index.md

---

title: Date
slug: Web/HTTP/Headers/Date
browser-compat: http.headers.Date

---

{{HTTPSidebar}}

The Date general HTTP header contains the date and time at which the message originated.

Warning: Date is listed in the forbidden header names in the fetch spec, so this code will not send the Date header:

fetch("https://httpbin.org/get", {
  headers: {
    Date: new Date().toUTCString(),
  },
});

Header type	{{Glossary("Request header")}}, {{Glossary("Response header")}}
{{Glossary("Forbidden header name")}}	yes

Syntax

Date: <day-name>, <day> <month> <year> <hour>:<minute>:<second> GMT

Directives

• <day-name>

  • : One of "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", or "Sun" (case-sensitive).

• <day>

  • : 2 digit day number, e.g. "04" or "23".

• <month>

  • : One of "Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec" (case sensitive).

• <year>

  • : 4 digit year number, e.g. "1990" or "2016".

• <hour>

  • : 2 digit hour number, e.g. "09" or "23".

• <minute>

  • : 2 digit minute number, e.g. "04" or "59".

• <second>

  • : 2 digit second number, e.g. "04" or "59".

• GMT

  • : Greenwich Mean Time. HTTP dates are always expressed in GMT, never in local time.

Examples

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 07:28:00 GMT

new Date().toUTCString();
// "Mon, 09 Mar 2020 08:13:24 GMT"

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• {{HTTPHeader("Age")}}