# How to add years to a date in JavaScript

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published Sep 10, 2022. Topics: JavaScript.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-date-add-years

> Learn how to use the getFullYear() and setFullYear() methods of the date object to add years to date in JavaScript.

To add one or more years to date in JavaScript:

1. Use the `getFullYear()` method to get the year of the given date.
2. Use the `setFullYear()` method by passing the result returned by `getFullYear()` plus the number of years you want to add.
3. The `setFullYear()` method sets the value on the given date.

Here is an example that adds a year to the current date in JavaScript:

```javascript
const date = new Date()
date.setFullYear(date.getFullYear() + 1)

console.log(date)
// Sun Sep 10 2023 23:19:38 GMT+0500 (Pakistan Standard Time)
```

The `getFullYear()` method returns the year of the given date in 4 digits format, for example,`2022`.

The `setFullYear()` method takes an integer as input, representing the year, and sets the value on the date.

The above methods also take care of the situation where adding a specific number of years to date results in the next day, month, or year:

```javascript
const date = new Date('2022-09-10T23:33:45.900Z')
date.setFullYear(date.getFullYear() + 3)

console.log(date.toUTCString())
// Wed, 10 Sep 2025 23:33:45 GMT
```

If you frequently need to add years to date, create a reusable function that takes the number of years as a parameter and adds them to the current date:

```javascript
Date.prototype.addYears = function (years) {
  const date = new Date(this.valueOf())
  date.setFullYear(date.getFullYear() + years)
  return date
}

const date = new Date('2022-09-10T16:23:45.900Z')

// Add 5 Years
const result = date.addYears(5)

console.log(result.toUTCString())
// Fri, 10 Sep 2027 16:23:45 GMT
```

In the above example, we added a function called `addYears()` to the `Date` object [prototype](https://attacomsian.com/blog/objects-prototypes-classes-javascript#prototypes). This function will be available to all instances of `Date` for adding years to date.