How do I convert a string to a date in PowerShell?

Use [datetime]'2026-09-28' for ISO or US dates. For other formats, use [datetime]::ParseExact($text, 'dd.MM.yyyy', [cultureinfo]::InvariantCulture).

Why does Get-Date read my date string with the wrong month?

Get-Date follows the PC's regional settings, so 04/05/2026 is May 4 on a UK-format PC. The [datetime] cast always reads it as April 5.

How do I check if a string is a valid date?

Use [datetime]::TryParseExact() with your formats and a [ref] variable. It returns False instead of throwing an error.

How do I extract a date from a string in PowerShell?

Match it with a regex, like [regex]::Matches($text, '\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}'), then convert each match with ParseExact.

How do I convert a Unix timestamp to a date in PowerShell?

Use [DateTimeOffset]::FromUnixTimeSeconds($seconds).UtcDateTime. For milliseconds, use FromUnixTimeMilliseconds.

Convert String to Date in PowerShell (ParseExact Examples)

To convert a string to a date in PowerShell, cast it with [datetime] when it’s in US or ISO format. For any other layout, use [datetime]::ParseExact() and tell it the exact format:

$shipDate = [datetime]'2026-09-28'
$invoice  = [datetime]::ParseExact('28.09.2026 14:30', 'dd.MM.yyyy HH:mm', [cultureinfo]::InvariantCulture)

"Ship date: $($shipDate.ToString('dddd, MMMM d, yyyy'))"
"Invoice:   $($invoice.ToString('MMMM d, yyyy h:mm tt'))"
"Type:      $($invoice.GetType().Name)"

Output:

Ship date: Monday, September 28, 2026
Invoice:   September 28, 2026 2:30 PM
Type:      DateTime

PowerShell convert a string to a date with [datetime] and ParseExact — A cast and ParseExact both return a DateTime (PowerShell 7)

Once it’s a DateTime, you can format it, compare it and do date math with it. I ran every example in PowerShell 7.6 and Windows PowerShell 5.1, and the results were identical.

This Tutorial Covers:

[datetime] vs Get-Date: why the same string gives two dates

The [datetime] cast always reads month first, US style, no matter how the PC is set up. Get-Date follows the PC’s regional format. On a PC set to UK format, they disagree:

[System.Threading.Thread]::CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = 'en-GB'   # a PC set to UK date format

$text = '04/05/2026'
"Cast [datetime]: $(([datetime]$text).ToString('MMMM d, yyyy'))"
"Get-Date:        $((Get-Date -Date $text).ToString('MMMM d, yyyy'))"

Output:

Cast [datetime]: April 5, 2026
Get-Date:        May 4, 2026

PowerShell [datetime] cast vs Get-Date with a UK date format — The cast reads April 5, Get-Date reads May 4 (Windows PowerShell 5.1)

If your script runs on computers with different regional settings, don’t rely on Get-Date to read a date string. Use the cast for US and ISO dates, or ParseExact for anything else.

Convert common US date formats with ParseExact

ParseExact needs a format string that matches the text exactly. [cultureinfo]::InvariantCulture makes month names and AM/PM read the same on every PC:

$us = [cultureinfo]::InvariantCulture

[datetime]::ParseExact('9/28/2026', 'M/d/yyyy', $us).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
[datetime]::ParseExact('Sep 28, 2026', 'MMM d, yyyy', $us).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
[datetime]::ParseExact('20260928', 'yyyyMMdd', $us).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
[datetime]::ParseExact('09/28/2026 3:45 PM', 'MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt', $us).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm')

Output:

2026-09-28
2026-09-28
2026-09-28
2026-09-28 15:45

Text	Format string
9/28/2026	`M/d/yyyy`
09/28/2026	`MM/dd/yyyy`
Sep 28, 2026	`MMM d, yyyy`
September 28, 2026	`MMMM d, yyyy`
09/28/2026 3:45 PM	`MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt`
20260928	`yyyyMMdd`

Capital MM is the month and lowercase mm is minutes, a common mix-up.

Check if a string is a valid date

ParseExact stops with an error when the text doesn’t match. For user input or file data, use TryParseExact. It returns True or False, and it accepts a list of formats:

$formats = [string[]]('M/d/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'yyyy-MM-dd')
$us = [cultureinfo]::InvariantCulture

foreach ($text in '9/28/2026', '2026-09-28', '28/09/2026') {
    $date = [datetime]::MinValue
    if ([datetime]::TryParseExact($text, $formats, $us, 'None', [ref]$date)) {
        '{0,-11} -> {1:MMMM d, yyyy}' -f $text, $date
    }
    else {
        '{0,-11} -> not a valid date' -f $text
    }
}

Output:

9/28/2026   -> September 28, 2026
2026-09-28  -> September 28, 2026
28/09/2026  -> not a valid date

28/09/2026 has no 28th month, so it’s rejected instead of crashing the script.

How do I find a date inside a string?

TryParse only works when the whole string is a date. It won’t pull a date out of a sentence:

$line =