Date.prototype.getMonth() - JavaScript

__defineGetter__() Deprecated
__defineSetter__() Deprecated
__lookupGetter__() Deprecated
__lookupSetter__() Deprecated
toLocaleString()
__proto__ Deprecated
Date instances returns the month for this date according to local time, as a zero-based value (where zero indicates the first month of the year).

Try it

const moonLanding = new Date("July 20, 69 00:20:18"); console.log(moonLanding.getMonth()); / (January gives 0) / Expected output: 6

Syntax

getMonth()

Return value

An integer, between 0 and 11, representing the month for the given date according to local time: 0 for January, 1 for February, and so on. Returns NaN if the date is invalid.

Description

The return value of getMonth() is zero-based, which is useful for indexing into arrays of months, for example:

js
const valentines = new Date("1995-02-14"); const month = valentines.getMonth(); const monthNames = ["January", "February", "March" /* , … */]; console.log(monthNames[month]); / "February"

However, for the purpose of internationalization, you should prefer using Intl.DateTimeFormat with the options parameter instead.

js
const options = { month: "long" }; console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", options).format(valentines)); / "February" console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat("de-DE", options).format(valentines)); / "Februar"

Examples

Using getMonth()

The month variable has value 11, based on the value of the Date object xmas95.

js
const xmas95 = new Date("1995-12-25T23:15:30"); const month = xmas95.getMonth(); console.log(month); / 11

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-date.prototype.getmonth

Browser compatibility

See also

Date.prototype.getUTCMonth()

Date.prototype.setMonth()

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Date object represents a single moment in time.","name":"Date"}},"browserCompat":["javascript.builtins.Date.getMonth"],"pageType":"javascript-instance-method"}}
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