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Data Loader adds extra hours to 'date-time' fields in Salesforce

Date de publication: Jun 24, 2026
Description

When you import, update, or upsert Date/Time fields with the Data Loader you might see different times when you view the data via the Salesforce user interface (UI) than what you have set in your .csv source file. Similarly, users may find that Date/Time field values exported from Salesforce do not seem to match the values that exist in the records when viewed through the UI.

When you view the record from within the Salesforce UI, the value is automatically translated to and displayed in the timezone set on your user record. However, when the data is inserted, updated, or exported the values will always be in GMT (or UTC) time and are not translated to the running user's timezone.

For more information, review the details for the dateTime Primitive Data Types documentation.
Résolution

This article explains why Date/Time field values appear different in the Salesforce UI compared to the values in your CSV file or Data Loader export. The root cause is that Salesforce stores all DateTime values in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), also known as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), and automatically converts them to the viewing user's timezone when displayed in the UI.

Date/Time fields are stored internally in UTC or Universal Time Coordinated time, which aligns with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

If your user's time zone isn't GMT, but for example GMT+1, an extra hour will be added when viewing the data via the UI in Salesforce.

For example: 

Why does Salesforce show a different time than my CSV?

If the Date/Time field in the CSV file is: 
2016-03-01T08:00:00.000Z  (Z stands for UTC time)

Then the Date/Time field in the Salesforce UI will be: 
01/03/2016 09:00

Salesforce adds +1 hour to the time field, because the user's time zone is GMT+1.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) Adjustments

When the Daylight Savings Time (DST / "summer time") applies, it adjusts the time based on the viewing users Time Zone settings, + 1 hour in most cases. 

In this case, if the user's time zone GMT+1 (as an example) the following applies:

The Date/Time field in the Salesforce UI will be: 20/08/2016 10:00

Observe that Salesforce adds +2 hours:
+1 hour because the user's time zone is GMT+1
+1 hour because of the DST: it adds +1 hour to the winter time.

These examples are presented with the GMT+1 time zone, but the rule applies to any time zone, and the +1 hour DST for any location where DST applies.

Numéro d’article de la base de connaissances

000387083

 
Chargement
Salesforce Help | Article