Formatting
Dates
Use only approved date formats. Avoid any version of MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY, as it is:
- Less accessible to read, e.g.: hard to scan, confusing for users utilizing screen readers
- Can’t be easily translated between countries, e.g.: is the day first or the month?
Times
Use only approved time formats. Avoid military time, 0 hrs, and leading zeros.
Duration + Time
Decimals
Use decimals only when it’s a match problem, such as hours x wage commonly seen in timesheets.

Time zones
Time zone should always be 2 letters, e.g.: MT, PT, CT, ET
Do

Don’t

Long form vs short form
Use long form if space allows. In addition:
- Always use long form for full sentences.
- Exception (if needed): sentences with character limits such as SMS, push notifications or email subject lines

Combining different formats
Combine any date, time, and duration format as needed, considering:
- Time first and date second
- Combine short forms with short forms / long forms with long forms
- Exception: Duration (hr, hrs, min, mins) don’t have long form, so you can combine with either short or long.
If in a sentence: combine to create a readable sentence by adding “on” between time and date (or any other connector needed).
E.g: Run payroll by 7:30 pm on Monday, April 27.
As standalone copy, combine by joining with a comma followed by a space. E.g. 7pm, Mon, 27 Apr

Combining hours and minutes
Combine hours and minutes by putting hours first and minutes after it, leaving a space in between (no comma).
Example: 1 hr 30 mins
Windows of days or times: ranges
Combine formats to create a range. Ranges should always be between 2 items with the same format.
- If formats are long form, join by a hyphen with a space on each side
- If formats are short form, join by a hyphen with no spaces


Resources
(internal only)