Dates, Months, and Years
Follow AP Style when listing or writing dates, months, or years in the United States and Canada*
When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. but spell out March, April, May, June, and July.
Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.
His birthday is May 8.
Spell the month out when using alone, or with a year alone.
She was born in February.
January 2023 was a cold month.
When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas.
January 2023 was a cold month.
When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas.
Feb. 14, 2022, was the target date.
She testified that it was Friday, Dec. 3, when the crash occurred.
When a phrase refers to a date, always use Arabic figures without st, nd, rd or th.
Jan. 2nd was the coldest day of the monthJan. 2 was the coldest day of the month
When a phrase refers to a month and day within the current year, do not include the year.
The hearing is scheduled for June 26.
If the reference is to a past or future year, include the year and set it off with commas.
Feb. 14, 2025, is the target date.
Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries.
The 1890s, the 1800s
*Dates are written in various formats across the world
Understanding these formats is crucial in global communication to avoid misinterpretation. Here’s a summary of the other most common formats:
Day-Month-Year (DD-MM-YYYY)
Common in many European, African, and Asian countries, including Mexico, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, and most of Europe.
23-08-2024
Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD)
Common in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea), and increasingly in international contexts (e.g., ISO 8601 standard). This format is often used in databases and software systems because it sorts dates chronologically by default.
2024-08-23
