Merge tag {date_created}
Entry date. When the entry was submitted.
On the test entry, {date_created} gives January 15, 2026.
| Product | Gravity Forms |
|---|---|
| Requires | Gravity Forms 2.5 or later |
| Needs an entry | Yes. Its value comes from a form entry. |
Modifiers
What to show
| Modifier | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|
diff | Time difference from now. Shows as "3 days ago". With format, the format text wraps the phrase: format:%s since signup gives "3 days since signup". | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
human | Relative date. Shows as "3 hours ago" for the first 24 hours, then as a date. diff is always relative. | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
raw | Raw stored date. No formatting or time zone shift. Overrides every other date modifier. | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
timestamp | Unix timestamp. A true UTC timestamp on {today}. On the entry's dates it is the site's local time shifted by its time-zone offset, so it is off by that offset on a site not set to UTC. | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
Change the output
| Modifier | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|
format | Custom date format. A PHP date() format, written after it: {date_created:format:Y-m-d}. Write a colon inside the format as \:. See PHP's table of date format letters. A comma needs no backslash here; \, also works. | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
Other settings
| Modifier | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|
time | Include the time. Ignored with raw, timestamp, or diff. | Gravity Forms 1.9 or later |
Examples
Output from the real plugin code, run on a test entry.
| Merge tag | Output |
|---|---|
{date_created} | January 15, 2026 |
With a modifier
| Merge tag | Output | Without the modifier |
|---|---|---|
{date_created:raw} | 2026-01-15 06:00:00 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:timestamp} | 1768438800 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:diff} | 3 hours ago | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:human} | 3 hours ago | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:time} | January 15, 2026 at 1:00 am | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:format:Y-m-d} | 2026-01-15 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:raw}Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs. | 2026-01-13 09:00:00 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:timestamp}Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs. | 1768276800 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:diff}Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs. | 2 days ago | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:human}Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs. | January 13, 2026 | January 15, 2026 |
{date_created:format:Y-m-d}Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs. | 2026-01-13 | January 15, 2026 |