diff --git a/R/pkg/R/functions.R b/R/pkg/R/functions.R
index f568a931ae1f..5b3cc0940d9c 100644
--- a/R/pkg/R/functions.R
+++ b/R/pkg/R/functions.R
@@ -1723,7 +1723,7 @@ setMethod("radians",
 #' @details
 #' \code{to_date}: Converts the column into a DateType. You may optionally specify
 #' a format according to the rules in:
-#' \url{http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html}.
+#' \url{https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html}.
 #' If the string cannot be parsed according to the specified format (or default),
 #' the value of the column will be null.
 #' By default, it follows casting rules to a DateType if the format is omitted
@@ -1819,7 +1819,7 @@ setMethod("to_csv", signature(x = "Column"),
 #' @details
 #' \code{to_timestamp}: Converts the column into a TimestampType. You may optionally specify
 #' a format according to the rules in:
-#' \url{http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html}.
+#' \url{https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html}.
 #' If the string cannot be parsed according to the specified format (or default),
 #' the value of the column will be null.
 #' By default, it follows casting rules to a TimestampType if the format is omitted
@@ -2240,7 +2240,7 @@ setMethod("n", signature(x = "Column"),
 #' \code{date_format}: Converts a date/timestamp/string to a value of string in the format
 #' specified by the date format given by the second argument. A pattern could be for instance
 #' \code{dd.MM.yyyy} and could return a string like '18.03.1993'. All
-#' pattern letters of \code{java.text.SimpleDateFormat} can be used.
+#' pattern letters of \code{java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter} can be used.
 #' Note: Use when ever possible specialized functions like \code{year}. These benefit from a
 #' specialized implementation.
 #'
@@ -2666,7 +2666,7 @@ setMethod("format_string", signature(format = "character", x = "Column"),
 #' \code{from_unixtime}: Converts the number of seconds from unix epoch (1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC)
 #' to a string representing the timestamp of that moment in the current system time zone in the JVM
 #' in the given format.
-#' See \href{http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html}{
+#' See \href{https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html}{
 #' Customizing Formats} for available options.
 #'
 #' @rdname column_datetime_functions
diff --git a/docs/sql-migration-guide-upgrade.md b/docs/sql-migration-guide-upgrade.md
index 1bd3b5ad0e1a..c4d2157de8b6 100644
--- a/docs/sql-migration-guide-upgrade.md
+++ b/docs/sql-migration-guide-upgrade.md
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ displayTitle: Spark SQL Upgrading Guide
 
   - In Spark version 2.4 and earlier, JSON datasource and JSON functions like `from_json` convert a bad JSON record to a row with all `null`s in the PERMISSIVE mode when specified schema is `StructType`. Since Spark 3.0, the returned row can contain non-`null` fields if some of JSON column values were parsed and converted to desired types successfully.
 
+  - Since Spark 3.0, the `unix_timestamp`, `date_format`, `to_unix_timestamp`, `from_unixtime`, `to_date`, `to_timestamp` functions use java.time API for parsing and formatting dates/timestamps from/to strings by using ISO chronology (https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/chrono/IsoChronology.html) based on Proleptic Gregorian calendar. In Spark version 2.4 and earlier, java.text.SimpleDateFormat and java.util.GregorianCalendar (hybrid calendar that supports both the Julian and Gregorian calendar systems, see https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/GregorianCalendar.html) is used for the same purpuse. New implementation supports pattern formats as described here https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html and performs strict checking of its input. For example, the `2015-07-22 10:00:00` timestamp cannot be parse if pattern is `yyyy-MM-dd` because the parser does not consume whole input. Another example is the `31/01/2015 00:00` input cannot be parsed by the `dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm` pattern because `hh` supposes hours in the range `1-12`. To switch back to the implementation used in Spark 2.4 and earlier, set `spark.sql.legacy.timeParser.enabled` to `true`.
 ## Upgrading From Spark SQL 2.3 to 2.4
 
   - In Spark version 2.3 and earlier, the second parameter to array_contains function is implicitly promoted to the element type of first array type parameter. This type promotion can be lossy and may cause `array_contains` function to return wrong result. This problem has been addressed in 2.4 by employing a safer type promotion mechanism. This can cause some change in behavior and are illustrated in the table below.
diff --git a/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py b/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
index d188de39e21c..d2a771e9bb8e 100644
--- a/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
+++ b/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
@@ -874,7 +874,7 @@ def date_format(date, format):
     format given by the second argument.
 
