In MySQL, the QUARTER() function returns the quarter of the year of a given date.

This function accepts one argument – the date to extract the quarter from.

Syntax

The syntax goes like this:

QUARTER(date)

Where date is the date you want to extract the quarter from.

Example 1 – Basic Usage

Here’s an example to demonstrate.

SELECT QUARTER('1999-12-31');

Result:

+-----------------------+
| QUARTER('1999-12-31') |
+-----------------------+
|                     4 |
+-----------------------+

If you have an out-of-range date, you’ll get a null value:

SELECT QUARTER('1999-12-32');

Result:

+-----------------------+
| QUARTER('1999-12-32') |
+-----------------------+
|                  NULL |
+-----------------------+

You can also provide the date like this:

SELECT QUARTER(19991231);

Result:

+-------------------+
| QUARTER(19991231) |
+-------------------+
|                 4 |
+-------------------+

Example 2 – Using the Current Date

Here’s an example that extracts the quarter from the current date.

SELECT 
    CURDATE() AS 'Current Date',
    QUARTER(CURDATE()) AS 'Quarter';

Result:

+--------------+---------+
| Current Date | Quarter |
+--------------+---------+
| 2018-07-01   |       3 |
+--------------+---------+

Example 3 – A Database Example

Here’s an example that uses a database query.

USE sakila;
SELECT
    payment_date AS 'Payment Date',
    QUARTER(payment_date) AS 'Quarter'
FROM payment
WHERE payment_id = 1;

Result:

+---------------------+---------+
| Payment Date        | Quarter |
+---------------------+---------+
| 2005-05-25 11:30:37 |       2 |
+---------------------+---------+