Dates & Time

In General

• Day of the week and month capitalized and spelled out, use figures for dates. Abbreviated versions of months and days (Mon., Thu., Jan., Jun.) may be used when space is limited.

  • Example: Thursday, November 11, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM

• Use numbers for dates without ordinal indicators (no 1st, 2nd, 14th, etc.)

• Use en dash (–) between start and end times

• Use either AM or PM only at the end of the time range unless crossing noon or midnight (7:00 – 9:00 PM or 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM). Capitalize AM and PM to follow the best practice for accessibility

  • When possible, use noon and midnight instead of 12 PM and 12 AM

• Time zones

  • Use the abbreviation CST for Central Standard Time and CDT for Central Daylight Time

• Time periods

  • Use en dash (–)

  • Do not repeat the century (1979–81)

• Decades

  • 1920s or ‘20s

• Year notation

  • Use BCE (before common era) and CE (common era) to note years in the Gregorian calendar rather than BC and AD (respectively "Before Christ" and Anno Domini, "in [the] year of [the] Lord"). The abbreviations BCE and CE always follow the year number.

Last updated February 22, 2023