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Get Items will convert Date-only field to the site timezone, while for Date/Time will show it as-is

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Posted on by johnjohnPter

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I have this confusing results from the built-in Get SharePoint items action, where i have 2 SharePoint fields: -

1) the built-in Created field

2) Custom field of type Date-Only named StartDate1

now using row api call _api/GetListByTile/Items(1111):-

i got the 2 fields in UTC time zone as follow, which is understandable as SharePoint store anything using UTC :-

but inside Get Items action, it will show the Created as-is in UTC, while for the StartDate1 it converted the "16-05-2026T21:00:00Z" into the site collection timezone (which is UTC +3), and show it as 17-05-2026, as follow:-

so why this confusion? i mean the GetItems should treat both fields the same, either to leave them as is, or convert both to the site collection timezone.. any idea what is going on ? or i am missing something?

Thanks

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Haque 3,653 on at

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Hi @johnjohnPter

You’ve observed a key difference in how SharePoint’s Get Items action handles date/time fields:

The built-in Created field is shown as-is in UTC.

Your custom Date-Only field (StartDate1) is converted from UTC to the site collection’s time zone (UTC+3 in your case), so a UTC value like 2026-05-16T21:00:00Z displays as 2026-05-17 local date.

Why this happens:

Built-in fields like Created are always treated as DateTime fields and returned in UTC without conversion by the Get Items action.

Custom Date-Only fields are stored internally as DateTime at midnight UTC, but SharePoint applies the site’s regional time zone conversion when displaying or returning these fields via the Get Items action.

This means the date shifts according to the site time zone offset, which can cause the date to appear as the previous or next day depending on the offset.

I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!

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Vish WR 3,748 on at

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@johnjohnPter

This is by design in SharePoint, not a bug — it's just inconsistent and catches a lot of people off guard.

The short version: Date/Time fields (like Created) are returned raw in UTC by Get Items. Date-Only fields get timezone-converted based on your site's regional settings before being returned — which is why 16-05-2026T21:00:00Z became 17-05-2026 in your UTC+3 site.

What to watch out for in your flows:

If you're comparing or filtering dates, be careful mixing UTC DateTime with a timezone-converted Date-Only — results will be off

The round-trip actually works correctly for display purposes, it just looks confusing in the middle of the flow

Tip

if you need the raw UTC value from a Date-Only field, use Send an HTTP Request to SharePoint action instead of Get Items. As confirmed in a similar community thread, the REST API returns the raw UTC value (2024-12-03T00:00:00Z) while Get Items returns the timezone-adjusted date-only string (2024-12-03). Then use convertFromUtc() or convertTimeZone() in your flow to handle the display side consistently.

References:

Similar community thread with same finding: https://community.powerplatform.com/forums/thread/details/?threadid=5cf23ba2-e3ad-ef11-b8e8-7c1e5266b018

Date behaviour deep dive: https://elliskarim.com/2024/10/05/why-are-my-sharepoint-dates-wrong-in-power-apps-and-power-automate/

Vishnu WR

LinkedIn - My Tech Space

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Ellis Karim 12,163 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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How dates times are handled in the SharePoint Get Items action can be confusing.

The following image may help clarify what has already been mentioned above about the use of UTC date-times in filter queries:

Fix SharePoint Date Issues in Power Automate: Use OData Filters Correctly – Ellis Karim's Blog

Ellis Karim
elliskarim.com | LinkedIn | Bluesky
If this solved your issue, please mark it as ✅ Accepted Answer. If it helped, feel free to give it a 🩷 Like!

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