     A pattern could be for instance `dd.MM.yyyy` and could return a string like '18.03.1993'. All
-    pattern letters of the Java class `java.text.SimpleDateFormat` can be used.
+    pattern letters of the Java class `java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter` can be used.
 
     .. note:: Use when ever possible specialized functions like `year`. These benefit from a
         specialized implementation.
@@ -1094,7 +1094,7 @@ def to_date(col, format=None):
     """Converts a :class:`Column` of :class:`pyspark.sql.types.StringType` or
     :class:`pyspark.sql.types.TimestampType` into :class:`pyspark.sql.types.DateType`
     using the optionally specified format. Specify formats according to
-    `SimpleDateFormats <http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html>`_.
+    `DateTimeFormatter <https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html>`_. # noqa
     By default, it follows casting rules to :class:`pyspark.sql.types.DateType` if the format
     is omitted (equivalent to ``col.cast("date")``).
 
@@ -1119,7 +1119,7 @@ def to_timestamp(col, format=None):
     """Converts a :class:`Column` of :class:`pyspark.sql.types.StringType` or
     :class:`pyspark.sql.types.TimestampType` into :class:`pyspark.sql.types.DateType`
     using the optionally specified format. Specify formats according to
-    `SimpleDateFormats <http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html>`_.
+    `DateTimeFormatter <https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html>`_. # noqa
     By default, it follows casting rules to :class:`pyspark.sql.types.TimestampType` if the format
     is omitted (equivalent to ``col.cast("timestamp")``).
 
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/CSVInferSchema.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/CSVInferSchema.scala
index 35ade136cc60..4dd41042856d 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/CSVInferSchema.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/CSVInferSchema.scala
@@ -27,8 +27,7 @@ import org.apache.spark.sql.types._
 
 class CSVInferSchema(val options: CSVOptions) extends Serializable {
 
-  @transient
-  private lazy val timestampParser = TimestampFormatter(
+  private val timestampParser = TimestampFormatter(
     options.timestampFormat,
     options.timeZone,
     options.locale)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/datetimeExpressions.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/datetimeExpressions.scala
index 45e17ae235a9..73af0a3c5c2e 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/datetimeExpressions.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/datetimeExpressions.scala
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@
 package org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions
 
 import java.sql.Timestamp
-import java.text.DateFormat
-import java.util.{Calendar, TimeZone}
+import java.util.{Calendar, Locale, TimeZone}
 
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 
@@ -28,7 +27,8 @@ import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringEscapeUtils
 import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.InternalRow
 import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.codegen._
 import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.codegen.Block._
-import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util.DateTimeUtils
+import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util.{DateTimeUtils, TimestampFormatter}
+import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util.DateTimeUtils._
 import org.apache.spark.sql.types._
 import org.apache.spark.unsafe.types.{CalendarInterval, UTF8String}
 
@@ -562,16 +562,17 @@ case class DateFormatClass(left: Expression, right: Expression, timeZoneId: Opti
     copy(timeZoneId = Option(timeZoneId))
 
   override protected def nullSafeEval(timestamp: Any, format: Any): Any = {
-    val df = DateTimeUtils.newDateFormat(format.toString, timeZone)
-    UTF8String.fromString(df.format(new java.util.Date(timestamp.asInstanceOf[Long] / 1000)))
+    val df = TimestampFormatter(format.toString, timeZone, Locale.US)
+    UTF8String.fromString(df.format(timestamp.asInstanceOf[Long]))
   }
 
   override def doGenCode(ctx: CodegenContext, ev: ExprCode): ExprCode = {
-    val dtu = DateTimeUtils.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
+    val tf = TimestampFormatter.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
     val tz = ctx.addReferenceObj("timeZone", timeZone)
+    val locale = ctx.addReferenceObj("locale", Locale.US)
     defineCodeGen(ctx, ev, (timestamp, format) => {
-      s"""UTF8String.fromString($dtu.newDateFormat($format.toString(), $tz)
-          .format(new java.util.Date($timestamp / 1000)))"""
+      s"""UTF8String.fromString($tf.apply($format.toString(), $tz, $locale)
+          .format($timestamp))"""
     })
   }
 
