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> Mirror of <https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/to-char.html> (Salesforce, Data 360 Query Guide), read 2026-10-23. Salesforce's own page is the authority; this copy exists because that site refuses non-browser readers.

## `TO_CHAR`

**Applies to:** ✅ Data 360 SQL ✅ Tableau Hyper API

Converts a timestamp or interval value to a formatted text string using a template pattern.

The first argument depends on the overload used:

*   `<timestamp>`: A value of type `timestamp` or `timestamp with time zone`.
*   `<interval>`: A value of type `interval`.

The second argument applies to both overloads:

*   `<format>`: A `text` template string containing one or more template patterns that define the output format.

*   `<fiscal_option>`: One or more fiscal calendar options that control how the fiscal template patterns (`FiscalYear`, `FiscalQuarter`, `FiscalMonth`, `FiscalWeek`) resolve to labels. If you omit these options, `to_char` uses the fiscal calendar configured in your org. See [Fiscal Calendar Options](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/fiscal-calendar-options.html). Fiscal options apply to the `timestamp` overload only.

Returns `text`. Returns NULL if either argument is NULL.

In a `to_char` output template string, recognized patterns are replaced with appropriately formatted data based on the given value. Any text that isn’t a template pattern is copied verbatim.

| Pattern | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `HH` | Hour of day on a 12-hour clock (01–12) |
| `HH12` | Hour of day on a 12-hour clock (01–12) |
| `HH24` | Hour of day on a 24-hour clock (00–23) |
| `MI` | Minutes (00–59) |
| `SS` | Seconds (00–59) |
| `MS` | Milliseconds (000–999) |
| `US` | Microseconds (000000–999999) |
| `SSSS` | Seconds elapsed since midnight (0–86399) |
| `AM`, `am`, `PM`, or `pm` | Meridiem indicator without periods (for example, `AM` or `PM`) |
| `A.M.`, `a.m.`, `P.M.`, or `p.m.` | Meridiem indicator with periods (for example, `A.M.` or `P.M.`) |
| `Y,YYY` | Full year (4 or more digits) with a comma separator (for example, `2,024`) |
| `YYYY` | Full year (4 or more digits, for example, `2024`) |
| `YYY` | Last 3 digits of the year |
| `YY` | Last 2 digits of the year |
| `Y` | Last digit of the year |
| `IYYY` | ISO 8601 week-numbering year, 4 or more digits |
| `IYY` | Last 3 digits of the ISO 8601 week-numbering year |
| `IY` | Last 2 digits of the ISO 8601 week-numbering year |
| `I` | Last digit of the ISO 8601 week-numbering year |
| `BC`, `bc`, `AD`, or `ad` | Era indicator without periods (for example, `BC` or `AD`) |
| `B.C.`, `b.c.`, `A.D.`, or `a.d.` | Era indicator with periods (for example, `B.C.` or `A.D.`) |
| `MONTH` | Full month name in upper case, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `JANUARY`) |
| `Month` | Full month name with initial capital, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `January`) |
| `month` | Full month name in lower case, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `january`) |
| `MON` | Abbreviated month name in upper case, 3 characters (for example, `JAN`) |
| `Mon` | Abbreviated month name with initial capital, 3 characters (for example, `Jan`) |
| `mon` | Abbreviated month name in lower case, 3 characters (for example, `jan`) |
| `MM` | Month number (01–12) |
| `DAY` | Full day name in upper case, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `MONDAY`) |
| `Day` | Full day name with initial capital, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `Monday`) |
| `day` | Full day name in lower case, blank-padded to 9 characters (for example, `monday`) |
| `DY` | Abbreviated day name in upper case, 3 characters (for example, `MON`) |
| `Dy` | Abbreviated day name with initial capital, 3 characters (for example, `Mon`) |
| `dy` | Abbreviated day name in lower case, 3 characters (for example, `mon`) |
| `DDD` | Day of the year (001–366) |
| `IDDD` | Day of the ISO 8601 week-numbering year (001–371; day 1 is Monday of the first ISO week) |
| `DD` | Day of the month (01–31) |
| `D` | Day of the week, where Sunday is `1` and Saturday is `7` |
| `ID` | ISO 8601 day of the week, where Monday is `1` and Sunday is `7` |
| `W` | Week of the month (1–5); the first week starts on the first day of the month |
| `WW` | Week number of the year (1–53); the first week starts on the first day of the year |
| `IW` | ISO 8601 week number (01–53); week 1 contains the first Thursday of the year |
| `CC` | Century as 2 digits (for example, `21` for the years 2001–2100) |
| `J` | Julian Day — integer count of days since November 24, 4714 BC at midnight UTC |
| `Q` | Quarter of the year (1–4) |
| `RM` | Month in upper case Roman numerals (I–XII, where I = January) |
| `rm` | Month in lower case Roman numerals (i–xii, where i = January) |
| `TZ` | Time zone abbreviation in upper case (for example, `PST`); output only |
| `tz` | Time zone abbreviation in lower case (for example, `pst`); output only |
| `TZH` | Time zone offset hours from UTC (for example, `-07`) |
| `TZM` | Time zone offset minutes from UTC (for example, `30`) |
| `OF` | Time zone offset from UTC in hours and minutes (for example, `-07:00`); output only |

