C# DateTime parse

last modified October 5, 2026

In this article we learn how to parse datetime strings into DateTime objects in C#.

C# DateTime

The DateTime value type represents dates and times with values ranging from 00:00:00 (midnight), January 1, 0001, through 11:59:59 P.M., December 31, 9999, in the Gregorian calendar. A DateTime value does not carry time zone information; use DateTimeOffset when an offset is part of the value.

Parse methods

The DateTime.Parse method converts a datetime string into a DateTime. It tries the datetime patterns of the current culture and throws a FormatException when the string cannot be interpreted.

The DateTime.ParseExact method converts the specified string representation of a datetime to a DateTime. The datetime string format must match the specified format exactly; otherwise a FormatException is thrown.

Dates and times are culture specific; the parsing methods use the current culture by default, or a culture passed as an argument.

A string that omits the year, month, or day is completed from the current date. Optional DateTimeStyles values control additional details, such as whether a value without time zone information is treated as local or UTC.

C# DateTime.Parse

We use DateTime.Parse to convert datetime strings into DateTime objects.

using System.Globalization;

string[] dates =
{
    "03/19/2021 07:20:58",
    "03/19/2021",
    "Fri, 19 Mar 2021 05:20:12 GMT",
    "2021-03-19T05:20:12.0000000Z",
    "2021-03-19T05:20:12.0000000-05:00",
    "2021-03-19 05:20:12 -5:00",
};

foreach (var ds in dates)
{
    var dt = DateTime.Parse(ds, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
        DateTimeStyles.AdjustToUniversal | DateTimeStyles.AssumeUniversal);
    Console.WriteLine(dt);
}

We have a bunch of datetime strings in an array. We convert them into DateTime objects with DateTime.Parse. We pass the invariant culture so that the strings are interpreted the same way on every machine, and the AdjustToUniversal and AssumeUniversal styles normalize the results to UTC.

$ dotnet run
3/19/2021 7:20:58 AM
3/19/2021 12:00:00 AM
3/19/2021 5:20:12 AM
3/19/2021 5:20:12 AM
3/19/2021 10:20:12 AM
3/19/2021 10:20:12 AM

C# DateTime.ParseExact

With DateTime.ParseExact, we explicitly specify the format of the datetime string.

using System.Globalization;

var ds = "Thu Nov 11, 2021";
var dt = DateTime.ParseExact(ds, "ddd MMM dd, yyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
Console.WriteLine(dt);

var ds2 = "10-22-2015";
var dt2 = DateTime.ParseExact(ds2, "MM-dd-yyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
Console.WriteLine(dt2);

The second parameter of the DateTime.ParseExact method is the format of the datetime string and the third parameter is the culture. The format must match the string exactly; otherwise a FormatException is thrown.

$ dotnet run
11/11/2021 12:00:00 AM
10/22/2015 12:00:00 AM

C# DateTime FormatException

If the DateTime.Parse method fails, it throws a FormatException.

using System.Globalization;

string ds = "11/31/2021";

try
{
    DateTime dt = DateTime.Parse(ds, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
    Console.WriteLine($"{dt:d MMMM, yyyy}");
}
catch (FormatException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine("failed to parse string");
    Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}

In the example, we handle a FormatException that is thrown when the string is not a valid datetime, and we print the exception message.

$ dotnet run
failed to parse string
String '11/31/2021' was not recognized as a valid DateTime.

C# DateTime.TryParse

The DateTime.TryParse method converts the specified datetime string into a DateTime. It returns a boolean value that indicates whether the conversion succeeded and stores the result in an out parameter. It does not throw an exception when parsing fails.

using System.Globalization;

string ds = "11/31/2021";

var ok = DateTime.TryParse(ds, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, out var dt);

if (ok)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{dt:d MMMM, yyyy}");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("failed to parse datetime string");
}

In the example, we try to parse an invalid datetime string. If the method succeeds, we print the parsed object; otherwise, we print an error message.

$ dotnet run
failed to parse datetime string

C# DateTime.Parse with CultureInfo

Dates and times are culture specific. We need to pass the culture information to the parsing methods when a culture other than the current one is used.

using System.Globalization;

string[] dates =
{
    "piatok 12. novembra 2021 8:34:10",
    "12. 11. 2021",
    "pi, 12 nov 2021",
};

var skSk = CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("sk-SK");

foreach (var ds in dates)
{
    var dt = DateTime.Parse(ds, skSk);
    Console.WriteLine(dt.ToString(skSk));
}

In the example, we parse three dates written in the Slovak culture. The culture is passed as the second parameter of the DateTime.Parse method, and the results are formatted with the same culture.

$ dotnet run
12. 11. 2021 8:34:10
12. 11. 2021 0:00:00
12. 11. 2021 0:00:00

C# parse Last-Modified header value

The Last-Modified response HTTP header contains a datetime when the origin server believes the resource was last modified.

using System.Globalization;

var url = "https://www.example.com";
using var client = new HttpClient();
var res = await client.GetAsync(url);

string lm = res.Content.Headers.GetValues("Last-Modified").First();
Console.WriteLine(lm);

var lmd = DateTimeOffset.Parse(lm, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
    DateTimeStyles.AssumeUniversal);
Console.WriteLine(lmd);

In the example, we parse the Last-Modified header value of an HTTP response. We use DateTimeOffset so that the UTC offset of the header value is preserved. The value depends on the resource and on when it was last modified.

$ dotnet run
Sun, 04 Oct 2026 20:44:03 GMT
10/4/2026 8:44:03 PM +00:00

Source

DateTime.Parse method
DateTime.ParseExact method
DateTime.TryParse method
DateTimeStyles enumeration

In this article we parsed strings into DateTime and DateTimeOffset objects in C#.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

List all C# tutorials.