> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://date.gitbook.io/dateall/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://date.gitbook.io/dateall/javascript/methods/date.valueof.md).
# Date.valueOf()
Returns the primitive value of a Date object
The valueOf() method returns the primitive value of a Date object.
```javascript
var date1 = new Date(Date.UTC(96, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5));
console.log(date1.valueOf());
// expected output: 823230245000
var date2 = new Date('02 Feb 1996 03:04:05 GMT');
console.log(date2.valueOf());
// expected output: 823230245000
```
## Syntax
```javascript
dateObj.valueOf()
```
**Return value**
The number of milliseconds between 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC and the given date.
## Description
The `valueOf()` method returns the primitive value of a [`Date`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date) object as a number data type, the number of milliseconds since midnight 01 January, 1970 UTC.
This method is functionally equivalent to the [`Date.prototype.getTime()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/getTime) method.
This method is usually called internally by JavaScript and not explicitly in code.
## Examples
#### Using `valueOf()`
```javascript
var x = new Date(56, 6, 17);
var myVar = x.valueOf(); // assigns -424713600000 to myVar
```
## References
{% embed url="" %}
## Contributors to this page
Uros Durdevic