> This page location: String Functions > TO_CHAR > Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt # PostgreSQL TO_CHAR() Function The PostgreSQL `TO_CHAR()` function converts a [timestamp](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-timestamp), an [interval](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-interval), an [integer](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-integer), a double-precision, or a [numeric](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-numeric) value to a [string](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-char-varchar-text). ## Syntax The following illustrates the syntax of the PostgreSQL `TO_CHAR()` function: ```sql TO_CHAR(expression, format) ``` ## Arguments The PostgreSQL `TO_CHAR()` function requires two arguments: ### 1) expression The expression can be a timestamp, an interval, an integer, a double-precision, or a numeric value that is converted to a string according to a specific format. ### 2) format The format for the result string. The following table illustrates the valid numeric format strings: | Format | Description | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 9 | Numeric value with the specified number of digits | | 0 | Numeric value with leading zeros | | . (period) | decimal point | | D | decimal point that uses the locale | | , (comma) | group (thousand) separator | | FM | Fill mode, which suppresses padding blanks and leading zeroes. | | PR | Negative value in angle brackets. | | S | Sign anchored to a number that uses locale | | L | Currency symbol that uses locale | | G | Group separator that uses locale | | MI | Minus sign in the specified position for numbers that are less than 0. | | PL | Plus sign in the specified position for numbers that are greater than 0. | | SG | Plus / minus sign in the specified position | | RN | Roman numeral that ranges from 1 to 3999 | | TH or th | Upper case or lower case ordinal number suffix | The following table shows the valid timestamp format strings: | **Pattern** | **Description** | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Y,YYY | year in 4 digits with comma | | YYYY | year in 4 digits | | YYY | The last 3 digits of ISO 8601 week-numbering year | | YY | last 3 digits of the year | | Y | last 2 digits of the year | | IYYY | ISO 8601 week-numbering year (4 or more digits) | | IYY | The last 2 digits of ISO 8601 week-numbering year | | IY | The last digit of ISO 8601 week-numbering year | | I | Abbreviated lowercase month name e.g., Jan, feb, etc. | | BC, bc, AD or ad | Era indicator without periods | | B.C., b.c., A.D. or a.d. | Era indicator with periods | | MONTH | English month name in uppercase | | Month | Full capitalized English month name | | month | Full lowercase English month name | | MON | Abbreviated uppercase month name e.g., JAN, FEB, etc. | | Mon | Week number of the year (1-53) (the first week starts on the first day of the year) | | mon | Abbreviated capitalized month name e.g., Jan, Feb,  etc. | | MM | month number from 01 to 12 | | DAY | Full uppercase day name | | Day | Full capitalized day name | | day | Full lowercase day name | | DY | Abbreviated uppercase day name | | Dy | Abbreviated capitalized day name | | dy | Abbreviated lowercase day name | | DDD | Day of year (001-366) | | IDDD | Day of ISO 8601 week-numbering year (001-371; day 1 of the year is Monday of the first ISO week) | | DD | Day of month (01-31) | | D | Day of the week, Sunday (1) to Saturday (7) | | ID | ISO 8601 day of the week, Monday (1) to Sunday (7) | | W | Week of month (1-5) (the first week starts on the first day of the month) | | WW | Century e.g., 21, 22, etc. | | IW | Week number of ISO 8601 week-numbering year (01-53; the first Thursday of the year is in week 1) | | CC | Century e.g, 21, 22, etc. | | J | Julian Day (integer days since November 24, 4714 BC at midnight UTC) | | RM | Month in upper case Roman numerals (I-XII; > | | rm | Month in lowercase Roman numerals (i-xii; > | | HH | Hour of day (0-12) | | HH12 | Hour of day (0-12) | | HH24 | Hour of day (0-23) | | MI | Minute (0-59) | | SS | Second (0-59) | | MS | Millisecond (000-999) | | US | Microsecond (000000-999999) | | SSSS | Seconds past midnight (0-86399) | | AM, am, PM or pm | Meridiem indicator (without periods) | | A.M., a.m., P.M. or p.m. | Meridiem indicator (with periods) | ## Return value The `TO_CHAR()` function returns a string in [`TEXT`](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-char-varchar-text) data type that represents the first argument formatted according to the specified format. ## Examples We will use the `payment` table in the [sample