Fiscal template patterns resolve to fiscal calendar labels based on the fiscal calendar in effect for the query. Use the fiscal calendar options to control which calendar is applied. See [Fiscal Calendar Options](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/fiscal-calendar-options.html).

| Pattern | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `FiscalYear` | Fiscal year label (for example, `FY 2024`) |
| `FiscalQuarter` | Fiscal quarter label (for example, `Quarter 1`) |
| `FiscalMonth` | Fiscal month label (for example, `January`) |
| `FiscalWeek` | Fiscal week label (for example, `Week 2`) |

Fiscal patterns are whole-word, case-sensitive tokens. They’re substituted only when spelled exactly as shown. See [Usage Notes](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/to-char.html#usage-notes) for how misspelled and quoted fiscal tokens are handled.

Apply modifiers to any template pattern to alter its behavior. For example, `FMMonth` is the `Month` pattern with the `FM` modifier.

| Modifier | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `FM` prefix | fill mode (suppress leading zeroes and padding blanks) | `FMMonth` |
| `TH` suffix | upper case ordinal number suffix | `DDTH`, for example, `12TH` |
| `th` suffix | lower case ordinal number suffix | `DDth`, for example, `12th` |

*   `FM` suppresses leading zeroes and trailing blanks that are added to make the output of a pattern fixed-width. `FM` modifies only the next specification, and repeated `FM` modifiers toggle fill mode on and off.
*   Text in `to_char` templates is output literally. Put a substring in double quotes to force it to be interpreted as literal text even if it contains template patterns. For example, in `'"Hello Year "YYYY'`, the `YYYY` is replaced by the year data, but the single `Y` in `Year` isn’t replaced.
*   To include a double quote in the output, precede it with a backslash. For example, `'\"YYYY Month\"'`. Within a double-quoted string, a backslash causes the next character to be taken literally.
*   `to_char` can use a mixture of Gregorian and ISO week-numbering date fields, but values such as `IYYY-MM-DD` yield mixed results near the start of the year.

Mixing ISO 8601 week-numbering fields (`IYYY`, `IW`, `ID`, `IDDD`) with Gregorian date fields in the same template can produce unexpected results.

*   `to_char(..., 'ID')` day-of-week numbering matches `extract(isodow from ...)`, but `to_char(..., 'D')` does not match `extract(dow from ...)` numbering.
*   `to_char(interval)` formats `HH` and `HH12` as shown on a 12-hour clock. Zero hours and 36 hours both output as `12`. `HH24` outputs the full hour value, which can exceed 23 in an interval value.

*   If you don’t pass any fiscal calendar options, `to_char` uses the fiscal calendar configured in your org. If no calendar is configured, it uses a standard fiscal calendar with the default values.
*   Fiscal patterns are substituted only when spelled exactly (`FiscalYear`, `FiscalQuarter`, `FiscalMonth`, `FiscalWeek`). A misspelled fiscal token is parsed as ordinary format tokens. For example, `FiscaMonth` is parsed as the literal `F`, the ISO year digit `i`, the literal `sca`, and the padded month name `Month`.
*   To use a custom fiscal calendar, pass `fiscal_period_table => TABLE(<table_expression>)`. The custom fiscal path supports only a constant fiscal pattern; a non-constant (dynamic) fiscal pattern combined with a custom fiscal table returns an error. If the input date is not present in the custom fiscal table, the fiscal patterns return NULL. The lookup matches on `DayDate__c` cast to `date`, so any time component of the input is truncated.
*   You can’t combine options for standard and custom fiscal calendars in the same call.

Format the current timestamp as a day-of-week and time string.

Without fill mode:

Returns a string such as `'Tuesday , 06 05:39:18'`.

With fill mode (`FM`) to suppress padding:

Returns a string such as `'Tuesday, 6 05:39:18'`.

Format a 15-hour 2-minute 12-second interval as a 24-hour time string.

Returns `'15:02:12'`.

Display the day of the month with an ordinal suffix and the full month name.

Returns `'5th March 2024'`.

Format a timestamp with fiscal year, quarter, month, and week labels using the default fiscal calendar.

Returns `'FY 2024 Quarter 1 January Week 2'`.

Apply standard fiscal calendar options to change the fiscal year start and week start.

Returns `'FY 2023 Quarter 4 December Week 50'`.

Resolve fiscal labels from a custom fiscal period table. The input date is matched against the table’s `DayDate__c` column.

Returns the labels defined in `my_fiscal_calendar` for that date, such as `'Cust_FY 2025|Cust_FQ3|Cust_FM4|Cust_FW50'`. If the date isn’t present in the table, the fiscal patterns return NULL.

*   [TO_DATE](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/to-date.html)
*   [TO_TIMESTAMP](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/to-timestamp-string.html)
*   [Formatting Functions](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/formatting-func.html)
*   [Fiscal Calendar Options](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/fiscal-calendar-options.html)
*   [Date and Time Functions](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/datetime-func.html)


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