Date and time formats

Last changed: 13 July 2023

There are various ways of writing dates and times. We want texts where SLU is the sender to be consistent, which is why there is a section on date and time formats in our style guide.

For dates, use the day month year format.

1 July 2021
Do not use a suffix (1st July) or put the month first (July 1).

If the weekday is included, add a comma.

Thursday, 1 July 2021
Only abbreviate dates if it is necessary, e.g. in document headers. Use the European format:

1/7/2021 (dd/mm/yyyy)
Don’t use leading zeros and don’t abbreviate the year.

Don’t refer to weeks by the number when writing in English, as this system is rarely used outside Sweden.

For times, use the 24-hour format. Separate hours and minutes with a full stop.

14.00–16.30
If you think the 12-hour format would suit your intended readers better, it’s ok to use it but don’t mix the two formats in a text. Use a full stop and no space.

2pm–4.30pm
For duration, use one of the following formats:

9.30–10.00
between 9 and 10 (not between 9.00–10.00)

To our style guide

Published June 2020.