diff --git a/backend/internal/dto/dto_mapper.go b/backend/internal/dto/dto_mapper.go
index f8718f7b..0456d844 100644
--- a/backend/internal/dto/dto_mapper.go
+++ b/backend/internal/dto/dto_mapper.go
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package dto
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"reflect"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // MapStructList maps a list of source structs to a list of destination structs
@@ -95,7 +97,18 @@ func mapStructInternal(sourceVal reflect.Value, destVal reflect.Value) error {
 				if err := mapStructInternal(sourceField, destField); err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
+			} else {
+				// Type switch for specific type conversions
+				switch sourceField.Interface().(type) {
+				case datatype.DateTime:
+					// Convert datatype.DateTime to time.Time
+					if sourceField.Type() == reflect.TypeOf(datatype.DateTime{}) && destField.Type() == reflect.TypeOf(time.Time{}) {
+						dateValue := sourceField.Interface().(datatype.DateTime)
+						destField.Set(reflect.ValueOf(dateValue.ToTime()))
+					}
+				}
 			}
+
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/backend/internal/job/db_cleanup.go b/backend/internal/job/db_cleanup.go
index da2dc271..52bdc85b 100644
--- a/backend/internal/job/db_cleanup.go
+++ b/backend/internal/job/db_cleanup.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/go-co-op/gocron/v2"
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model"
-	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/utils"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"log"
 	"time"
@@ -30,22 +29,22 @@ type Jobs struct {
 
 // ClearWebauthnSessions deletes WebAuthn sessions that have expired
 func (j *Jobs) clearWebauthnSessions() error {
-	return j.db.Delete(&model.WebauthnSession{}, "expires_at < ?", utils.FormatDateForDb(time.Now())).Error
+	return j.db.Delete(&model.WebauthnSession{}, "expires_at < ?", time.Now().Unix()).Error
 }
 
 // ClearOneTimeAccessTokens deletes one-time access tokens that have expired
 func (j *Jobs) clearOneTimeAccessTokens() error {
-	return j.db.Debug().Delete(&model.OneTimeAccessToken{}, "expires_at < ?", utils.FormatDateForDb(time.Now())).Error
+	return j.db.Debug().Delete(&model.OneTimeAccessToken{}, "expires_at < ?", time.Now().Unix()).Error
 }
 
 // ClearOidcAuthorizationCodes deletes OIDC authorization codes that have expired
 func (j *Jobs) clearOidcAuthorizationCodes() error {
-	return j.db.Delete(&model.OidcAuthorizationCode{}, "expires_at < ?", utils.FormatDateForDb(time.Now())).Error
+	return j.db.Delete(&model.OidcAuthorizationCode{}, "expires_at < ?", time.Now().Unix()).Error
 }
 
 // ClearAuditLogs deletes audit logs older than 90 days
 func (j *Jobs) clearAuditLogs() error {
-	return j.db.Delete(&model.AuditLog{}, "created_at < ?", utils.FormatDateForDb(time.Now().AddDate(0, 0, -90))).Error
+	return j.db.Delete(&model.AuditLog{}, "created_at < ?", time.Now().AddDate(0, 0, -90).Unix()).Error
 }
 
 func registerJob(scheduler gocron.Scheduler, name string, interval string, job func() error) {
diff --git a/backend/internal/model/base.go b/backend/internal/model/base.go
index 68f0da24..0392633c 100644
--- a/backend/internal/model/base.go
+++ b/backend/internal/model/base.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package model
 
 import (
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	model "github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -9,12 +10,13 @@ import (
 // Base contains common columns for all tables.
 type Base struct {
 	ID        string `gorm:"primaryKey;not null"`
-	CreatedAt time.Time
+	CreatedAt model.DateTime
 }
 
 func (b *Base) BeforeCreate(_ *gorm.DB) (err error) {
 	if b.ID == "" {
 		b.ID = uuid.New().String()
 	}
+	b.CreatedAt = model.DateTime(time.Now())
 	return
 }
diff --git a/backend/internal/model/oidc.go b/backend/internal/model/oidc.go
index 4d914a8a..7b0daccb 100644
--- a/backend/internal/model/oidc.go
+++ b/backend/internal/model/oidc.go
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"database/sql/driver"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	datatype "github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
-	"time"
 )
 
 type UserAuthorizedOidcClient struct {
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ type OidcAuthorizationCode struct {
 	Code      string
 	Scope     string
 	Nonce     string
-	ExpiresAt time.Time
+	ExpiresAt datatype.DateTime
 
