The string returned by this property is equivalent to the DateTimePicker.Value property with the appropriate formatting or custom formatting applied. For example, if the DateTimePicker.Value property is set to 06/01/2001 12:00:00 AM while the DateTimePicker.CustomFormat property is set to "dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy", the DateTimePicker.Text property value is "Friday, June 01, 2001".

When setting this property, the string must be convertible to an instance of the DateTime class. It is possible to define a custom format that results in a string that cannot be converted to a valid DateTime value. Because of this, the string returned from the DateTimePicker.Text property might cause an error if it is passed back to the DateTimePicker.Text property. If the string cannot be converted to a date/time value, the DateTime class throws a FormatException.