What does DATEVALUE do in Salesforce?

It converts a Date/Time value, or text in YYYY-MM-DD format, into a Date. For example, DATEVALUE(CreatedDate) returns the day a record was created without the time.

Does DATEVALUE use the user's time zone?

Yes. Date/Time values are stored in GMT, and DATEVALUE returns the date in the time zone of the user viewing it. In my test at 06:39 GMT on October 6, DATEVALUE(NOW()) returned October 5 for a US Pacific user, the same as TODAY().

Can DATEVALUE convert a text value to a date?

Yes, if the text is in YYYY-MM-DD format: DATEVALUE("2026-08-17") returns August 17, 2026. Text in other formats causes an error.

What is the difference between DATEVALUE and DATETIMEVALUE?

DATEVALUE converts a Date/Time or text to a Date. DATETIMEVALUE converts a Date or text to a Date/Time, treated as GMT. They work in opposite directions.

How do I check if a record was created today?

Use a Checkbox formula: DATEVALUE(CreatedDate) = TODAY(). It follows each user's own calendar day because both sides use the user's time zone.

DATEVALUE() in Salesforce: Convert Date/Time to Date

The DATEVALUE() function in Salesforce converts a Date/Time value, or text in YYYY-MM-DD format, into a Date. DATEVALUE(CreatedDate) returns just the day a record was created, in the viewing user’s time zone, so you can compare it with TODAY(), count days, or group records by day.

The time-zone part is where most formulas go wrong, so I tested it in a Salesforce Developer Edition org. Below you’ll see those results, how DATEVALUE differs from DATE, DATETIMEVALUE and TODAY, ready-to-use formulas, and how to use it in a formula field and in Flow.

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