@@ -612,9 +613,10 @@ case class ToUnixTimestamp(
 }
 
 /**
- * Converts time string with given pattern.
- * (see [http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html])
- * to Unix time stamp (in seconds), returns null if fail.
+ * Converts time string with given pattern to Unix time stamp (in seconds), returns null if fail.
+ * See [http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/i18n/format/simpleDateFormat.html]
+ * if SQL config spark.sql.legacy.timeParser.enabled is set to true otherwise
+ * [https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html].
  * Note that hive Language Manual says it returns 0 if fail, but in fact it returns null.
  * If the second parameter is missing, use "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss".
  * If no parameters provided, the first parameter will be current_timestamp.
@@ -663,9 +665,9 @@ abstract class UnixTime
   override def nullable: Boolean = true
 
   private lazy val constFormat: UTF8String = right.eval().asInstanceOf[UTF8String]
-  private lazy val formatter: DateFormat =
+  private lazy val formatter: TimestampFormatter =
     try {
-      DateTimeUtils.newDateFormat(constFormat.toString, timeZone)
+      TimestampFormatter(constFormat.toString, timeZone, Locale.US)
     } catch {
       case NonFatal(_) => null
     }
@@ -677,16 +679,16 @@ abstract class UnixTime
     } else {
       left.dataType match {
         case DateType =>
-          DateTimeUtils.daysToMillis(t.asInstanceOf[Int], timeZone) / 1000L
+          DateTimeUtils.daysToMillis(t.asInstanceOf[Int], timeZone) / MILLIS_PER_SECOND
         case TimestampType =>
-          t.asInstanceOf[Long] / 1000000L
+          t.asInstanceOf[Long] / MICROS_PER_SECOND
         case StringType if right.foldable =>
           if (constFormat == null || formatter == null) {
             null
           } else {
             try {
               formatter.parse(
-                t.asInstanceOf[UTF8String].toString).getTime / 1000L
+                t.asInstanceOf[UTF8String].toString) / MICROS_PER_SECOND
             } catch {
               case NonFatal(_) => null
             }
@@ -698,8 +700,8 @@ abstract class UnixTime
           } else {
             val formatString = f.asInstanceOf[UTF8String].toString
             try {
-              DateTimeUtils.newDateFormat(formatString, timeZone).parse(
-                t.asInstanceOf[UTF8String].toString).getTime / 1000L
+              TimestampFormatter(formatString, timeZone, Locale.US).parse(
+                t.asInstanceOf[UTF8String].toString) / MICROS_PER_SECOND
             } catch {
               case NonFatal(_) => null
             }
@@ -712,7 +714,7 @@ abstract class UnixTime
     val javaType = CodeGenerator.javaType(dataType)
     left.dataType match {
       case StringType if right.foldable =>
-        val df = classOf[DateFormat].getName
+        val df = classOf[TimestampFormatter].getName
         if (formatter == null) {
           ExprCode.forNullValue(dataType)
         } else {
@@ -724,24 +726,35 @@ abstract class UnixTime
             $javaType ${ev.value} = ${CodeGenerator.defaultValue(dataType)};
             if (!${ev.isNull}) {
               try {
-                ${ev.value} = $formatterName.parse(${eval1.value}.toString()).getTime() / 1000L;
+                ${ev.value} = $formatterName.parse(${eval1.value}.toString()) / 1000000L;
+              } catch (java.lang.IllegalArgumentException e) {
+                ${ev.isNull} = true;
               } catch (java.text.ParseException e) {
                 ${ev.isNull} = true;
+              } catch (java.time.format.DateTimeParseException e) {
+                ${ev.isNull} = true;
+              } catch (java.time.DateTimeException e) {
+                ${ev.isNull} = true;
               }
             }""")
         }
       case StringType =>
         val tz = ctx.addReferenceObj("timeZone", timeZone)
-        val dtu = DateTimeUtils.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
+        val locale = ctx.addReferenceObj("locale", Locale.US)
+        val dtu = TimestampFormatter.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
         nullSafeCodeGen(ctx, ev, (string, format) => {
           s"""
             try {
-              ${ev.value} = $dtu.newDateFormat($format.toString(), $tz)
-                .parse($string.toString()).getTime() / 1000L;
+              ${ev.value} = $dtu.apply($format.toString(), $tz, $locale)
+                .parse($string.toString()) / 1000000L;
             } catch (java.lang.IllegalArgumentException e) {
               ${ev.isNull} = true;
             } catch (java.text.ParseException e) {
               ${ev.isNull} = true;
+            } catch (java.time.format.DateTimeParseException e) {
+              ${ev.isNull} = true;
+            } catch (java.time.DateTimeException e) {
+              ${ev.isNull} = true;
             }
           """
         })
@@ -806,9 +819,9 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
     copy(timeZoneId = Option(timeZoneId))
 
