alter session set NLS_TIMESTAMP_FORMAT = 'RRRR-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS'; alter session set NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'RRRR-MM-DD'; alter session set NLS_TIME_FORMAT = 'HH24:MI:SS'; #### my $dbh = ... connect ...; $dbh->do("alter session set NLS_TIMESTAMP_FORMAT = 'RRRR-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS'"); ... etc ...