The HTML <time> element represents a specific period in time. It may include the datetime attribute to translate dates into machine-readable format, allowing for better search engine results or custom features such as reminders.
It may represent one of the following:
- A time on a 24-hour clock.
- A precise date in the Gregorian calendar (with optional time and timezone information).
- A valid time duration.
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| Content categories | Flow content, phrasing content, palpable content. |
|---|---|
| Permitted content | Phrasing content. |
| Tag omission | None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory. |
| Permitted parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content. |
| Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
| Permitted ARIA roles | Any |
| DOM interface | HTMLTimeElement |
Attributes
Like all other HTML elements, this element supports the global attributes.
datetime- This attribute indicates the time and/or date of the element and must be in one of the formats described below.
Usage notes
This element is for presenting dates and times in a machine readable format. For example, this can help a user agent offer to add an event to a user's calendar.
This element should not be used for dates prior to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar (due to complications in calculating those dates).
The datetime value (the machine-readable value of the datetime) is the value of the element’s datetime attribute, which must be in the proper format (see below). If the element does not have a datetime attribute, it must not have any element descendants, and the datetime value is the element’s child text content.
Valid datetime Values
- a valid year string
2011- a valid month string
2011-11- a valid date string
2011-11-18- a valid yearless date string
11-18- a valid week string
2011-W47- a valid time string
14:5414:54:3914:54:39.929- a valid local date and time string
2011-11-18T14:54:39.9292011-11-18 14:54:39.929- a valid global date and time string
2011-11-18T14:54:39.929Z2011-11-18T14:54:39.929-04002011-11-18T14:54:39.929-04:002011-11-18 14:54:39.929Z2011-11-18 14:54:39.929-04002011-11-18 14:54:39.929-04:00- a valid duration string
PT4H18M3S
Examples
Simple example
HTML
<p>The concert starts at <time datetime="2018-07-07T20:00:00">20:00</time>.</p>
Output
datetime example
HTML
<p>The concert took place on <time datetime="2001-05-15T19:00">May 15</time>.</p>
Output
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| HTML Living Standard The definition of '<time>' in that specification. |
Living Standard | No change from HTML 5.1 |
| HTML 5.1 The definition of '<time>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | No change from HTML5 |
| HTML5 The definition of '<time>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
time | Chrome Full support 62 | Edge Full support ≤18 | Firefox Full support 22 | IE No support No | Opera
Full support
49
| Safari Full support 7 | WebView Android Full support 62 | Chrome Android Full support 62 | Firefox Android Full support 22 | Opera Android
Full support
46
| Safari iOS Full support 4 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 8.0 |
datetime | Chrome Full support 62 | Edge Full support ≤18 | Firefox Full support 22 | IE No support No | Opera
Full support
49
| Safari Full support 7 | WebView Android Full support 62 | Chrome Android Full support 62 | Firefox Android Full support 22 | Opera Android
Full support
46
| Safari iOS Full support 4 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 8.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
See also
- The
<data>element, allowing to signal other kind of values.