   private lazy val constFormat: UTF8String = right.eval().asInstanceOf[UTF8String]
-  private lazy val formatter: DateFormat =
+  private lazy val formatter: TimestampFormatter =
     try {
-      DateTimeUtils.newDateFormat(constFormat.toString, timeZone)
+      TimestampFormatter(constFormat.toString, timeZone, Locale.US)
     } catch {
       case NonFatal(_) => null
     }
@@ -823,8 +836,7 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
           null
         } else {
           try {
-            UTF8String.fromString(formatter.format(
-              new java.util.Date(time.asInstanceOf[Long] * 1000L)))
+            UTF8String.fromString(formatter.format(time.asInstanceOf[Long] * MICROS_PER_SECOND))
           } catch {
             case NonFatal(_) => null
           }
@@ -835,8 +847,8 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
           null
         } else {
           try {
-            UTF8String.fromString(DateTimeUtils.newDateFormat(f.toString, timeZone)
-              .format(new java.util.Date(time.asInstanceOf[Long] * 1000L)))
+            UTF8String.fromString(TimestampFormatter(f.toString, timeZone, Locale.US)
+              .format(time.asInstanceOf[Long] * MICROS_PER_SECOND))
           } catch {
             case NonFatal(_) => null
           }
@@ -846,7 +858,7 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
   }
 
   override def doGenCode(ctx: CodegenContext, ev: ExprCode): ExprCode = {
-    val df = classOf[DateFormat].getName
+    val df = classOf[TimestampFormatter].getName
     if (format.foldable) {
       if (formatter == null) {
         ExprCode.forNullValue(StringType)
@@ -859,8 +871,7 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
           ${CodeGenerator.javaType(dataType)} ${ev.value} = ${CodeGenerator.defaultValue(dataType)};
           if (!${ev.isNull}) {
             try {
-              ${ev.value} = UTF8String.fromString($formatterName.format(
-                new java.util.Date(${t.value} * 1000L)));
+              ${ev.value} = UTF8String.fromString($formatterName.format(${t.value} * 1000000L));
             } catch (java.lang.IllegalArgumentException e) {
               ${ev.isNull} = true;
             }
@@ -868,12 +879,13 @@ case class FromUnixTime(sec: Expression, format: Expression, timeZoneId: Option[
       }
     } else {
       val tz = ctx.addReferenceObj("timeZone", timeZone)
-      val dtu = DateTimeUtils.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
+      val locale = ctx.addReferenceObj("locale", Locale.US)
+      val tf = TimestampFormatter.getClass.getName.stripSuffix("$")
       nullSafeCodeGen(ctx, ev, (seconds, f) => {
         s"""
         try {
-          ${ev.value} = UTF8String.fromString($dtu.newDateFormat($f.toString(), $tz).format(
-            new java.util.Date($seconds * 1000L)));
+          ${ev.value} = UTF8String.fromString($tf.apply($f.toString(), $tz, $locale).
+            format($seconds * 1000000L));
         } catch (java.lang.IllegalArgumentException e) {
           ${ev.isNull} = true;
         }"""
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JsonInferSchema.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JsonInferSchema.scala
index d1bc00c08c1c..3203e626ea40 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JsonInferSchema.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JsonInferSchema.scala
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ private[sql] class JsonInferSchema(options: JSONOptions) extends Serializable {
 
   private val decimalParser = ExprUtils.getDecimalParser(options.locale)
 