database](../postgresql-getting-started/postgresql-sample-database) for the demonstration. ![payment table](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/payment-table.png) ### 1) Converting a timestamp to a string example The following statement uses the `TO_CHAR()` function to format the payment date that consists of hours, minutes, and seconds: ```sql SELECT payment_date, TO_CHAR( payment_date, 'HH12:MI:SS' ) payment_time FROM payment ORDER BY payment_date; ``` Here is the result: ![PostgreSQL TO\_CHAR Function - format timestamp example](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/PostgreSQL-TO_CHAR-Function-format-timestamp-example.png) ### 2) Converting an entire timestamp value into a different format example The following example converts the payment date into a different format: ```sql SELECT payment_id, payment_date, TO_CHAR( payment_date, 'MON-DD-YYYY HH12:MIPM' ) payment_time FROM payment ORDER BY payment_date; ``` The output is: ![](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/PostgreSQL-TO_CHAR-Function-format-payment-date-example.png) ### 3) Converting a timestamp literal to a string example The following statement converts a timestamp literal to a string: ```sql SELECT TO_CHAR( TIMESTAMP '2017-08-18 22:30:59', 'HH24:MI:SS' ); ``` The result is: ``` 22:30:59 ``` ### 4) Adding currency symbol to the amount example The following example adds US dollar to the paid amounts: ```sql SELECT payment_id, amount, TO_CHAR( amount, 'l99999D99' ) amount_format FROM payment ORDER BY payment_date; ``` The following picture illustrates the output: ![PostgreSQL TO\_CHAR Function - add currency symbol example](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/PostgreSQL-TO_CHAR-Function-add-currency-symbol-example.png) ### 5) Converting an integer to a string example The following example converts an integer to a string: ```sql SELECT TO_CHAR( 2017, '9,999' ); ``` Result ```text 2,017 ``` ### 6) Putting it all together example The following example converts a numeric and timestamp to a string: ```sql SELECT first_name || ' ' || last_name || ' paid ' || TO_CHAR( amount, 'l99D99' ) || ' at ' || TO_CHAR( payment_date, 'HH24:MI:SS' ) || ' on ' || TO_CHAR( payment_date, 'Mon-DD-YYYY' ) payment_info FROM payment INNER JOIN customer USING(customer_id) ORDER BY rental_id; ``` The result is ![PostgreSQL TO\_CHAR Function - example](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/PostgreSQL-TO_CHAR-Function-example.png) Summary - Use the PostgreSQL `TO_CHAR()` function to convert a timestamp or a numeric value to a string. --- ## Related docs (String Functions) - [ASCII](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-ascii) - [CHR](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-chr) - [CONCAT](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-concat-function) - [CONCAT_WS](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-concat_ws) - [FORMAT](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-format) - [INITCAP](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-initcap) - [LEFT](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-left) - [LENGTH](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-length-function) - [LOWER](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-lower) - [LPAD](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-lpad) - [LTRIM](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-ltrim) - [MD5](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-md5) - [POSITION](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-position) - [REGEXP_MATCHES](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-regexp_matches) - [REGEXP_REPLACE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/regexp_replace) - [REPEAT](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-repeat) - [REVERSE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-reverse) - [REPLACE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-replace) - [RIGHT](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-right) - [RPAD](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-rpad) - [RTRIM](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-rtrim) - [SPLIT_PART](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-split_part) - [SUBSTRING](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-substring) - [TO_NUMBER](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-to_number) - [TRANSLATE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-translate) - [TRIM](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-trim-function) - [UPPER](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-string-functions/postgresql-upper)