diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/certificates/migrations/0032_change_certificatedateoverride_date.py b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/migrations/0032_change_certificatedateoverride_date.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..47556dff5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/migrations/0032_change_certificatedateoverride_date.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Generated by Django 2.2.24 on 2021-09-09 22:10
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('certificates', '0031_certificatedateoverride_historicalcertificatedateoverride'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='certificatedateoverride',
+            name='date',
+            field=models.DateTimeField(help_text="The date to display on the certificate. Set 'Time' to midnight (00:00:00)."),
+        ),
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='historicalcertificatedateoverride',
+            name='date',
+            field=models.DateTimeField(help_text="The date to display on the certificate. Set 'Time' to midnight (00:00:00)."),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/certificates/models.py b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/models.py
index 67d1158fcf..c9f9bf6eca 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/certificates/models.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/models.py
@@ -1214,8 +1214,8 @@ class CertificateDateOverride(TimeStampedModel):
         related_name='date_override',
         help_text="The id of the Generated Certificate to override",
     )
-    date = models.DateField(
-        help_text="The date to display on the certificate",
+    date = models.DateTimeField(
+        help_text="The date to display on the certificate. Set 'Time' to midnight (00:00:00).",
     )
     reason = models.TextField(
         help_text="The reason why you are overriding the certificate date (Update this when you add OR edit the date.)",
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/certificates/tests/factories.py b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/tests/factories.py
index 10e6d747db..15d5386aa4 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/certificates/tests/factories.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/certificates/tests/factories.py
@@ -115,5 +115,5 @@ class CertificateDateOverrideFactory(DjangoModelFactory):
     class Meta:
         model = CertificateDateOverride
 
-    date = datetime.datetime(2021, 5, 11)
+    date = datetime.datetime(2021, 5, 11, 0, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
     reason = "Learner really wanted this on their birthday"
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tasks.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tasks.py
index 869d73f3dc..40c727c5bf 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tasks.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tasks.py
@@ -33,8 +33,7 @@ MAX_RETRIES = 11
 
 PROGRAM_CERTIFICATE = 'program'
 COURSE_CERTIFICATE = 'course-run'
-VISIBLE_DATE_FORMAT = '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ'
-DATE_OVERRIDE_FORMAT = '%Y-%m-%d'
+DATE_FORMAT = '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ'
 
 
 def get_completed_programs(site, student):
@@ -120,7 +119,7 @@ def award_program_certificate(client, user, program_uuid, visible_date):
         'attributes': [
             {
                 'name': 'visible_date',
-                'value': visible_date.strftime(VISIBLE_DATE_FORMAT)
+                'value': visible_date.strftime(DATE_FORMAT)
             }
         ]
     })
@@ -310,11 +309,11 @@ def post_course_certificate(client, username, certificate, visible_date, date_ov
             'mode': certificate.mode,
             'type': COURSE_CERTIFICATE,
         },
-        'date_override': {'date': date_override.strftime(DATE_OVERRIDE_FORMAT)} if date_override else None,
+        'date_override': {'date': date_override.strftime(DATE_FORMAT)} if date_override else None,
         'attributes': [
             {
                 'name': 'visible_date',
-                'value': visible_date.strftime(VISIBLE_DATE_FORMAT)
+                'value': visible_date.strftime(DATE_FORMAT)
             }
         ]
     })
@@ -450,7 +449,7 @@ def award_course_certificate(self, username, course_run_key, certificate_availab
             # Date is being passed via JSON and is encoded in the EMCA date time string format. The rest of the code
             # expects a datetime.
             if certificate_available_date:
-                certificate_available_date = datetime.strptime(certificate_available_date, VISIBLE_DATE_FORMAT)
+                certificate_available_date = datetime.strptime(certificate_available_date, DATE_FORMAT)
 
             # Even in the cases where this task is called with a certificate_available_date, we still need to retrieve
             # the course overview because it's required to determine if we should use the certificate_available_date or
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tests/test_tasks.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tests/test_tasks.py
index 5a6f9869ce..7e18b66699 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tests/test_tasks.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/programs/tests/test_tasks.py
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ class AwardCourseCertificatesTestCase(CredentialsApiConfigMixin, TestCase):
         assert call_args[1] == self.student.username
         assert call_args[2] == self.certificate
         assert call_args[3] == self.certificate.modified_date
-        assert call_args[4] == self.certificate.date_override.date.date()
+        assert call_args[4] == self.certificate.date_override.date
 
     def test_award_course_cert_not_called_if_disabled(self, mock_post_course_certificate):
         """