How to Convert String time column to timestamp or DATE DATATYPE using

If you're working in Fabric using Spark or a notebook, you can convert a string column to either a DATE or TIMESTAMP using the built-in conversion functions.

For example, if your source column contains values such as '2026-07-02':

SQL

SELECT

TO_DATE(date_string_col, 'yyyy-MM-dd') AS converted_date

FROM source_table;

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If the source value includes time, such as '2026-07-02 14:30:00', use:

SQL

SELECT

TO_TIMESTAMP(date_string_col, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS converted_timestamp

FROM source_table;

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In PySpark:

Python

from pyspark.sql.functions import to_date, to_timestamp

df = df.withColumn(

"DateColumn",

to_date("StringDateColumn", "yyyy-MM-dd")

)

df = df.withColumn(

"TimestampColumn",

to_timestamp("StringTimestampColumn", "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss")

)

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Make sure the format string matches the actual values in your source column. If the source data contains formats such as MM/dd/yyyy or dd-MM-yyyy, adjust the pattern accordingly. You can then write the transformed data into your Silver table with the target column defined as DATE or TIMESTAMP.

Hi Koritala,

You can't directly load a string into a DATE/TIMESTAMP column — you need to cast it during the SELECT/transform step before writing to Silver. Just make sure the source string format matches the pattern you pass to the conversion function.

Spark SQL

SELECT
  to_date(order_date_str, 'yyyy-MM-dd')             AS order_date,
  to_timestamp(order_ts_str, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS order_ts
FROM bronze.orders

PySpark

from pyspark.sql.functions import to_date, to_timestamp

silver_df = (
    bronze_df
    .withColumn("order_date", to_date("order_date_str", "yyyy-MM-dd"))
    .withColumn("order_ts",   to_timestamp("order_ts_str", "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"))
)

silver_df.write.mode("append").saveAsTable("silver.orders")

If your source format is different (e.g., dd/MM/yyyy or MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm), adjust the pattern accordingly — otherwise you'll get NULLs. Exact syntax can vary slightly by platform (Fabric / Databricks / Synapse), so if you share your source string format and target platform, I can tailor it further.

Hope this helps!

If this got you what you needed, a Kudos and an Accepted Solution mark would be great — it helps others searching for the same thing find the answer quicker.

Disclosure: My earlier response above was drafted with the assistance of an AI tool (Microsoft Copilot) and cross-checked against Microsoft Learn documentation. Sharing this note for transparency as per the Community AI Usage Policy

Hi Koritala 

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.