date_create

(PHP 5 >= 5.2.0, PHP 7, PHP 8)

date_create — create a new DateTime object

Description

date_create(string $datetime = "now", ?DateTimeZone $timezone = null): DateTime|false

This is the procedural version of DateTime::__construct().

Unlike the DateTime constructor, it will return false instead of an exception if the passed in datetime string is invalid.

Parameters

See DateTimeImmutable::__construct.

Return Values

Returns a new DateTime instance or false on failure

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User Contributed Notes 1 note

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bugarindev at gmail dot com ¶

1 day ago

If $datetime value is `null`, empty string, or whitespace(s), it will default to the current datetime or 'now'.

<?php
$date = null; // or '' or '     '
var_dump(date_create($date));
?>

returns

<?php
object(DateTime)#1 (3) {
  ["date"]=>
  string(26) "2025-07-29 00:59:02.992777"
  ["timezone_type"]=>
  int(3)
  ["timezone"]=>
  string(3) "UTC"
}
?>