Set Creation Date - Free Online Browser Tool

Modify document creation and modification timestamps.

Timestamps are routinely the only evidence about when a document was actually produced, and re-processing a file can leave a modification date that reflects your editing session rather than its history. This tool lets you set both dates deliberately.

This set creation date utility runs completely inside your web browser. Your document is opened locally and processed on your own device using JavaScript and WebAssembly, so your file is never uploaded to any server. There is no signup, no watermark and no limit on how many documents you can handle.

  • 100% client-side - files never leave your device
  • Instant processing, no upload wait
  • Works on desktop, tablet and mobile
  • Free forever, no account required

Common next steps: Edit PDF Metadata, Remove / Clean Metadata.

How to Use the Set Creation Date Tool

Four steps, and the whole thing runs locally on your own device.

  1. Load the PDF

    Drop in the document whose timestamps you need to correct.

  2. Set the creation date

    Enter the date and time the document was genuinely created.

  3. Set the modification date

    Optionally set the modification timestamp to match the intended revision history.

  4. Save with new timestamps

    The document information dictionary is rewritten with your values.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I want to change a timestamp?

Most often to correct a timestamp that was set wrongly by scanning or conversion software, or to align dates with a documented revision history.

Is changing a timestamp ever inappropriate?

It can be, if a document’s timing is legally material — a disclosure timeline or a contract, for instance. Correcting metadata to obscure when something was created is document falsification.

Does this affect the file’s contents?

No. Only two timestamp fields in the information dictionary are changed; page content is untouched.

Are timestamps shown anywhere visible?

Not in the document itself. They appear in file listings and in whatever reads the metadata.

Can I see the current dates before changing them?

Yes — read them with Extract Metadata first, so you know what the values were before overwriting them.