How to Change the Date and Time Format in Windows 11

The date and time constantly displayed in the bottom right corner of your Windows 11 taskbar is incredibly useful. However, the default format might not match your personal preference or regional standards. You might prefer a 24-hour military clock over a 12-hour AM/PM format, or you might want the date to display as Day-Month-Year (e.g., 25-12-2024) instead of the default American Month-Day-Year layout (e.g., 12/25/2024). Windows 11 makes it simple to customize exactly how these numbers are presented.

How to Access Date & Time Settings

You can quickly jump to the correct settings page directly from the taskbar.

1. Look at the bottom right corner of your screen and Right-click directly on the clock/date display.
2. A small context menu will appear. Click on Adjust date and time.
3. The Settings app will open directly to the “Time & language” page.

Changing the Regional Format

The easiest way to overhaul your date and time display is to change your region. If you live in the UK but your computer is set to US standards, changing this one setting will fix everything.

1. On the Date & Time settings page, scroll down and look under the “Related links” section.
2. Click on Language and region.
3. Scroll down to the “Region” section.
4. Find the Regional format setting.
5. Click the drop-down menu next to it and select the country whose formatting standards you want to use (e.g., “English (United Kingdom)” for Day/Month/Year and a 24-hour clock).
6. Your taskbar clock will update immediately.

Creating a Custom Date and Time Format

If you don’t want to change your entire region, but just want to tweak the clock (like removing the AM/PM indicator or adding the day of the week to the date), you can customize the format manually.

1. Go back to the Language and region page.
2. Under the “Region” section, click directly on the words Regional format to expand the menu.
3. Click the Change formats button.
4. You will see a list of drop-down menus controlling different aspects of the display:
   • Short time: This is what displays on your taskbar. Select a format with “AM/PM” for a 12-hour clock, or a format without it (e.g., 9:40) for a 24-hour clock.
   • Short date: This is the date on your taskbar. You can change it to show dashes instead of slashes, or rearrange the day, month, and year order.
   • Long date: This dictates how the date appears when you hover your mouse over the clock (e.g., “Wednesday, October 25, 2024”).
5. Select your preferred option from the drop-down menus. The changes are saved automatically and will instantly reflect on your taskbar.