This browser is no longer supported.

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.

Returns a datetime2 value that contains the date and time of the computer on which the instance of SQL Server is running. The date and time is returned as UTC time (Coordinated Universal Time). The fractional second precision specification has a range from 1 to 7 digits. The default precision is 7 digits.

SYSDATETIME and SYSUTCDATETIME have more fractional seconds precision than GETDATE and GETUTCDATE. SYSDATETIMEOFFSET includes the system time zone offset. SYSDATETIME, SYSUTCDATETIME, and SYSDATETIMEOFFSET can be assigned to a variable of any one of the date and time types.

For an overview of all Transact-SQL date and time data types and functions, see Date and Time Data Types and Functions .

Syntax

SYSUTCDATETIME ( )  
To view Transact-SQL syntax for SQL Server 2014 (12.x) and earlier versions, see Previous versions documentation.
Return Type
datetime2
Remarks
Transact-SQL statements can refer to SYSUTCDATETIME anywhere they can refer to a datetime2 expression.
SYSUTCDATETIME is a nondeterministic function. Views and expressions that reference this function in a column cannot be indexed.
SQL Server obtains the date and time values by using the GetSystemTimeAsFileTime() Windows API. The accuracy depends on the computer hardware and version of Windows on which the instance of SQL Server is running. The precision of this API is fixed at 100 nanoseconds. The accuracy can be determined by using the GetSystemTimeAdjustment() Windows API.
Examples
The following examples use the six SQL Server system functions that return current date and time to return the date, time, or both. The values are returned in series; therefore, their fractional seconds might be different.
A. Showing the formats that are returned by the date and time functions
The following example shows the different formats that are returned by the date and time functions.
SELECT SYSDATETIME() AS [SYSDATETIME()]  
    ,SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS [SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()]  
    ,SYSUTCDATETIME() AS [SYSUTCDATETIME()]  
    ,CURRENT_TIMESTAMP AS [CURRENT_TIMESTAMP]  
    ,GETDATE() AS [GETDATE()]  
    ,GETUTCDATE() AS [GETUTCDATE()];  
Here is the result set.
SYSDATETIME()      2007-04-30 13:10:02.0474381
SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()2007-04-30 13:10:02.0474381 -07:00
SYSUTCDATETIME()   2007-04-30 20:10:02.0474381
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP  2007-04-30 13:10:02.047
GETDATE()          2007-04-30 13:10:02.047
GETUTCDATE()       2007-04-30 20:10:02.047
B. Converting date and time to date
The following example shows you how to convert date and time values to date.
SELECT CONVERT (date, SYSDATETIME())  
    ,CONVERT (date, SYSDATETIMEOFFSET())  
    ,CONVERT (date, SYSUTCDATETIME())  
    ,CONVERT (date, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)  
    ,CONVERT (date, GETDATE())  
    ,CONVERT (date, GETUTCDATE());  
Here is the result set.
2007-04-30
2007-04-30
2007-04-30
2007-04-30
2007-04-30
2007-04-30
C. Converting date and time values to time
The following example shows you how to convert date and time values to time.
DECLARE @DATETIME DATETIME = GetDate();
DECLARE @TIME TIME
SELECT @TIME = CONVERT(time, @DATETIME)
SELECT @TIME AS 'Time', @DATETIME AS 'Date Time'
Here is the result set.
Time             Date Time  
13:49:33.6330000 2009-04-22 13:49:33.633
See Also
CAST and CONVERT (Transact-SQL)

Date and Time Data Types and Functions (Transact-SQL)

AT TIME ZONE (Transact-SQL)
			Coming soon: Throughout 2024 we will be phasing out GitHub Issues as the feedback mechanism for content and replacing it with a new feedback system. For more information see: https://aka.ms/ContentUserFeedback.

        
Submit and view feedback for
                    This product