date Format Tokens

🕐 Time Format Tokens

✨ Popular Format Examples

This is the recommended method for Windows 10 and Windows 11 users. It provides a clean interface with dropdown menus and a live preview of the resulting format.

🪟 Steps for Windows 11

1. Press Win + I to open the Settings app.
2. Navigate to Time & Language in the left sidebar.
3. Click Language & Region.
4. Under the Region section, click Regional format (shown as your current locale, e.g., "English (United States)").
5. Click Change formats.
6. Use the dropdown menus to adjust Short date, Long date, Short time, and Long time formats.
7. The preview updates live — once satisfied, simply close the window. Changes save automatically.

🖥️ Steps for Windows 10

1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Time & Language.
3. Select Region from the left panel.
4. Under Regional format, click Change data formats.
5. Adjust the dropdown values for First day of week, Short date, Long date, Short time, and Long time.
6. Changes are applied instantly across the OS.

The Control Panel Region settings give you full freedom to type in any custom format string using the tokens from Section 02. This is the best approach if you need a non-standard layout that doesn't appear in the Settings dropdowns.

📂 Opening Region Settings

Alternatively, open the Run dialog (Win + R), type intl.cpl, and press Enter to jump directly to the Region window.

1. Open the Region window via Control Panel or intl.cpl.
2. On the Formats tab, click Additional settings… at the bottom.
3. A Customize Format dialog opens with three tabs: Numbers, Currency, and Date & Time.
4. Switch to the Date tab. You will see text fields for Short date and Long date — type your desired format string directly (e.g., yyyy-MM-dd).
5. Switch to the Time tab. Edit the Short time and Long time fields (e.g., HH:mm for 24-hour).
6. Click Apply, then OK to confirm. Changes take effect immediately.

🔤 Entering a Custom Format

The input fields accept raw token strings. Here are some useful examples you can paste directly:

Short Date — Common Custom Stringsyyyy-MM-dd        →  2025-03-17   (ISO 8601)
dd/MM/yyyy        →  17/03/2025   (European)
MM-dd-yyyy        →  03-17-2025
dddd, MMMM d, yyyy →  Monday, March 17, 2025

Time — Common Custom StringsHH:mm             →  14:35        (24-hour, no seconds)
HH:mm:ss          →  14:35:07     (24-hour, with seconds)
h:mm tt           →  2:35 PM      (12-hour)
hh:mm:ss tt       →  02:35:07 PM  (12-hour, padded)

If you only need to quickly reach the date/time format settings, the taskbar clock provides a one-click shortcut that works on both Windows 10 and 11.

1. Right-click the clock in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar.
2. Select "Adjust date and time" (Windows 10) or simply click the clock area and then the settings gear icon (Windows 11).
3. In the Date & Time settings page, scroll down and click "Change date and time formats" (Windows 10) or navigate to Language & Region → Regional format → Change formats (Windows 11).
4. Adjust the dropdowns and close when done.

For system administrators and power users, date and time formats can also be set directly in the Windows Registry. This is useful for automation, scripting deployments, or when the UI is not accessible.

🔑 Registry Key Location

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Approve the UAC prompt.
2. Navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International
3. In the right pane, locate the string values you want to modify. Double-click a value to edit it.
4. Enter your desired format string and click OK.
5. Close Registry Editor. The changes apply after a sign-out and sign-in, or a full restart.

📋 Key Registry Values for Date & Time

⚙️ Applying via PowerShell (Scriptable)

The same registry edits can be performed via PowerShell, making this approach scriptable for enterprise deployments:

PowerShell — Set ISO 8601 Date Format$RegPath = "HKCU:\Control Panel\International"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name "sShortDate"  -Value "yyyy-MM-dd"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name "sLongDate"   -Value "dddd, MMMM d, yyyy"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name "sShortTime"  -Value "HH:mm"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name "sTimeFormat" -Value "HH:mm:ss"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name "iTime"       -Value "1"
Write-Host "Date/time formats updated. Sign out and back in to apply." -ForegroundColor Green

Troubleshooting: Date & Time Format Changes Not Working in Windows

If your changes don't seem to take effect, the following table covers the most common causes and their solutions:

Frequently Asked Questions: Windows Date & Time Format

Conclusion

Windows provides multiple flexible paths to customize how dates and times are displayed across the entire operating system. The right method depends on your needs: