# A machine-readable date is present and recent

How the A machine-readable date is present and recent check works, what a failure means, and how to fix it in the Freshness dimension.

- Dimension: Freshness (5% of the total score)
- This check: 3 points
- Check id: `date-machine`

## What does this check look at?

A machine-readable date is found in dateModified, datePublished or article:modified_time. Within 12 months is a full pass; older is a partial pass. If only the HTTP Last-Modified header carries a date, that is a partial pass.

## How do I fix it?

- **partial** — Refresh date-sensitive pages and update the date when you do.
- **partial** — Use ISO 8601 dates (YYYY-MM-DD) in schema and meta tags.
- **partial** — Also declare dateModified in structured data; headers are not shown to readers.
- **partial** — Declare dateModified in structured data and keep it current.
- Publish a machine-readable modification date.

## Why is it worth 3 points?

Low to moderate: a real but secondary signal.

## What else is measured in this dimension?

- [A current year appears in the content](https://geo-scanner.ccie13192.com/checks/copyright-year/) — 2 points

## How do I see my own result?

Run a free scan on your own domain at https://geo-scanner.ccie13192.com/ - the report lists every failed check with the evidence that produced it.

The full method is published at https://geo-scanner.ccie13192.com/methodology/