 	UserID string
 	User   User
diff --git a/backend/internal/model/types/date_time.go b/backend/internal/model/types/date_time.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..17c57615
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/internal/model/types/date_time.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package datatype
+
+import (
+	"database/sql/driver"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// DateTime custom type for time.Time to store date as unix timestamp in the database
+type DateTime time.Time
+
+func (date *DateTime) Scan(value interface{}) (err error) {
+	*date = DateTime(value.(time.Time))
+	return
+}
+
+func (date DateTime) Value() (driver.Value, error) {
+	return time.Time(date).Unix(), nil
+}
+
+func (date DateTime) UTC() time.Time {
+	return time.Time(date).UTC()
+}
+
+func (date DateTime) ToTime() time.Time {
+	return time.Time(date)
+}
+
+// GormDataType gorm common data type
+func (date DateTime) GormDataType() string {
+	return "date"
+}
+
+func (date DateTime) GobEncode() ([]byte, error) {
+	return time.Time(date).GobEncode()
+}
+
+func (date *DateTime) GobDecode(b []byte) error {
+	return (*time.Time)(date).GobDecode(b)
+}
+
+func (date DateTime) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
+	return time.Time(date).MarshalJSON()
+}
+
+func (date *DateTime) UnmarshalJSON(b []byte) error {
+	return (*time.Time)(date).UnmarshalJSON(b)
+}
diff --git a/backend/internal/model/user.go b/backend/internal/model/user.go
index 7a62ea53..8cb6f0b9 100644
--- a/backend/internal/model/user.go
+++ b/backend/internal/model/user.go
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ package model
 import (
 	"github.com/go-webauthn/webauthn/protocol"
 	"github.com/go-webauthn/webauthn/webauthn"
-	"time"
+	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 )
 
 type User struct {
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ func (u User) WebAuthnCredentialDescriptors() (descriptors []protocol.Credential
 type OneTimeAccessToken struct {
 	Base
 	Token     string
-	ExpiresAt time.Time
+	ExpiresAt datatype.DateTime
 
 	UserID string
 	User   User
diff --git a/backend/internal/service/oidc_service.go b/backend/internal/service/oidc_service.go
index e004bb77..64fbb5b3 100644
--- a/backend/internal/service/oidc_service.go
+++ b/backend/internal/service/oidc_service.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/common"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/dto"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model"
+	datatype "github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/utils"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ func (s *OidcService) CreateTokens(code, grantType, clientID, clientSecret strin
 		return "", "", common.ErrOidcInvalidAuthorizationCode
 	}
 
-	if authorizationCodeMetaData.ClientID != clientID && authorizationCodeMetaData.ExpiresAt.Before(time.Now()) {
+	if authorizationCodeMetaData.ClientID != clientID && authorizationCodeMetaData.ExpiresAt.ToTime().Before(time.Now()) {
 		return "", "", common.ErrOidcInvalidAuthorizationCode
 	}
 
@@ -350,7 +351,7 @@ func (s *OidcService) createAuthorizationCode(clientID string, userID string, sc
 	}
 