-  @transient
-  private lazy val timestampFormatter = TimestampFormatter(
+  private val timestampFormatter = TimestampFormatter(
     options.timestampFormat,
     options.timeZone,
     options.locale)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateFormatter.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateFormatter.scala
index 9e8d51cc65f0..b4c99674fc1c 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateFormatter.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateFormatter.scala
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import org.apache.commons.lang3.time.FastDateFormat
 
 import org.apache.spark.sql.internal.SQLConf
 
-sealed trait DateFormatter {
+sealed trait DateFormatter extends Serializable {
   def parse(s: String): Int // returns days since epoch
   def format(days: Int): String
 }
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ class Iso8601DateFormatter(
     pattern: String,
     locale: Locale) extends DateFormatter with DateTimeFormatterHelper {
 
-  private val formatter = buildFormatter(pattern, locale)
+  @transient
+  private lazy val formatter = buildFormatter(pattern, locale)
   private val UTC = ZoneId.of("UTC")
 
   private def toInstant(s: String): Instant = {
@@ -56,7 +57,8 @@ class Iso8601DateFormatter(
 }
 
 class LegacyDateFormatter(pattern: String, locale: Locale) extends DateFormatter {
-  private val format = FastDateFormat.getInstance(pattern, locale)
+  @transient
+  private lazy val format = FastDateFormat.getInstance(pattern, locale)
 
   override def parse(s: String): Int = {
     val milliseconds = format.parse(s).getTime
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeFormatterHelper.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeFormatterHelper.scala
index b85101d38d9e..91cc57e0bb01 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeFormatterHelper.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeFormatterHelper.scala
@@ -17,27 +17,36 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util
 
-import java.time.{Instant, LocalDateTime, ZonedDateTime, ZoneId}
-import java.time.format.{DateTimeFormatter, DateTimeFormatterBuilder}
-import java.time.temporal.{ChronoField, TemporalAccessor}
+import java.time._
+import java.time.chrono.IsoChronology
+import java.time.format.{DateTimeFormatter, DateTimeFormatterBuilder, ResolverStyle}
+import java.time.temporal.{ChronoField, TemporalAccessor, TemporalQueries}
 import java.util.Locale
 
 trait DateTimeFormatterHelper {
 
   protected def buildFormatter(pattern: String, locale: Locale): DateTimeFormatter = {
     new DateTimeFormatterBuilder()
+      .parseCaseInsensitive()
       .appendPattern(pattern)
-      .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.YEAR_OF_ERA, 1970)
+      .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.ERA, 1)
       .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.MONTH_OF_YEAR, 1)
       .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.DAY_OF_MONTH, 1)
-      .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.HOUR_OF_DAY, 0)
       .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.MINUTE_OF_HOUR, 0)
       .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.SECOND_OF_MINUTE, 0)
       .toFormatter(locale)
+      .withChronology(IsoChronology.INSTANCE)
+      .withResolverStyle(ResolverStyle.STRICT)
   }
 
   protected def toInstantWithZoneId(temporalAccessor: TemporalAccessor, zoneId: ZoneId): Instant = {
-    val localDateTime = LocalDateTime.from(temporalAccessor)
+    val localTime = if (temporalAccessor.query(TemporalQueries.localTime) == null) {
+      LocalTime.ofNanoOfDay(0)
+    } else {
+      LocalTime.from(temporalAccessor)
+    }
+    val localDate = LocalDate.from(temporalAccessor)
+    val localDateTime = LocalDateTime.of(localDate, localTime)
     val zonedDateTime = ZonedDateTime.of(localDateTime, zoneId)
     Instant.from(zonedDateTime)
   }
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeUtils.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeUtils.scala
index c6dfdbf2505b..3e5e1fbc2b36 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeUtils.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/DateTimeUtils.scala
@@ -111,16 +111,6 @@ object DateTimeUtils {
     computedTimeZones.computeIfAbsent(timeZoneId, computeTimeZone)
   }
 
