Expiration Date or Expiry Date: Which Is Right?

Expiration date and expiry date are both right and mean the same thing: the date after which something is no longer good to use. "Expiration date" is the usual phrase in American English; "expiry date" is the usual one in British and much of international English. "Expired date" isn't the name of the date. "Expired" describes something whose date has passed, as in "the expired lot": the date is the expiration date, and the lot past it is expired. "It has expired" and "it is expired" are both fine: the first says the date has passed, the second describes the state it's in now. A date itself doesn't expire; the product, the license or the card does, on that date. In the example below, a food maker's labels say "best by", not "expiration date", and a week later one lot is past its date and comes off stock as expired. Below is each phrase, the grammar, what food labels say instead, and what to do with the lots once they pass.

The short version

• Expiration date: right, and the usual phrase in American English.
• Expiry date: right, and the usual phrase in British and international English.
• Expired date: not the name of the date; "expired" describes what's past it.
• "It has expired" and "it is expired" are both correct.
• A date doesn't expire; the product does, on that date.
• Food labels mostly say "Best if used by" or "Use by", not "expiration date".
• TaroStack keeps every lot's date, warns you before it passes, and records what expired. More below.

Which phrase, and when

"Has expired" uses the verb, so it puts the weight on the moment the date passed. "Is expired" uses "expired" as an adjective, so it describes how things stand. In everyday writing either works.

Does a date expire?

Not quite. A date is a day on the calendar. What expires is the thing the date belongs to: the yogurt, the driver's license, the coupon. So "the expiration date is October 27" and "the product expires on October 27" are both right, and "the date expired" is a shortcut people understand but an editor would rewrite.

What food labels say instead

On food, "expiration date" is the phrase people use when they talk about dates, but labels mostly print something more specific: "Best if used by" for quality, or "Use by" for products that should be eaten by then, followed by the date in a format nobody can misread, such as 27 OCT 2026. Which phrase to print, and what the rules say about it, is in best by date format, and how a date can be coded for your own use is in Julian date code format.

Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, prints two:

Neither says "expiration date", and both are clear. On October 28, one tray of kūlolo from lot KUL-1020-1 is still in the walk-in, a day past its date: it comes off stock as expired, not sold.

Expired stock, in the books

Once a lot passes its date, it's expired stock: not sellable, and a cost. Take it off stock with the reason "expired", so the count matches the shelf and the loss is visible. What expired stock is, and how to keep less of it, is in what is expired stock; whether it can be written off for tax is in expired inventory tax write-off; and a list that shows what's close to its date is in inventory list with expiration dates.

Where this stops working

The wording is the easy part. The hard part is knowing, on any given morning, which lots in the walk-in pass their date this week, picking the older one first, and noticing the tray at the back before it expires rather than after. With a dozen products and dates written by hand, the first sign is often a customer's email.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack keeps every lot's date and acts on it before it passes.

Every lot, with its date. Every batch goes into a lot with its best-by or use-by date, and receiving records a supplier's lot and dates. Lot labels print with the code and, when the item has a GTIN, a GS1-128 barcode carrying the use-by date and the lot.

Warned before, picked in order. Lots close to their date show in your alerts, in the app and by email. Picking takes the lot that expires first and still meets each customer's shelf-life rule, so the older stock leaves before the newer.

And recorded when it's too late. A lot that expires comes off stock as an adjustment with the reason "expired", so waste is reported by reason, item and site, and every movement is a permanent record of who, when and why.

Lots with dates, expiry alerts, lot labels and adjustments with reasons are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

Is it expiration date or expired date?

Expiration date. "Expired" describes something past that date, as in "an expired lot", but the date itself is the expiration date, or the expiry date in British English.

Is it "expired" or "has expired"?

Both are correct. "It has expired" says the date has passed; "it is expired" describes its state now. Either works in everyday writing.

What is the difference between expiry date and expiration date?

None in meaning. "Expiration date" is the usual phrase in American English, and "expiry date" in British and international English.

Does a date expire?

Not strictly. The product, license or card expires on the date. "The date expired" is a common shortcut, but "it expired on that date" is more exact.