 	oidcAuthorizationCode := model.OidcAuthorizationCode{
-		ExpiresAt: time.Now().Add(15 * time.Minute),
+		ExpiresAt: datatype.DateTime(time.Now().Add(15 * time.Minute)),
 		Code:      randomString,
 		ClientID:  clientID,
 		UserID:    userID,
diff --git a/backend/internal/service/test_service.go b/backend/internal/service/test_service.go
index a57da127..5fba0c30 100644
--- a/backend/internal/service/test_service.go
+++ b/backend/internal/service/test_service.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/fxamacker/cbor/v2"
+	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"time"
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ func (s *TestService) SeedDatabase() error {
 			Code:      "auth-code",
 			Scope:     "openid profile",
 			Nonce:     "nonce",
-			ExpiresAt: time.Now().Add(1 * time.Hour),
+			ExpiresAt: datatype.DateTime(time.Now().Add(1 * time.Hour)),
 			UserID:    users[0].ID,
 			ClientID:  oidcClients[0].ID,
 		}
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@ func (s *TestService) SeedDatabase() error {
 
 		accessToken := model.OneTimeAccessToken{
 			Token:     "one-time-token",
-			ExpiresAt: time.Now().Add(1 * time.Hour),
+			ExpiresAt: datatype.DateTime(time.Now().Add(1 * time.Hour)),
 			UserID:    users[0].ID,
 		}
 		if err := tx.Create(&accessToken).Error; err != nil {
diff --git a/backend/internal/service/user_service.go b/backend/internal/service/user_service.go
index bb3c8569..0c94a3b1 100644
--- a/backend/internal/service/user_service.go
+++ b/backend/internal/service/user_service.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/common"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/dto"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model"
+	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/model/types"
 	"github.com/stonith404/pocket-id/backend/internal/utils"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"time"
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ func (s *UserService) CreateOneTimeAccessToken(userID string, expiresAt time.Tim
 
 	oneTimeAccessToken := model.OneTimeAccessToken{
 		UserID:    userID,
-		ExpiresAt: expiresAt,
+		ExpiresAt: datatype.DateTime(expiresAt),
 		Token:     randomString,
 	}
 
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ func (s *UserService) CreateOneTimeAccessToken(userID string, expiresAt time.Tim
 
 func (s *UserService) ExchangeOneTimeAccessToken(token string) (model.User, string, error) {
 	var oneTimeAccessToken model.OneTimeAccessToken
-	if err := s.db.Where("token = ? AND expires_at > ?", token, utils.FormatDateForDb(time.Now())).Preload("User").First(&oneTimeAccessToken).Error; err != nil {
+	if err := s.db.Where("token = ? AND expires_at > ?", token, time.Now().Unix()).Preload("User").First(&oneTimeAccessToken).Error; err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
 			return model.User{}, "", common.ErrTokenInvalidOrExpired
 		}
diff --git a/backend/internal/utils/time_util.go b/backend/internal/utils/time_util.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 18d85cde..00000000
--- a/backend/internal/utils/time_util.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-package utils
-
-import "time"
-
-func FormatDateForDb(time time.Time) string {
-	const layout = "2006-01-02 15:04:05.000-07:00"
-	return time.Format(layout)
-}
diff --git a/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.down.sql b/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.down.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..27befe12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.down.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+-- Convert the Unix timestamps back to DATETIME format
+
+UPDATE user_groups
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE users
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE audit_logs
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE oidc_authorization_codes
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch'),
+    expires_at = datetime(expires_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE oidc_clients
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE one_time_access_tokens
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch'),
+    expires_at = datetime(expires_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE webauthn_credentials
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch');
+
+UPDATE webauthn_sessions
+SET created_at = datetime(created_at, 'unixepoch'),
+    expires_at = datetime(expires_at, 'unixepoch');
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.up.sql b/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.up.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..de1acb04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/migrations/20241023072742_unix-timestamps.up.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+-- Convert the DATETIME fields to Unix timestamps (in seconds)
+UPDATE user_groups
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at);
+
+UPDATE users
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at);
+
+UPDATE audit_logs
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at);
+
+UPDATE oidc_authorization_codes
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at),
+    expires_at = strftime('%s', expires_at);
+
+UPDATE oidc_clients
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at);
+
+UPDATE one_time_access_tokens
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at),
+    expires_at = strftime('%s', expires_at);
+
+UPDATE webauthn_credentials
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at);
+
+UPDATE webauthn_sessions
+SET created_at = strftime('%s', created_at),
+    expires_at = strftime('%s', expires_at);
\ No newline at end of file