How to format Date and Time in Java

In this article, you’ll learn how to format Date and Time represented using Date, LocalDate, LocalDateTime, or ZonedDateTime to a readable String in Java.

Format LocalDate using DateTimeFormatter

import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class LocalDateFormatExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter dateTimeFormatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy");

        LocalDate localDate = LocalDate.of(2020, 1, 31);

        System.out.println(localDate.format(dateTimeFormatter));

    }
}

# Output
31/01/2020

Format LocalDateTime using DateTimeFormatter

import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class LocalDateTimeFormatExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter dateTimeFormatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E, MMM dd yyyy, hh:mm:ss a");

        LocalDateTime localDateTime = LocalDateTime.of(2020, 1, 31, 10, 45, 30);

        System.out.println(localDateTime.format(dateTimeFormatter));

    }
}

# Output
Fri, Jan 31 2020, 10:45:30 AM

Format ZonedDateTime using DateTimeFormatter

import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.time.ZoneId;
import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class ZonedDateTimeFormatExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter dateTimeFormatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E, MMM dd yyyy, hh:mm:ss a (VV)");

        ZonedDateTime zonedDateTime = ZonedDateTime.of(
                LocalDateTime.of(2020, 1, 31, 10, 30, 45),
                ZoneId.of("America/New_York"));
        
        System.out.println(zonedDateTime.format(dateTimeFormatter));

    }
}

# Output
Fri, Jan 31 2020, 10:30:45 AM (America/New_York)

Format Date and Time using SimpleDateFormat

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;

public class DateFormatExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");

        Date date = new Date();

        System.out.println(sdf.format(date));

    }
}

# Output
24/02/2020

Let’s see another example with a more complex pattern:

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;

public class DateFormatExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("E, MMM dd yyyy, hh:mm:ss a");

        Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
        calendar.set(2020, 1, 26, 15, 30, 45);

        Date date = calendar.getTime();

        System.out.println(sdf.format(date));

    }
}