-  def newDateFormat(formatString: String, timeZone: TimeZone): DateFormat = {
-    val sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(formatString, Locale.US)
-    sdf.setTimeZone(timeZone)
-    // Enable strict parsing, if the input date/format is invalid, it will throw an exception.
-    // e.g. to parse invalid date '2016-13-12', or '2016-01-12' with  invalid format 'yyyy-aa-dd',
-    // an exception will be throwed.
-    sdf.setLenient(false)
-    sdf
-  }
-
   // we should use the exact day as Int, for example, (year, month, day) -> day
   def millisToDays(millisUtc: Long): SQLDate = {
     millisToDays(millisUtc, defaultTimeZone())
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/TimestampFormatter.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/TimestampFormatter.scala
index eb1303303463..b67b2d7cc3c5 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/TimestampFormatter.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/util/TimestampFormatter.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util
 
+import java.text.ParseException
 import java.time._
+import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException
 import java.time.temporal.TemporalQueries
 import java.util.{Locale, TimeZone}
 
@@ -27,7 +29,19 @@ import org.apache.commons.lang3.time.FastDateFormat
 
 import org.apache.spark.sql.internal.SQLConf
 
-sealed trait TimestampFormatter {
+sealed trait TimestampFormatter extends Serializable {
+  /**
+   * Parses a timestamp in a string and converts it to microseconds.
+   *
+   * @param s - string with timestamp to parse
+   * @return microseconds since epoch.
+   * @throws ParseException can be thrown by legacy parser
+   * @throws DateTimeParseException can be thrown by new parser
+   * @throws DateTimeException unable to obtain local date or time
+   */
+  @throws(classOf[ParseException])
+  @throws(classOf[DateTimeParseException])
+  @throws(classOf[DateTimeException])
   def parse(s: String): Long // returns microseconds since epoch
   def format(us: Long): String
 }
@@ -36,7 +50,8 @@ class Iso8601TimestampFormatter(
     pattern: String,
     timeZone: TimeZone,
     locale: Locale) extends TimestampFormatter with DateTimeFormatterHelper {
-  private val formatter = buildFormatter(pattern, locale)
+  @transient
+  private lazy val formatter = buildFormatter(pattern, locale)
 
   private def toInstant(s: String): Instant = {
     val temporalAccessor = formatter.parse(s)
@@ -68,7 +83,8 @@ class LegacyTimestampFormatter(
     pattern: String,
     timeZone: TimeZone,
     locale: Locale) extends TimestampFormatter {
-  private val format = FastDateFormat.getInstance(pattern, timeZone, locale)
+  @transient
+  private lazy val format = FastDateFormat.getInstance(pattern, timeZone, locale)
 
   protected def toMillis(s: String): Long = format.parse(s).getTime
 
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/UnivocityParserSuite.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/UnivocityParserSuite.scala
index 2d0b0d3033a9..4ae61bc61255 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/UnivocityParserSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/csv/UnivocityParserSuite.scala
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ class UnivocityParserSuite extends SparkFunSuite with SQLHelper {
     assert(parser.makeConverter("_1", BooleanType).apply("true") == true)
 
     var timestampsOptions =
-      new CSVOptions(Map("timestampFormat" -> "dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm"), false, "GMT")
+      new CSVOptions(Map("timestampFormat" -> "dd/MM/yyyy HH:mm"), false, "GMT")
     parser = new UnivocityParser(StructType(Seq.empty), timestampsOptions)
     val customTimestamp = "31/01/2015 00:00"
     var format = FastDateFormat.getInstance(
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/DateFormatterSuite.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/DateFormatterSuite.scala
index 019615b81101..2dc55e0e1f63 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/DateFormatterSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/DateFormatterSuite.scala
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.sql.util
 
