| Format Character | Description Example | Returned values |
| Day | ||
| d | Day of the month 2 digits with leading zeros |
01 to 31 |
| D | A textual representation of a day, three letters | Mon through Sun |
| j | Day of the month without leading zeros | 1 to 31 |
| l (lowercase 'L') | A full textual representation of the day of the week | Sunday through Saturday |
| Month | ||
| F | A full textual representation of a month | January through December |
| m | Numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros | 01 through 12 |
| M | A short textual representation of a month, three letters | Jan through Dec |
| n | Numeric representation of a month, without leading zeros |
1 through 12 |
| Year | ||
| Y | A full numeric representation of a year, 4 digits | 1999 or 2003 |
| y | A two digit representation of a year | 99 or 03 |