diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index d2dfa8b..0646225 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ go 1.20
 
 require (
 	github.com/PuerkitoBio/goquery v1.9.1
+	github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de
 	github.com/axllent/semver v0.0.1
 	github.com/disintegration/imaging v1.6.2
 	github.com/gomarkdown/markdown v0.0.0-20231222211730-1d6d20845b47
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 9dde7a4..b68e835 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ github.com/PuerkitoBio/goquery v1.9.1/go.mod h1:cW1n6TmIMDoORQU5IU/P1T3tGFunOeXE
 github.com/andybalholm/cascadia v1.1.0/go.mod h1:GsXiBklL0woXo1j/WYWtSYYC4ouU9PqHO0sqidkEA4Y=
 github.com/andybalholm/cascadia v1.3.2 h1:3Xi6Dw5lHF15JtdcmAHD3i1+T8plmv7BQ/nsViSLyss=
 github.com/andybalholm/cascadia v1.3.2/go.mod h1:7gtRlve5FxPPgIgX36uWBX58OdBsSS6lUvCFb+h7KvU=
+github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de h1:FxWPpzIjnTlhPwqqXc4/vE0f7GvRjuAsbW+HOIe8KnA=
+github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de/go.mod h1:DCaWoUhZrYW9p1lxo/cm8EmUOOzAPSEZNGF2DK1dJgw=
 github.com/axllent/semver v0.0.1 h1:QqF+KSGxgj8QZzSXAvKFqjGWE5792ksOnQhludToK8E=
 github.com/axllent/semver v0.0.1/go.mod h1:2xSPzvG8n9mRfdtxSvWvfTfQGWfHsMsHO1iZnKATMSc=
 github.com/cention-sany/utf7 v0.0.0-20170124080048-26cad61bd60a h1:MISbI8sU/PSK/ztvmWKFcI7UGb5/HQT7B+i3a2myKgI=
@@ -60,6 +62,7 @@ github.com/lithammer/shortuuid/v4 v4.0.0/go.mod h1:Zs8puNcrvf2rV9rTH51ZLLcj7ZXqQ
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 h1:xfD0iDuEKnDkl03q4limB+vH+GxLEtL/jb4xVJSWWEY=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20/go.mod h1:W+V8PltTTMOvKvAeJH7IuucS94S2C6jfK/D7dTCTo3Y=
 github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.9/go.mod h1:H031xJmbD/WCDINGzjvQ9THkh0rPKHF+m2gUSrubnMI=
+github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.10/go.mod h1:RAqKPSqVFrSLVXbA8x7dzmKdmGzieGRCM46jaSJTDAk=
 github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.15 h1:UNAjwbU9l54TA3KzvqLGxwWjHmMgBUVhBiTjelZgg3U=
 github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.15/go.mod h1:Jdepj2loyihRzMpdS35Xk/zdY8IAYHsh153qUoGf23w=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.16/go.mod h1:2eHXhiwb8IkHr+BDWZGa96P6+rkvnG63S2DGjv9HUNg=
@@ -80,6 +83,7 @@ github.com/reiver/go-telnet v0.0.0-20180421082511-9ff0b2ab096e h1:quuzZLi72kkJjl
 github.com/reiver/go-telnet v0.0.0-20180421082511-9ff0b2ab096e/go.mod h1:+5vNVvEWwEIx86DB9Ke/+a5wBI464eDRo3eF0LcfpWg=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec h1:W09IVJc94icq4NjY3clb7Lk8O1qJ8BdBEF8z0ibU0rE=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec/go.mod h1:qqbHyh8v60DhA7CoWK5oRCqLrMHRGoxYCSS9EjAz6Eo=
+github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.1.0/go.mod h1:J6wj4VEh+S6ZtnVlnTBMWIodfgj8LQOQFoIToxlJtxc=
 github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.2.0/go.mod h1:J6wj4VEh+S6ZtnVlnTBMWIodfgj8LQOQFoIToxlJtxc=
 github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7 h1:WUdvkW8uEhrYfLC4ZzdpI2ztxP1I582+49Oc5Mq64VQ=
 github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7/go.mod h1:FN3SvrM+Zdj16jyLfmOkMNblXMcoc8DfTHruCPUcx88=
@@ -88,6 +92,7 @@ github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.6.1/go.mod h1:xXDCJY+GAPziupqXw64V24skbSoqbTE
 github.com/rqlite/gorqlite v0.0.0-20240227123050-397b03f02418 h1:gYUQqzapdN4PQF5j0zDFI9ANQVAVFoJivNp5bTZEZMo=
 github.com/rqlite/gorqlite v0.0.0-20240227123050-397b03f02418/go.mod h1:xF/KoXmrRyahPfo5L7Szb5cAAUl53dMWBh9cMruGEZg=
 github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.1.0/go.mod h1:+Rmxgy9KzJVeS9/2gXHxylqXiyQDYRxCVz55jmeOWTM=
+github.com/scylladb/termtables v0.0.0-20191203121021-c4c0b6d42ff4/go.mod h1:C1a7PQSMz9NShzorzCiG2fk9+xuCgLkPeCvMHYR2OWg=
 github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.3 h1:dueUQJ1C2q9oE3F7wvmSGAaVtTmUizReu6fjN8uqzbQ=
 github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.3/go.mod h1:naHLuLoDiP4jHNo9R0sCBMtWGeIprob74mVsIT4qYEQ=
 github.com/spf13/cobra v1.8.0 h1:7aJaZx1B85qltLMc546zn58BxxfZdR/W22ej9CFoEf0=
diff --git a/internal/storage/messages.go b/internal/storage/messages.go
index 7fef1f7..1b6cb04 100644
--- a/internal/storage/messages.go
+++ b/internal/storage/messages.go
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ func LatestID(r *http.Request) (string, error) {
 
