Java Additional Topics

Java String to Date

Last Updated : 8 Oct 2026

In Java, a string variable can be represented in date format. The task is to convert the String variable into date format.

Example 1:

Input: String s = "2026-05-22T11:16:01Z"

Output: 2026-05-22T11:16:01Z

Example 2:

Input: String s = "2026-03-02T13:21:05Z"

Output: 2026-03-02T13:21:05Z

In the above examples, the date and time value stored in the String variable s is converted into a date representation.

Methods to Convert String into Date

There are the following methods and techniques that can be used to convert of a String value to a date format.

Using SimpleDateFormat Classs
Using Instant Class
Using DateTimeFormatter Class

Using SimpleDateFormat.parse() Method

The SimpleDateFormat class provides the parse() method that converts a date string into a Date object. It uses a specified date and time pattern to interpret the string and requires the input string to match that pattern.

Example

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;  
import java.util.Date;  
public class Main {  
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {  
    String sDate1="01/10/2026";  
    Date date1=new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy").parse(sDate1);  
    System.out.println(sDate1+"\t"+date1);  
}  
}

Compile and Run

Output:

01/10/2026	Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 UTC 2026

Let's see another program that converts different types of Strings into Date format. Here, we have used different date formats using the SimpleDateFormat class.

Example

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;  
import java.util.Date;  
public class Main {  
public static void main(String[] args)throws Exception {  
    String sDate1="12/05/2026";  
    String sDate2 = "23-Oct-2026";  
    String sDate3 = "09 11, 2026";  
    String sDate4 = "Thu, Nov 12 2026";  
    String sDate5 = "Tue, Sep 15 2026 23:37:50";  
    String sDate6 = "10-Jan-2026 23:37:50"; 
    SimpleDateFormat formatter1=new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");  
    SimpleDateFormat formatter2=new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MMM-yyyy");  
    SimpleDateFormat formatter3=new SimpleDateFormat("MM dd, yyyy");  
    SimpleDateFormat formatter4=new SimpleDateFormat("E, MMM dd yyyy");  
SimpleDateFormat formatter5=new SimpleDateFormat("E, MMM dd yyyy HH:mm:ss");  
 SimpleDateFormat formatter6=new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss");  
    Date date1=formatter1.parse(sDate1);  
    Date date2=formatter2.parse(sDate2);  
    Date date3=formatter3.parse(sDate3);  
    Date date4=formatter4.parse(sDate4);  
    Date date5=formatter5.parse(sDate5);  
    Date date6=formatter6.parse(sDate6);  
    System.out.println(sDate1+"\t"+date1);  
    System.out.println(sDate2+"\t"+date2);  
    System.out.println(sDate3+"\t"+date3);  
    System.out.println(sDate4+"\t"+date4);  
    System.out.println(sDate5+"\t"+date5);  
    System.out.println(sDate6+"\t"+date6);  
}  
}

Compile and Run

Output:

12/05/2026	Tue May 12 00:00:00 UTC 2026
23-Oct-2026	Fri Oct 23 00:00:00 UTC 2026
09 11, 2026	Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 UTC 2026
Thu, Nov 12 2026	Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 UTC 2026
Tue, Sep 15 2026 23:37:50	Tue Sep 15 23:37:50 UTC 2026
10-Jan-2026 23:37:50	Sat Jan 10 23:37:50 UTC 2026

Using Instant Class

Instant class is also used to convert the string into date format. It belongs to java.time package. It provides the users with an accuracy in nanoseconds. The accuracy provided by the Instant class is better when compared with that of Date class.

The approach or algorithm of this method is very simple. The string that needs to be converted must be taken as input from user or assigned value. Then an empty object of Instant timestamp must be created. Upon successful creation of the timestamp object, the string gets converted into Date with the help of Instant.parse(). On unsuccessful creation, a DateTimeParseException will be thrown.

Example

import java.time.Instant;  
import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException;  
public class Main {  
    // Method utilized for the conversion of String variable to Date format.  
    public static Instant fetchDate(String s) {  
        // Creation of an Instant object  
        Instant TimeStamp = null;  
        // Parsing through the string to Date  
        TimeStamp = Instant.parse(s);  
        // Returning the converted TimeStamp with Date format.  
        return TimeStamp;  
    }  
    public static void main(String[] args) {  
        // Input the string value  
        String s = "2026-07-08T10:15:01Z";  
        // Trying to block for checking for runtime exceptions  
        try {  
            // Fetching the Date from String by  
            // Creation of an object of the Instant class  
            Instant TimeStamp = fetchDate(s);  
            // Displaying the successfully converted date  
            System.out.println("Date Converted from String: " + TimeStamp);  
        } catch (DateTimeParseException e) {  
            // Throws DateTimeParseException  
            // Only if the string cannot be parsed  
            System.out.println("Exception occurred while parsing: " + e.getMessage());  
        } catch (Exception e) {  
            // Handles any other runtime exceptions  
            System.out.println("An unexpected error occurred: " + e.getMessage());  
        }  
    }  
}