+import java.time.LocalDate
 import java.util.Locale
 
 import org.apache.spark.SparkFunSuite
@@ -89,4 +90,10 @@ class DateFormatterSuite extends SparkFunSuite with SQLHelper {
       }
     }
   }
+
+  test("parsing date without explicit day") {
+    val formatter = DateFormatter("yyyy MMM", Locale.US)
+    val daysSinceEpoch = formatter.parse("2018 Dec")
+    assert(daysSinceEpoch === LocalDate.of(2018, 12, 1).toEpochDay)
+  }
 }
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/TimestampFormatterSuite.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/TimestampFormatterSuite.scala
index c110ffa01f73..edccbb2a7f5d 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/TimestampFormatterSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/util/TimestampFormatterSuite.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.sql.util
 
+import java.time.{LocalDateTime, ZoneOffset}
 import java.util.{Locale, TimeZone}
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
 
 import org.apache.spark.SparkFunSuite
 import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.plans.SQLHelper
@@ -106,4 +108,14 @@ class TimestampFormatterSuite extends SparkFunSuite with SQLHelper {
       }
     }
   }
+
+  test(" case insensitive parsing of am and pm") {
+    val formatter = TimestampFormatter(
+      "yyyy MMM dd hh:mm:ss a",
+      TimeZone.getTimeZone("UTC"),
+      Locale.US)
+    val micros = formatter.parse("2009 Mar 20 11:30:01 am")
+    assert(micros === TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMicros(
+      LocalDateTime.of(2009, 3, 20, 11, 30, 1).toEpochSecond(ZoneOffset.UTC)))
+  }
 }
diff --git a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
index 33186f778d86..645452553e6a 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
@@ -2578,7 +2578,7 @@ object functions {
    * Converts a date/timestamp/string to a value of string in the format specified by the date
    * format given by the second argument.
    *
-   * See [[java.text.SimpleDateFormat]] for valid date and time format patterns
+   * See [[java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter]] for valid date and time format patterns
    *
    * @param dateExpr A date, timestamp or string. If a string, the data must be in a format that
    *                 can be cast to a timestamp, such as `yyyy-MM-dd` or `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSS`
@@ -2811,7 +2811,7 @@ object functions {
    * representing the timestamp of that moment in the current system time zone in the given
    * format.
    *
-   * See [[java.text.SimpleDateFormat]] for valid date and time format patterns
+   * See [[java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter]] for valid date and time format patterns
    *
    * @param ut A number of a type that is castable to a long, such as string or integer. Can be
    *           negative for timestamps before the unix epoch
@@ -2855,7 +2855,7 @@ object functions {
   /**
    * Converts time string with given pattern to Unix timestamp (in seconds).
    *
-   * See [[java.text.SimpleDateFormat]] for valid date and time format patterns
+   * See [[java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter]] for valid date and time format patterns
    *
    * @param s A date, timestamp or string. If a string, the data must be in a format that can be
    *          cast to a date, such as `yyyy-MM-dd` or `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSS`
@@ -2883,7 +2883,7 @@ object functions {
   /**
    * Converts time string with the given pattern to timestamp.
    *
-   * See [[java.text.SimpleDateFormat]] for valid date and time format patterns
+   * See [[java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter]] for valid date and time format patterns
    *
    * @param s   A date, timestamp or string. If a string, the data must be in a format that can be
    *            cast to a timestamp, such as `yyyy-MM-dd` or `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSS`
@@ -2908,7 +2908,7 @@ object functions {
   /**
    * Converts the column into a `DateType` with a specified format
    *
-   * See [[java.text.SimpleDateFormat]] for valid date and time format patterns
+   * See [[java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter]] for valid date and time format patterns
    *
    * @param e   A date, timestamp or string. If a string, the data must be in a format that can be
    *            cast to a date, such as `yyyy-MM-dd` or `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSS`
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/DateFunctionsSuite.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/DateFunctionsSuite.scala
index c4ec7150c407..62bb72dd6ea2 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/DateFunctionsSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/DateFunctionsSuite.scala
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ class DateFunctionsSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSQLContext {
         Row(Date.valueOf("2014-12-31"))))
     checkAnswer(
       df.select(to_date(col("s"), "yyyy-MM-dd")),
-      Seq(Row(Date.valueOf("2015-07-22")), Row(Date.valueOf("2014-12-31")), Row(null)))
+      Seq(Row(null), Row(Date.valueOf("2014-12-31")), Row(null)))
 
     // now switch format
     checkAnswer(