How to Get the Current Time in PostgreSQL Database: PostgreSQL Operators: CURRENT_TIME Table of Contents Problem: Solution: Discussion: Problem: You’d like to get the current time with its time zone offset in a PostgreSQL database. Solution: We’ll use the CURRENT_TIME function to get the current time and time zone information. Here’s the query you’d write: SELECT CURRENT_TIME; Here’s the result of the query: 16:10:11.232455-05 Discussion: The PostgreSQL function CURRENT_TIME returns the current time and time zone offset of the machine on which PostgreSQL is running. It is given as a value in the hh:mm:ss.nnnnnn+/-tz format. In this format: hh is a 2-digit hour. mm is a 2-digit minute. ss is a 2-digit second. nnnnnn defines the number of fractional seconds (i.e. the precision) from 0 to 6. +tz or -tz is the time zone offset, either plus or minus from UTC. CURRENT_TIME functions uses no parentheses. However, if you want to display the time with a specific precision, you can add parentheses and enclose an integer from 0 to 6. (A 0 argument will return no fractional seconds, 1 will return one fractional second (e.g. one place behind the decimal), etc. This will return the time with your declared number of fractional seconds and the time zone offset. Look at the next example: SELECT CURRENT_TIME(2) ; Here’s the result of the query: 16:10:11.23-05 This result contains a 2-digit fractional second because we put 2 as the argument. The time zone offset appears as either positive or negative (+ or -) depending on whether the time is ahead of or behind UTC. The time returned by this function doesn’t change during transactions or a single query. It is always the time when the transaction started. Recommended courses: SQL Basics in PostgreSQL Common PostgreSQL Functions SQL Practice Set in PostgreSQL Recommended articles: PostgreSQL Cheat Sheet Standard SQL Functions Cheat Sheet 18 Useful Important SQL Functions to Learn ASAP Performing Calculations on Date- and Time-Related Values SQL Date and Interval Arithmetic: Employee Lateness 19 PostgreSQL Practice Exercises with Detailed Solutions Best Books for Learning PostgreSQL PostgreSQL Date Functions See also: How to Get the Current Date and Time with Time Zone Offset in PostgreSQL How to Get Current Time (No Time Zone) in PostgreSQL How to Get the Current Date in PostgreSQL Subscribe to our newsletter Join our monthly newsletter to be notified about the latest posts. Email address How Do You Write a SELECT Statement in SQL? What Is a Foreign Key in SQL? Enumerate and Explain All the Basic Elements of an SQL Query