Customize Time Date Format Windows 10: Full Guide
To customize the time and date format in Windows 10, open the Settings app, go to Time & Language > Region, and click “Change data formats.” From there you can pick from preset formats for the short and long date and time. For complete control, you can also use the classic Control Panel’s Region dialog to define your own custom formats using format tokens.
Where the Settings Are Located
Windows 10 splits date and time settings between two places. The modern Settings app (gear icon in the Start menu) handles the basic presets, while the older Control Panel provides the advanced customization options. Both are accessible from the same region settings page, so you don’t need to hunt through multiple menus.
In the Settings app, navigate to Time & Language > Region. Click “Change data formats” to see four dropdowns: Short date, Long date, Short time, and Long time. These give you about a dozen preset choices per field, but no way to type your own pattern. That limitation is why many users end up in the Control Panel.
How to Create a Custom Format
To go beyond the presets, open the classic Region dialog. Press Win + R, type intl.cpl, and press Enter. Alternatively, search for “Region” in the Start menu and select the Control Panel result.
- In the Region dialog, click the Additional settings… button at the bottom.
- Switch to the Date tab.
- Under “Date formats,” type your custom pattern into the Short date or Long date fields.
- Switch to the Time tab to edit the time formats.
- Click Apply and OK on both dialogs.
Your new format takes effect immediately across the taskbar, lock screen, and file explorer. No restart is required.
Understanding the Format Tokens
Custom formats are built from single-letter tokens that Windows replaces with actual values. The most common ones are:
- d – day of the month (1–31), dd – zero-padded (01–31)
- ddd – abbreviated weekday (Mon), dddd – full weekday (Monday)
- M – month (1–12), MM – zero-padded (01–12), MMM – abbreviated month (Jan), MMMM – full month (January)
- y – last two digits of year (24), yyyy – full year (2024)
- h – 12-hour hour, H – 24-hour hour, hh/HH – zero-padded
- m – minutes, mm – zero-padded minutes
- s – seconds, ss – zero-padded seconds
- t – first letter of AM/PM (A or P), tt – full AM/PM
For example, the token string dddd, MMMM d, yyyy produces “Monday, January 6, 2025.” The token h:mm tt produces “3:45 PM.” You can include literal text like commas, hyphens, or slashes between tokens.
Common Custom Format Examples
Here are a few patterns people frequently use, with what they display for January 6, 2025, at 3:45:30 PM:
- ISO 8601 short date:
yyyy-MM-dd→ 2025-01-06 - Day first with weekday:
ddd, dd/MM/yyyy→ Mon, 06/01/2025 - 24-hour time with seconds:
HH:mm:ss→ 15:45:30 - 12-hour time without leading zero:
h:mm tt→ 3:45 PM - Full date and time:
dddd, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm:ss tt→ Monday, January 6, 2025 3:45:30 PM
Note that the tokens are case-sensitive. MM means month, but mm means minutes. Mixing them up is the most common mistake when writing custom formats.
Why the Format Sometimes Resets
Windows may revert your custom format after a major update or when you change your display language. This happens because the system ties date formats to the region/locale settings, and updates can reapply the default locale. To prevent this, you can set the same custom format in both the Settings presets and the Control Panel custom fields. If the format still resets, check that your region in Settings matches the one in Control Panel; mismatched regions can cause Windows to overwrite one with the other.
Another quirk: the lock screen and the taskbar may not always honor the same format. The taskbar uses the “Short time” setting, while the lock screen uses the “Long time” setting. If you change one but not the other, you’ll see different formats in different places.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change the date format to DD MM YYYY?
Open the Control Panel Region dialog, go to Additional settings > Date, and type dd MM yyyy (or dd/MM/yyyy) into the Short date field. Apply and OK. The taskbar will show the new format immediately.
Why is my time showing in 24-hour format?
Your current region preset likely uses 24-hour time. To switch to 12-hour, go to Settings > Time & Language > Region > Change data formats, and set Short time to one of the options with “AM/PM” or “tt” in it. Alternatively, in the Control Panel, change the Time format to h:mm tt.
Can I add seconds to the taskbar clock?
Yes, but not through the standard settings. You need to edit the Windows Registry. Open Regedit, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, create a DWORD value named ShowSecondsInSystemClock, set it to 1, and restart Explorer. This is a supported but undocumented option, and it may affect battery life on laptops.
Will changing the format affect Excel or other apps?
No. Excel and most other applications use their own date formatting settings, not the Windows system format. Changing Windows formats only affects system displays like the taskbar, calendar popup, file timestamps, and some built-in apps.
How do I restore the default format?
Go to Settings > Time & Language > Region > Change data formats and select the default option for each dropdown. For the Control Panel custom fields, delete your custom tokens and click Apply. Windows will revert to the standard format for your region.
Why does my date show as “6/1/2025” instead of “1/6/2025”?
That’s because your region uses day/month/year order. To switch to month/day/year, change the Short date format to M/d/yyyy in the Control Panel. If you see “6/1/2025” and expect January 6, the format is month-first; if you expect June 1, it’s day-first.
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