VALIDTO

ValidTo is a data field used in digital records to indicate the end of the effective validity period for an item. In many systems the field is named validTo (or valid_to) and is typically paired with a corresponding validFrom to define the time window during which the item is considered valid. Common use cases include licenses, subscriptions, API keys, certificates, permits, coupons, and access policies.

The value of validTo is usually a date or datetime, commonly stored in ISO 8601 format and often in UTC to avoid timezone ambiguity. When used in APIs or databases, validTo enables logic to determine whether an item is currently active by comparing the present time to the validity window defined by validFrom and validTo. Semantics can vary: some systems treat the end of validity as inclusive, others as exclusive of the validTo moment. If validTo is null or absent, it may indicate no expiry or an unknown expiry, depending on the policy in use.

In practice, validTo is used in data models, REST APIs, and storage schemas. It supports queries that fetch active items (where now is between validFrom and validTo) or expired items (where now is after validTo). Best practices include documenting the interpretation of validTo, standardizing time zones, validating that validFrom <= validTo, and clearly handling missing values or renewal scenarios by updating validTo accordingly.