--- schema_version: "1" id: b6da2d0bc008663f533048aa0160e70c9a2d347114a14e09da62918d3d592198 title: Format() collection: developer version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/marketing-cloud/ampscript/references/string/mc-ampscript-reference-string-format.md canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/marketing/marketing-cloud-ampscript/references/mc-ampscript-string/mc-ampscript-reference-string-format.html source_site: developer.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 174cf06103f55f08b964f5408079059b8d4179517a3431c6047159f63c8b4973 products: - AMPscript for Marketing Cloud - Marketing Cloud --- # Format() Formats a string, date, or number in a specified format. ## Availability
Marketing Cloud Engagement ✅ Yes
Marketing Cloud Next ✅ Yes
This function became available in Marketing Cloud Next during the Summer ’26 release (API version 67.0). ## Syntax ``` Format(input, outputFormat, dataFormat, cultureCode) ``` The `Format()` function has four parameters: - `input` (datetime, number, or string): Required. The string to apply formatting rules to. - `outputFormat` (string): Required. A format string to apply to `input`. - `dataFormat` (string): The data format of the string. Possible values are `Date` and `Number`. **note:** For best results, always specify a value for `dataFormat`. If you don’t specify a value for `dataFormat`, the function tries to determine the type of the input data. - `cultureCode` (string): A culture code to apply to the string. ## Format Codes for Numeric Values Use these codes to format strings as numeric values. | Code | Output Format | | ---- | ------------------- | | `C` | Currency | | `D` | Decimal | | `E` | Scientific notation | | `F` | Fixed-point | | `G` | General | | `N` | Number | | `P` | Percent | You can also format strings as dates. See [Pre-Defined Date Formats](#pre-defined-date-formats) and [Custom Date Formats](#custom-date-formats). ## Usage You can use this function to format strings in several different ways. These examples show some of the ways that you can use this function. ### Pre-Defined Date Formats The `Format()` function can format a date string into one of several predefined formats. To format a date using one of these formats, specify the format string for `outputFormat` and specify `Date` for `dataFormat`. This table lists the formats that are available in both Marketing Cloud Engagement and Marketing Cloud Next. Because the output value can vary based on the locale, this table includes example values for the `en_US`, `fr_FR`, and `ja_JP` locales. | Description | Format String | Examples | | -------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Short date | `d` | | | Long date | `D` | | | Long date and short time | `f` | | | Long date and long time | `F` | | | General date with short time | `g` | | | General date with long time | `G` | | | Month and day | `m` or `M` | | | Round-trip date and time | `o` or `O` | | | RFC1123 date and time | `r` or `R` | | | Sortable date and time | `s` | | | Short time | `t` | | | Long time | `T` | | | Universal sortable date and time | `u` | | | Universal full date and time | `U` | | | Month and year | `y` or `Y` | | ### Custom Date Formats You can format a date string using a custom format by passing a string that specifies the format. The strings that you use vary depending on whether you use Marketing Cloud Engagement or Marketing Cloud Next. #### Day and Date Format Strings | Description | Example | String (MC Engagement) | String (MC Next) | | ---------------------- | ------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- | | Full day name | Monday | `dddd` | `EEEE` | | Abbreviated day name | Mon | `ddd` | `EEE` | | Date (zero-padded) | 05 | `dd` | `dd` | | Date (non-zero-padded) | 5 | `d` | `d` | | Day number in week | 1 | (not available) | `u` | #### Month Format Strings | Description | Example | String (MC Engagement) | String (MC Next) | | ------------------------------ | ------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- | | Full month name | August | `MMMM` | `MMMMM` | | Abbreviated month name | Aug | `MMM` | `MMM` | | Month number (zero-padded) | 08 | `MM` | `MM` | | Month number (non-zero-padded) | 8 | `M` | `M` | #### Year Format Strings | Description | Example | String (MC Engagement) | String (MC Next) | | ----------------------- | ------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- | | Full year number | 2026 | `yyyy` | `yyyy` | | Last two digits of year | 26 | `yy` | `yy` | | Calendar era | AD | `gg` | `G` | #### Time Format Strings | Description | Example | String (MC Engagement) | String (MC Next) | | ------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- | | Hour (24-hour, zero-padded) | 13 | `HH` | `HH` | | Hour (24-hour, non-zero-padded) | 13 | `H` | `H` | | Hour (12-hour, zero-padded) | 01 | `hh` | `hh` | | Hour (12-hour, non-zero-padded) | 1 | `h` | `h` | | Minute (zero-padded) | 05 | `mm` | `mm` | | Minute (non-zero-padded) | 5 | `m` | `m` | | Second (zero-padded) | 09 | `ss` | `ss` | | Second (non-zero-padded) | 9 | `s` | `s` | | Millisecond | 423 | `fff` | `S` | | AM/PM marker (two letter) | PM | `tt` | `a` | | AM/PM marker (first letter only) | P | `t` | (not available) | | Time zone name | UTC | (not available) | `z` | | Time zone offset (hours and minutes, zero-padded) | -0800 | `zzz` | `Z` | | Time zone offset (hours only, zero-padded) | -08 | `zz` | `X` | | Time zone offset (hours only, non-zero-padded) | -8 | `z` | `X` | This example shows how to format the date to include the full name of the day ("dddd"), the full name of the month ("MMMM"), the date without a leading zero ("d"), and the year ("yyyy"). It also shows the time in 24-hour format, including hours, minutes, seconds, and UTC offset ("HH\:mm\:ss (zzz)"). ``` %%[ Var @now, @dateString Set @now = "5 August 2026 1:41:23 PM" Set @dateString = Format(@now, "dddd, MMMM d yyy HH:mm:ss (zzz)", "Date", "en_US") ]%%

Date and time with a custom format: %%=v(@dateString)=%%

``` The function outputs the date and time using the format that you specified. ``` Date and time with a custom format: Wednesday, August 5 2026 1:41:23 (-06:00) ``` You can use the `cultureCode` parameter to express day and month names in other languages. This example outputs the date using day and month names in Swahili. ``` %%[ Var @now, @dateString Set @now = "5 August 2026 1:41:23 PM" Set @dateString = Format(@now, "ddddd, d MMMM yyyy", "date", "sw_KE") ]%%

Date and time with a custom format: %%=v(@dateString)=%%

``` The function outputs the date string with the appropriate values translated. ``` Date and time with a custom format: Jumatano, 5 Agosti 2026 ``` ### Formatting Currency Values ``` %%[ Var @cost, @finalCostInDollars Set @cost = "31.4159" Set @finalCostInDollars = Format(@cost,"C2") ]%%

The total price is %%=v(@finalCostInDollars)=%%.

``` The function outputs the string expressed as a dollar amount rounded to two decimal places. ``` The total price is $31.42. ``` You can use the `cultureCode` parameter to express currency values for a different country. This example outputs the currency value in Indian Rupees. ``` %%[ Var @cost, @finalCostInRupees Set @cost = "3141.5926535" Set @finalCostInRupees = Format(@cost, "C0", "", "bn_IN") ]%%

চূড়ান্ত মূল্য %%=v(@finalCostInRupees)=%%

``` The function outputs the currency value expressed in Indian rupees, rounded to the nearest whole number. ``` চূড়ান্ত মূল্য ₹ 3,142 ``` ## See Also - [NumberFormatInfoClass Class](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.globalization.numberformatinfo.aspx) on the Microsoft Developer Network - [DateTimeFormatInfo Class](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.globalization.datetimeformatinfo.aspx) on the Microsoft Developer Network