Oracle CURRENT_DATE Function: A Simple Guide

The CURRENT_DATE function in Oracle SQL is a simple function that returns the current date and time based on your session's time zone.

A common point of confusion is its name. Despite being called CURRENT_DATE, the DATE data type in Oracle always includes a time component (hours, minutes, and seconds). This function is very similar to SYSDATE, but CURRENT_DATE respects your session's time zone, while SYSDATE uses the database server's time zone.

What is the CURRENT_DATE Function in Oracle?

The CURRENT_DATE function returns a DATE value representing the current date and time in the time zone of the current SQL session. If you change your session's time zone, the output of CURRENT_DATE will also change to reflect that.

CURRENT_DATE Function Syntax

The syntax for CURRENT_DATE is one of the simplest in Oracle, as it requires no arguments:

CURRENT_DATE

A Note on Viewing Results

By default, your SQL tool might only show the date (e.g., '06-NOV-25'). To see the full date and time returned by CURRENT_DATE, you should first run this command to change your session's date format:

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI:SS';

Oracle CURRENT_DATE Function Examples

Here are two practical examples of how to use CURRENT_DATE.

Example 1: Getting the Current Date and Time

This example simply selects the CURRENT_DATE from the DUAL table.

Query: (First, we change the format so we can see the time.)

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI:SS';

SELECT 
  CURRENT_DATE 
FROM DUAL;

Result: (The result will be the date and time when you run the query, in your session's time zone.)

CURRENT_DATE
--------------------
06-NOV-2025 16:02:45

Example 2: Showing the Effect of Session Time Zone

This example shows how CURRENT_DATE changes when you alter your session's time zone.

Query:

-- Set session time zone to New York (UTC-5:00)
ALTER SESSION SET TIME_ZONE = '-5:00';
SELECT 
  SESSIONTIMEZONE, 
  CURRENT_DATE 
FROM DUAL;

-- Set session time zone to Los Angeles (UTC-8:00)
ALTER SESSION SET TIME_ZONE = '-8:00';
SELECT 
  SESSIONTIMEZONE, 
  CURRENT_DATE 
FROM DUAL;

Result: (The times will reflect the 3-hour difference between the two time zones.)

SESSIONTIMEZONE CURRENT_DATE
--------------- --------------------
-05:00          06-NOV-2025 05:33:10

SESSIONTIMEZONE CURRENT_DATE
--------------- --------------------
-08:00          06-NOV-2025 02:33:10