MySQL UTC_DATE() Function

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the MySQL UTC_DATE() function to get the current UTC date.

Introduction to the MySQL UTC_DATE() function

The UTC_DATE() function lets you get the current date in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Here’s the syntax of the UTC_DATE() function:

UTC_DATE()Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The UTC_DATE() doesn’t accept any argument and returns the current date in UTC. The UTC() function is useful when you want to handle dates consistently across different time zones.

MySQL UTC_DATE() function examples

Let’s take some examples of using the UTC_DATE() function.

1) Simple UTC_DATE() function example

The following example uses the UTC_DATE() function to display the current UTC DATE():

SELECT UTC_DATE();Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+------------+ | UTC_DATE() | +------------+ | 2023-10-18 | +------------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

2) Using the UTC_DATE() function with table data

First, create a new table called events with the following structure:

CREATE TABLE events ( id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL, date DATE NOT NULL );Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Second, insert some rows using the UTC_DATE() function:

INSERT INTO events (name, date) VALUES ('AI Conference', UTC_DATE()), ('Tech Summit', UTC_DATE()), ('RPA Conf', UTC_DATE());Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Third, query data from the events table:

SELECT name, date FROM events;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+---------------+------------+ | name | date | +---------------+------------+ | AI Conference | 2023-10-18 | | Tech Summit | 2023-10-18 | | RPA Conf | 2023-10-18 | +---------------+------------+ 3 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Summary

• Use the UTC_DATE() function to get the current UTC date.