Although creating a PDF with date information can be very useful, some users may choose to change the date on it depending on a variety of circumstances. And it is not easy to change the date in a PDF, especially for PDF beginners, they might get puzzled. But there’s no need to worry, as the process of changing date in PDF is a simple task that only takes a few steps.

When it comes to modifying a PDF date, we have several circumstances:

  1. change the created date of a PDF: all PDFs use metadata to store the information about itself, including creation date, file size, author, if you want to change the creation date from file property, you need to edit and modify its metadata.
  2. change a date in the PDF: it may appear in the body of your PDF, or in a date field, or in the header or footer, even in a signature block. Without a PDF editor, you won’t be able to change a date in the PDF.
  3. change date format in PDF: a PDF form that contains fillable date fields will allow users to populate the date automatically, but you may want to change the date format.

Therefore, our guide will divide into 3 parts, and help you change the date on your PDF document according to these situations.

How to Change Created Date on a PDF Document?

I’ve tried all the online tools that claimed to change creation date on a PDF document, they do offer the solution to modify a creation or modified date, but when exporting the file and opening on my device, the date metadata was not changed at all. And here is the only way that helped me change the creation date on my PDF, using Attribute Changer.

It is a tool designed to change date, time on a file or folder, including PDF documents and photos. It is open source, available for Windows 11 and earlier with latest version 11.40b. Here are the steps to change creation date on your PDF document:

  1. Grab the free copy of Attribute Changer 11 on your PC, install and fire it up.
  2. Right click on the PDF file thumbnail, go to Show more option> Change Attributes, open the file properties in Attribute Changer.
  3. Then modify the creation date or time according to your need.change date attribute

How to Change Date in PDF File?

While that makes sense, you can’t truly change all dates mentioned in above circumstances without an adequate tool. If you want to update date on a PDF, or modify date in a PDF form, a high-end PDF editor is required.

We are all familiar with the big name—Adobe Acrobat. It has gained popularity for sleek aesthetic interface, powerful features, incredible performance, creative workflow. On the task of changing date in your PDF, it is the best option, because it can change date in a native PDF, also it can update date in a PDF form.

But if you just need to change the date in a native PDF, online free PDF editor like Sejda is a better choice.

How to change date in a PDF (form) using Adobe Acrobat?

You need to hover to Acrobat’s Edit feature to edit the date in your PDF. Acrobat can also OCR the file if your PDF is scanned.

  1. Grab the free copy of Acrobat, run the app.
  2. Open PDF in Acrobat, hover to Edit, all the texts, including the date on your normal PDF or scanned PDF can be selected and edited now. Change the date text.change date adobe 1
  3. If your PDF is a form with date field, you just need to open the file and select a new date from the field to upate.change date adobe 2
  4. Finally, hit Save button.

How to change date in PDF document online with Sejda?

If you want an alternative way to change date in PDF without using acrobat, here you can use Sejda. It lets users edit date in a PDF as well, but you might be upset about the formatting, because it will be messed up.

  1. Upload your PDF to Sejda.com.
  2. Select the date and modify accordingly.change date online
  3. Then hit Apply changes and download the file to your device.

How to Change Date Format in a PDF Form?

You need to hover to Acrobat’s form tools to change the date format of a fillable filed. It is pitiful, by now, we don’t find a free tool to change date format in a PDF.

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.
  2. Hover to All tools> View more> Prepare a form, Acrobat will auto detect all the fillable fields in your PDF, including the date field.
  3. Double click on the date filed to edit its properties.change date adobe 3
  4. Hover to Format, choose a date format for the filed, hit Close.
  5. Preview the file, hit Save.

Conclusion

Here are the methods to change PDF date using or not using Acrobat, but for productivity’s sake, you should try Adobe Acrobat. Everything from the looks to the performance of Adobe Acrobat is top-notch, apart from that, there is no major flaw with this PDF editor. You will find the same reasons why it appeals to a wide users, it lets you changes everything in a PDF, even it is a scan, like date, name, body, form, block, image, link, media, 3d objects, signature, format, appearance, color scheme, background, yes, everything.