 	search := strings.TrimSpace(r.URL.Query().Get("query"))
 	if search != "" {
-		messages, _, err = Search(search, 0, 1)
+		messages, _, err = Search(search, r.URL.Query().Get("tz"), 0, 1)
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", err
 		}
diff --git a/internal/storage/search.go b/internal/storage/search.go
index b9ce2cc..b68ac69 100644
--- a/internal/storage/search.go
+++ b/internal/storage/search.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/araddon/dateparse"
 	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/logger"
 	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/tools"
 	"github.com/leporo/sqlf"
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ import (
 // The search is broken up by segments (exact phrases can be quoted), and interprets specific terms such as:
 // is:read, is:unread, has:attachment, to:<term>, from:<term> & subject:<term>
 // Negative searches also also included by prefixing the search term with a `-` or `!`
-func Search(search string, start, limit int) ([]MessageSummary, int, error) {
+func Search(search, timezone string, start, limit int) ([]MessageSummary, int, error) {
 	results := []MessageSummary{}
 	allResults := []MessageSummary{}
 	tsStart := time.Now()
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ func Search(search string, start, limit int) ([]MessageSummary, int, error) {
 		limit = 50
 	}
 
-	q := searchQueryBuilder(search)
+	q := searchQueryBuilder(search, timezone)
 	var err error
 
 	if err := q.QueryAndClose(context.TODO(), db, func(row *sql.Rows) {
@@ -95,8 +96,8 @@ func Search(search string, start, limit int) ([]MessageSummary, int, error) {
 // The search is broken up by segments (exact phrases can be quoted), and interprets specific terms such as:
 // is:read, is:unread, has:attachment, to:<term>, from:<term> & subject:<term>
 // Negative searches also also included by prefixing the search term with a `-` or `!`
-func DeleteSearch(search string) error {
-	q := searchQueryBuilder(search)
+func DeleteSearch(search, timezone string) error {
+	q := searchQueryBuilder(search, timezone)
 
 	ids := []string{}
 	deleteSize := float64(0)
@@ -203,10 +204,19 @@ func DeleteSearch(search string) error {
 }
 
