Pattern

Regex for EU / Indian date (DD/MM/YYYY)

Day-first date format used in most of the world.

The EU / Indian date (DD/MM/YYYY) regex is ^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$ — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$

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What it matches

15/01/2024
31/12/1999
30/06/2026

What it doesn't match

32/01/2024
15/13/2024
1/1/2024
15-01-2024

Notes & gotchas

Day then month. This is the format used in most of Europe, India, the UK, and Australia. As with all date regexes, validate semantic correctness with a date library.

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

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Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`(`	start of a capturing group
`0`	literal text “0”
`[1-9]`	any of: 1–9
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`[12]`	any of: “1”, “2”
`\d`	any digit (0–9)
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`3`	literal text “3”
`[01]`	any of: “0”, “1”
`)`	end of group
`/`	literal text “/”
`(`	start of a capturing group
`0`	literal text “0”
`[1-9]`	any of: 1–9
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`1`	literal text “1”
`[0-2]`	any of: 0–2
`)`	end of group
`/`	literal text “/”
`\d{4}`	exactly 4 times: digit (0–9)
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

Date and time formats vary enormously across regions and systems. The regex here validates structure only — a date like 2024-02-30 would pass format validation but isn't a real date. After regex passes, parse with your language's date library to confirm semantic validity.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/\d{4}$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^(0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\\d{4}$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/\d{4}$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^(0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])/\d{4}$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Escape it correctly per language. In Java and JavaScript strings each backslash must be doubled (\\d); in Python, Go, and C# use raw/verbatim strings so the backslashes survive.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the eu / indian date (dd/mm/yyyy) against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

Standards & sources

This pattern is based on the following authoritative specification(s) and issuing authorities. Formats can change — always confirm against the primary source.

ISO 8601 — Date and time format

Related patterns

More patterns in the Date & time category: