Apr 28, 20221 min read

How to convert date object to string in C#?

The ToString() method of the DateTime class is used to convert a DateTime date object to string format. The method takes a date format string that specifies the required string representation.

The DateTime struct includes the following methods that return date and time as a string.

METHODS	DESCRIPTION
DateTime.ToString()	Converts a DateTime value to a string in the specified format of the current culture.
DateTime.ToShortDateString()	Converts a DateTime value to a short date string (M/d/yyyy pattern) in the current culture.
DateTime.ToShortTimeString()	Converts a DateTime value to a short time string (h:mm:ss pattern) in the current culture.
DateTime.ToLongDaeString()	Converts a DateTime value to a long date string (dddd, MMMM d, yyyy pattern) in the current culture.
DateTime.ToLongTimeString()	Converts a DateTime value to a long time string (h:mm:ss tt pattern) in the current culture.

Convert DateTime to String using the ToString() Method

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Threading;

public class Program
{
	public static void Main()
	{
		var todayDate = DateTime.Today;
		string strToday = todayDate.ToString(); // converts date to string as per current culture
		Console.WriteLine("Date String in Default: " + strToday);
		
		Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");
		string strTodayUS = todayDate.ToString(); // converts date to string in MM/DD/YYYY format
		Console.WriteLine("Date String in en-US Culture: " + strTodayUS);
		
		Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("fr-FR");
		string strTodayFR = todayDate.ToString(); // converts date to string in DD/MM/YYYY format
		Console.WriteLine("Date String in fr-FR Culture: " + strTodayFR);
	}
}

Output:

Convert DateTime to String in Specific Format

using System;

public class Program
{
	public static void Main()
	{
		var dt = DateTime.Now;
		
		Console.WriteLine("Date String Current Culture: " + dt.ToString("d"));
		Console.WriteLine("MM/dd/yyyy Format: " + dt.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy"));
		Console.WriteLine("dddd, dd MMMM yyyy Format: " + dt.ToString("dddd, dd MMMM yyyy"));
		Console.WriteLine("MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt Format: " + dt.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt"));
		Console.WriteLine("MMMM dd Format:" + dt.ToString("MMMM dd"));
		Console.WriteLine("HH:mm:ss Format: " + dt.ToString("HH:mm:ss"));
		Console.WriteLine("hh:mm tt Format: " + dt.ToString("hh:mm tt"));
	}
}

Output: