# Date & Time Parameters

## TIME_ZONE

Default: UTC

The time zone NetBox will use when dealing with dates and times. It is recommended to use UTC time unless you have a specific need to use a local time zone. Please see the [list of available time zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones).

## Date and Time Formatting

You may define custom formatting for date and times. For detailed instructions on writing format strings, please see [the Django documentation](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/stable/ref/templates/builtins/#date). Default formats are listed below.

!!! note
    These system defaults will be overridden by a user's selected language/locale when [localization](./system.md#enable_localization) is enabled.

```python
DATE_FORMAT = 'N j, Y'               # June 26, 2016
SHORT_DATE_FORMAT = 'Y-m-d'          # 2016-06-26
TIME_FORMAT = 'g:i a'                # 1:23 p.m.
SHORT_TIME_FORMAT = 'H:i:s'          # 13:23:00
DATETIME_FORMAT = 'N j, Y g:i a'     # June 26, 2016 1:23 p.m.
SHORT_DATETIME_FORMAT = 'Y-m-d H:i'  # 2016-06-26 13:23
```