---
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title: Why do date fields import incorrectly when I use the Data Loader?
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/faq_import_general_wrong_date.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.faq_import_general_wrong_date.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 72855b28eb75c0d7a48ba3b3cf1640e9d7c80a0478d1ffb8f4807085fc43c7fe
description: Sometimes dates import incorrectly because the Data Loader converts the date specified in the imported .csv file to GMT. If your machine’s time zone isn’t GMT or if your machine’s clock adjusts for daylight savings time (DST), your dates can be off by a day.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Why do date fields import incorrectly when I use the Data Loader?

Sometimes dates import incorrectly because the Data Loader converts the date specified in the imported .csv file to GMT. If your machine’s time zone isn’t GMT or if your machine’s clock adjusts for daylight savings time (DST), your dates can be off by a day.

To prevent the Data Loader from adjusting the date when it converts to GMT, directly change the format of cells containing dates to reflect the native time zone.

1. Open your .csv file in Microsoft® Excel®.
2. In each cell in which you entered dates, add hour data to represent the native time zone. For example, if the date is June 9, 2011 and the time zone is GMT+8, enter June 9, 2011 8:00. Excel reformats this date to 6/9/2011 8:00.
3. Right-click the cell in which you entered the dates, and click **Format Cells**.
4. Click **Number** | **Custom**.
5. In Type, enter yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sssZ. For example, if the cell was 6/9/2011 8:00, it’s now 2011–06–09T08:00:00.00Z.