Date: How to write the date correctly

On this page

• General information on writing the date
• Alphanumeric dates
  • Order of parts in alphanumeric dates
  • Commas with dates
  • Cardinal and ordinal numbers in dates
• Numeric dates
• Dates written entirely in words
• Additional information

General information on writing the date

The most common method of writing the date is the alphanumeric method, which uses a combination of words and numbers. However, in different contexts, dates may also be written entirely in numbers or spelled out entirely in words.

Alphanumeric dates

An alphanumeric date is a date written in a combination of words and numbers. The month (along with the day of the week, if included) is written as a word, capitalized and not abbreviated: January, February; Monday, Tuesday; etc. The day of the month and the year are represented by numbers.

Order of parts in alphanumeric dates

The parts of an alphanumeric date may be written in either of the orders shown below:

• month-day-year: June 16, 2025 (North American style)
• day-month-year: 16 June 2025 (international style)

In Canada generally, North American style is more common. However, the Canadian military uses international style.

Note that when a date appears in the body of a text, hard spaces should be used between the parts of the date so that the entire date remains together on the same line.

Commas with dates

No commas are used in a date in international style:

• 6 January 2025

However, in a date in North American style, commas are used to separate the day and the year:

• January 6, 2025

In a date within a sentence, a comma is also used after the year:

• On Monday, January 6, 2025, we flew to Vancouver.

For more detailed information on the use of commas in dates, see the article Commas in a date.

Cardinal and ordinal numbers in dates

When the complete date is stated in either North American or international style, a cardinal number is used for the day:

• Greg was born on May 23, 2005 [not May 23rd, 2005].
• The shipment arrived on 9 August 2024 [not 9th August 2024].

In North American style, when only the month and day are stated and the month comes first, a cardinal number is again used for the day:

• Greg was born on May 23.
• The shipment arrived on August 9.

But when the day stands alone or comes before the month, then an ordinal number must be used for the day. The ordinal number may be written as a numeral with an ordinal ending (st, nd, rd, th) or spelled out in words:

• Greg was born on the 23rd [or the twenty-third].
• The shipment arrived on the 9th [or the ninth] of August.

Note that the ending on an ordinal number shouldn’t be in superscript: 23rd (not 23^rd).

Numeric dates

In formal writing (including business letters), the date should be written as an alphanumeric date. However, a date written entirely in numbers may be appropriate in certain contexts where space is limited:

• office memorandums
• filenames
• tables or charts
• text appearing in both official languages (as on certificates, forms or plaques)

For clarity, all-numeric dates should be written in the following order: YYYY-MM-DD, with four numerals for the year, two for the month and two for the day. The Translation Bureau recommends using hyphens between the parts to make the date easier to read:

• November 21, 2025 = 2025-11-21 [not 20251121]

When the number for the month or the day is less than 10, a zero is used before the number:

• July 9, 2026 = 2026-07-09 [not 2026-7-9]

Dates written entirely in words

In certain very formal contexts (legal documents, formal invitations, etc.), the entire date may be written out in words:

• Saturday, the twenty-second of June, two thousand and thirty
• this fifteenth day of May in the year two thousand twenty-six

As shown in the first example above, the word and may be included in the year but isn’t essential. Note that the days of the week and months of the year are capitalized, while the numbers are not.

For information on hyphenating compound numbers (twenty-second, twenty-six, etc.), see the article Hyphens: Numbers and units of measurement.

Additional information

• Commas in a date
• Hyphens: Numbers and units of measurement
• Business letters: Date