MySQL CURDATE(): Get Today's Date

MySQL CURDATE() returns the current date for the MySQL session, without a time component.

SELECT CURDATE();

Current output from MySQL:

The result uses MySQL's date format YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2026-09-09.

CURDATE() Syntax and Synonyms Top ↑

SELECT CURDATE();

The following forms return the same current date:

SELECT CURDATE();
SELECT CURRENT_DATE;
SELECT CURRENT_DATE();

Use whichever form is clearest in your codebase. CURDATE() is common in MySQL-specific examples.

CURDATE() vs NOW() Top ↑

SELECT CURDATE() AS today,
       NOW() AS current_date_time;

Use CURDATE() when only the calendar date is needed. Use NOW() when the time of day is also required.

Which Time Zone Does CURDATE() Use? Top ↑

CURDATE() uses the current MySQL session time zone. The database server's date can therefore differ from a visitor's local date when the application and user are in different time zones.

You can inspect the session and global MySQL time-zone settings:

SELECT @@session.time_zone AS session_time_zone,
       @@global.time_zone AS global_time_zone;

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Top ↑

SELECT CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 DAY AS yesterday,
       CURDATE() AS today,
       CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 DAY AS tomorrow;

The same arithmetic can be written with DATE_ADD() and DATE_SUB(), but INTERVAL syntax is concise for simple date offsets.

Previous and Next Month Date Top ↑

To move the current date one month backward or forward:

SELECT CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 MONTH AS previous_month_date,
       CURDATE() AS today,
       CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 MONTH AS next_month_date;

First and Last Day of Previous Month Top ↑

First day:

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(
           CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 MONTH,
           '%Y-%m-01'
       ) AS first_day;

Last day:

SELECT LAST_DAY(
           CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 MONTH
       ) AS last_day;

Both values together:

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(
           CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 MONTH,
           '%Y-%m-01'
       ) AS first_day,
       LAST_DAY(
           CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 MONTH
       ) AS last_day;

First and Last Day of Current Month Top ↑

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(
           CURDATE(),
           '%Y-%m-01'
       ) AS first_day,
       LAST_DAY(CURDATE()) AS last_day;

For filtering records, the first day of this month and the first day of next month are often even more useful than an inclusive last-day boundary.

First and Last Day of Next Month Top ↑

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(
           CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 MONTH,
           '%Y-%m-01'
       ) AS first_day,
       LAST_DAY(
           CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 MONTH
       ) AS last_day;

For the month after next, change the interval to 2 MONTH.

Current Month Records Top ↑

If date is a MySQL DATE column, an index-friendly current-month filter is:

SELECT id,
       date
FROM dt_table
WHERE date >= DATE_FORMAT(
                  CURDATE(),
                  '%Y-%m-01'
              )
  AND date < DATE_FORMAT(
                 CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 MONTH,
                 '%Y-%m-01'
             )
ORDER BY date;

This uses a half-open range: from the first day of the current month, inclusive, to the first day of the next month, exclusive.

For more range examples, see date range queries.

Month-to-date only Top ↑

For a DATE column, if you deliberately want records from the first of the month through today:

SELECT id,
       date
FROM dt_table
WHERE date >= DATE_FORMAT(
                  CURDATE(),
                  '%Y-%m-01'
              )
  AND date < CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 DAY
ORDER BY date;

Current Month DATETIME Records Top ↑

For a DATETIME or TIMESTAMP column, avoid an inclusive final date such as BETWEEN '2026-09-01' AND '2026-09-30', because the upper value represents midnight at the start of the final day unless a time is supplied.

Use a half-open range instead:

SELECT id,
       created_at
FROM orders
WHERE created_at >= DATE_FORMAT(
                        CURDATE(),
                        '%Y-%m-01'
                    )
  AND created_at < DATE_FORMAT(
                       CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 MONTH,
                       '%Y-%m-01'
                   )
ORDER BY created_at;

This safely includes every time on every day of the current month.

Formatting CURDATE() Top ↑

Use DATE_FORMAT() when a formatted text representation is required:

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(
           CURDATE(),
           '%d-%m-%Y'
       ) AS display_date;

Current Date/Time as a Column Default Top ↑

MySQL can automatically populate date/time columns with the current timestamp when a row is inserted.

CREATE TABLE log_entry (
    id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
    created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    message VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    PRIMARY KEY (id)
);

See default and automatically updated date/time columns.

PHP PDO Example Top ↑

A static current-date query does not contain user input, so PDO query() is sufficient:

<?php
$sql="SELECT CURDATE() AS today,
             CURDATE() - INTERVAL 1 DAY AS yesterday,
             CURDATE() + INTERVAL 1 DAY AS tomorrow";

$stmt=$dbo->query($sql);
$row=$stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

if($row){
    echo '<p>Today: '
        .htmlspecialchars(
            $row['today'],
            ENT_QUOTES,
            'Windows-1252'
        )
        .'</p>';
}

See PDO connection. If an application adds external date values, use a prepared statement and bind those values.

Index-friendly Date Filtering Top ↑

When filtering an indexed date or datetime column, prefer direct range comparisons on the column:

WHERE created_at >= '2026-09-01'
  AND created_at <  '2026-10-01'

rather than wrapping the indexed column in a function:

-- Often less index-friendly for ordinary indexes
WHERE MONTH(created_at) = MONTH(CURDATE())
  AND YEAR(created_at) = YEAR(CURDATE())

The boundary expressions can use CURDATE(); the important point is to leave the filtered column itself available for a range lookup.

• Use a half-open interval for DATETIME/TIMESTAMP ranges.
• Include the year when comparing months so September from different years is not mixed.
• Use EXPLAIN when date-range performance matters on large tables.

Common CURDATE() Mistakes Top ↑

Expecting CURDATE() to include the current time Top ↑

CURDATE() returns only the date. Use NOW() or CURRENT_TIMESTAMP when time is required.

Assuming CURDATE() uses the visitor's local time zone Top ↑

It uses the MySQL session time zone, which may differ from the user's local zone.

Using BETWEEN carelessly with DATETIME values Top ↑

An upper boundary such as '2026-09-30' means midnight at the start of that date when converted to a datetime. Prefer >= start AND < next_boundary.

Calling a month-to-date query a full current-month query Top ↑

First-of-month through CURDATE() stops at today. A full calendar-month query should normally use the first day of next month as the exclusive upper boundary.

Applying MONTH() and YEAR() to every filtered row unnecessarily Top ↑

Direct ranges are usually easier for normal indexes to use.

Storing formatted dates as text Top ↑

Store actual date/time datatypes and format only for display.

Video Tutorial Top ↑

Related Date Tutorials and SQL File Top ↑

Download CURDATE() SQL examples

Frequently Asked Questions Top ↑

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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