How to Convert Your Date of Birth from BS to AD

Your citizenship certificate, school certificates and many Nepali documents show your date of birth in Bikram Sambat (BS). Passport, visa, university and job applications abroad usually ask for the AD (English) date. Getting the conversion wrong by even one day can cause delays, so it's worth doing carefully.

The quick way

1. Open the Nepali date converter.
2. In the BS to AD box, choose your birth year, month and day exactly as written on your certificate.
3. Read the result. It shows the AD date, the weekday and the date in YYYY-MM-DD format.
4. Tap Copy result and paste it into your form, or note it down.

The converter uses a real day-by-day calendar table, so the result matches the Nepali patro rather than an estimate.

Worked examples

Notice that a birthday in Magh, Poush or Falgun falls in the next English year compared with a birthday in Baisakh of the same BS year. For example, 2062 Poush 17 is in January 2006, not 2005.

Why the "56 years, 8 months, 17 days" trick is risky

A popular shortcut is to subtract 56 years, 8 months and 17 days from the BS date. It gets you close, but it ignores the fact that Nepali months have 29 to 32 days and the lengths change every year. Depending on the month, the shortcut can be off by one or two days.

That's enough to make your passport date differ from your visa date. Always use a proper converter for official documents. Bikram Sambat explained describes why the months change length.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mixing up the month number and month name

Certificates sometimes write the month as a number. Month 5 is Bhadra, not Shrawan. Here is the full order:

Choosing a day that doesn't exist

Every Nepali month has a different length, so a date like "Shrawan 32" exists in some years but not in others. The converter only lets you pick days that existed in that month and year. If your certificate shows a day that isn't offered, double-check the year and month on the document.

Reading Nepali digits wrongly

Nepali numerals look different from English ones. ६ is 6, ९ is 9 and ७ is 7. Our guide to Nepali numbers has a full chart.

Using the wrong date format

Many international forms want YYYY-MM-DD (1998-08-31) or DD/MM/YYYY (31/08/1998). US forms often want MM/DD/YYYY (08/31/1998). Read the instructions on the form, because 08/03 means August 3 in the US but 8 March almost everywhere else.

Converting the other way

Some Nepali forms ask for your BS birth date when you only know the AD one. Use the AD to BS box in the same date converter. For example, January 1, 2000 is 2056 Poush 17.

Calculating your age

To find your age, use the AD date you just converted and compare it with today's date as usual. If you need your age in BS terms, convert today's date as well and subtract. Be careful around your birthday month, because the BS and AD birthdays fall on different days of the year.

Keep a record

Once you've converted your date of birth, write both versions in one place: the BS date, the AD date, and the format you used on your passport. Using exactly the same AD date on every application saves a lot of trouble later.

Need to check a full month? Open the Nepali calendar and select any day to see both dates side by side.