PHP gmdate() Function

What is PHP gmdate() Function?

If you want to format a specific time to a human readable format according to GMT or UTC, use PHP date() function. An example could be Jan 08 2026 17:25:00 UTC.

In practice, GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated) indicate same time. In 1972, the UTC replaced GMT.

The function actually takes a timestamp and converts it to your desirable date and time format according to GMT or UTC. Now, you may ask what the timestamp is.

Timestamp: Timestamp of a specific time is the number of second from1^st January 1970 00:00:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to that specific time. 1^st January 1970 00:00:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is known as Unix Epoch.

So, from a timestamp (which is just a number of some seconds) we human can’t read a date. We need to convert this seconds to a date and time format. And PHP date() function helps us to accomplish this.

Syntax:

gmdate(format, timestamp)

Parameters:

The Function has 1 required parameter and 1 optional parameter-

format (required): This is a string. It is the format how you want the date to be displayed.

The PHP gmdate() function uses some English alphabet letters to construct different parts of a date and time. When using in the “format” parameter, they carry special meaning. Check the “Formatting letters/ Characters” table below for the full character list with their meaning and examples. Check example 1 to see the formatting characters in action.

timestamp (optional): This is an integer which is an UNIX timestamp. It could indicate any time in the past or in the future. Check example 2. By default, the function uses current date and time as timestamp. That means, if you don’t mention this parameter, the function uses the local time as the timestamp. You can get the current local timestamp from time() function.  Check example 3.

Table: Formatting Letters / Characters

Return Values:

It returns the formatted date of the timestamp –

• specified in the second parameter, or
• of the current date and time if the second parameter is not specified.

Examples:

Example 1:

<?php
echo "Current UTC/GMT time is: " . gmdate("d F Y g:i A");
echo "<br />";
echo "According to UTC/GMT, we're in the week: ".date("W");
?>

Output:

Current UTC/GMT time is: 10 January 2026 4:29 AM
According to UTC/GMT, we’re in the week: 02

Example 2:

<?php
echo "Current UTC/GMT time is: " . gmdate("d F Y g:i A", time());
?>

Output:

Current UTC/GMT time is: 10 January 2026 4:29 AM

Exercise 3:

<?php
date_default_timezone_set("America/Los_Angeles");
echo "Local Los Angeles time is: " . date("H:i A");
echo "<br />";
echo "Local UTC/GMT time is: " . gmdate("H:iA ");
?>

Output:

Local Los Angeles time is: 20:29 PM
Local UTC/GMT time is: 04:29AM

Exercise 4:

<?php
echo "After 1 week, UTC/GMT time will be: " . gmdate("d F Y g:i A", strtotime("+1 week"));
?>

Output:

After 1 week, UTC/GMT time will be: 17 January 2026 4:29 AM

Notes on gmdate() Function:

• gmdate() function is identical to date() function except the UTC/GMT timezone part.

PHP Version Support:

PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8

Summary: PHP gmdate() Function

The gmdate() function may be the most commonly used built-in PHP date and time function. Use this function when you need UTC/GMT date and time.

Reference:

https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.gmdate.php