Compile and Run

Output:

Date Converted from String: 2026-07-08T10:15:01Z

It was the procedure or method for the conversion of a String value to a Date format. Let us look at another methods or approaches for converting String to Date.

Using DateTimeFormatter Class

For converting the string into date format, an empty LocalDate object must be created. After that the String must converted into date format by using the LocalDate.parse() method. Upon successful conversion, display the resultant date. The method throws an IllegalArgumentException if the input string is not valid.

Example

import java.time.LocalDate;  
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;  
import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException;  
public class Main {  
    public static LocalDate fetchDateFromString(String s, DateTimeFormatter format) {  
        LocalDate d = LocalDate.parse(s, format);  
        // Returning the converted d at the end  
        return d;  
    }  
    public static void main(String[] args) {  
        String s = "26 September, 2026";  
        // Getting the format by creating an object of DateTImeFormatter class  
        DateTimeFormatter format = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("d MMMM, yyyy");  
        // Try block to check for exceptions  
        try {  
            // Getting the Date from String  
            LocalDate d = fetchDateFromString(s, format);  
            // Printing the converted d  
            System.out.println(d);  
        }  
        // Block 1  
        // Catch block to handle exceptions occurring  
        // if the String pattern is invalid  
        catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {  
            // Display the exception  
            System.out.println("Exception: " + e);  
        }  
        // Block 2  
        // If the String was unable to be parsed  
        catch (DateTimeParseException e) {  
            // Display the exception  
            System.out.println("Exception: " + e);  
        }  
    }  
}

Compile and Run

Output:

2026-09-26

Using SimpleDateFormat Class

In this method, an object of the Date class must be created which refers to the SimpleDateFormat class. After that the date format must be parsed into it. Then the final result must be displayed.

Example

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;  
import java.util.Date;  
import java.util.Random;  
public class Main {  
    // Method utilized for generating a random date string  
    public static String generateRandomDateString() {  
        Random random = new Random();  
        int d = random.nextInt(20) + 1; // Random d between 1 and 20  
        int m = random.nextInt(10) + 1; // Random m between 1 and 10 
        int y = random.nextInt(100) + 1900; // Random y between 1900 and 1999  
        return String.format("%02d/%02d/%04d", d, m, y); // Format the date string  
    }  
    // Method utilized for calculating age based on parsed date  
    public static int calculateAge(Date birthDate) {  
        Date cd = new Date();  
        long dIMillis = Math.abs(cd.getTime() - birthDate.getTime());  
        long Diff = dIMillis / (24 * 60 * 60 * 1000 * 365L);  
        return (int) Diff;  
    }  
    public static void main(String[] args) {  
        try {  
            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) { // Generate and process 5 random dates  
                // Generate a random date string  
                String randomDateStr = generateRandomDateString();  
                // Print the generated random date string  
                System.out.println("Random Date String: " + randomDateStr);  
                // Creating an object of Date class with reference  
                // to SimpleDateFormat class and  
                // parsing the above string into it  
                Date date = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy").parse(randomDateStr);                 // Print and display the date corresponding  
                // to the generated random date string  
                System.out.println("Parsed Date: " + date);  
                // Calculate and print age based on parsed date  
                int age = calculateAge(date);  
                System.out.println("Age: " + age + " years\n");  
            }  
        } catch (Exception e) {  
            e.printStackTrace();  
        }  
    }  
}

Compile and Run

Output:

Random Date String: 03/02/1951
Parsed Date: Sat Feb 03 00:00:00 UTC 1951
Age: 75 years

Random Date String: 07/09/1939
Parsed Date: Thu Sep 07 00:00:00 UTC 1939
Age: 87 years

Random Date String: 06/07/1994
Parsed Date: Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 UTC 1994
Age: 32 years

Random Date String: 17/07/1913
Parsed Date: Thu Jul 17 00:00:00 UTC 1913
Age: 113 years

Random Date String: 17/05/1959
Parsed Date: Sun May 17 00:00:00 UTC 1959
Age: 67 years

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