 // SearchParser returns the SQL syntax for the database search based on the search arguments
-func searchQueryBuilder(searchString string) *sqlf.Stmt {
+func searchQueryBuilder(searchString, timezone string) *sqlf.Stmt {
 	// group strings with quotes as a single argument and remove quotes
 	args := tools.ArgsParser(searchString)
 
+	if timezone != "" {
+		loc, err := time.LoadLocation(timezone)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Log().Warnf("ignoring invalid timezone:\"%s\"", timezone)
+		} else {
+			time.Local = loc
+		}
+	}
+
 	q := sqlf.From(tenant("mailbox") + " m").
 		Select(`m.Created, m.ID, m.MessageID, m.Subject, m.Metadata, m.Size, m.Attachments, m.Read,
 			m.Snippet,
@@ -335,6 +345,36 @@ func searchQueryBuilder(searchString string) *sqlf.Stmt {
 			} else {
 				q.Where("Attachments > 0")
 			}
+		} else if strings.HasPrefix(lw, "after:") {
+			w = cleanString(w[6:])
+			if w != "" {
+				t, err := dateparse.ParseLocal(w)
+				if err != nil {
+					logger.Log().Warnf("ignoring invalid after: date \"%s\"", w)
+				} else {
+					timestamp := t.UnixMilli()
+					if exclude {
+						q.Where(`m.Created <= ?`, timestamp)
+					} else {
+						q.Where(`m.Created >= ?`, timestamp)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		} else if strings.HasPrefix(lw, "before:") {
+			w = cleanString(w[7:])
+			if w != "" {
+				t, err := dateparse.ParseLocal(w)
+				if err != nil {
+					logger.Log().Warnf("ignoring invalid before: date \"%s\"", w)
+				} else {
+					timestamp := t.UnixMilli()
+					if exclude {
+						q.Where(`m.Created >= ?`, timestamp)
+					} else {
+						q.Where(`m.Created <= ?`, timestamp)
+					}
+				}
+			}
 		} else {
 			// search text
 			if exclude {
diff --git a/internal/storage/search_test.go b/internal/storage/search_test.go
index 744c4b0..cfaa327 100644
--- a/internal/storage/search_test.go
+++ b/internal/storage/search_test.go
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func TestSearch(t *testing.T) {
 
 		search := uniqueSearches[searchIdx]
 
-		summaries, _, err := Search(search, 0, 100)
+		summaries, _, err := Search(search, "", 0, 100)
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Log("error ", err)
 			t.Fail()
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func TestSearch(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// search something that will return 200 results
-	summaries, _, err := Search("This is the email body", 0, testRuns)
+	summaries, _, err := Search("This is the email body", "", 0, testRuns)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ func TestSearchDelete100(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	_, total, err := Search("from:sender@example.com", 0, 100)
+	_, total, err := Search("from:sender@example.com", "", 0, 100)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
@@ -117,12 +117,12 @@ func TestSearchDelete100(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assertEqual(t, total, 100, "100 search results expected")
 
-	if err := DeleteSearch("from:sender@example.com"); err != nil {
+	if err := DeleteSearch("from:sender@example.com", ""); err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
 	}
 
-	_, total, err = Search("from:sender@example.com", 0, 100)
+	_, total, err = Search("from:sender@example.com", "", 0, 100)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func TestSearchDelete1100(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	_, total, err := Search("from:sender@example.com", 0, 100)
+	_, total, err := Search("from:sender@example.com", "", 0, 100)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
@@ -151,12 +151,12 @@ func TestSearchDelete1100(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assertEqual(t, total, 1100, "100 search results expected")
 
-	if err := DeleteSearch("from:sender@example.com"); err != nil {
+	if err := DeleteSearch("from:sender@example.com", ""); err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
 	}
 
-	_, total, err = Search("from:sender@example.com", 0, 100)
+	_, total, err = Search("from:sender@example.com", "", 0, 100)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Log("error ", err)
 		t.Fail()
diff --git a/server/apiv1/api.go b/server/apiv1/api.go
index 8cc56e3..a37d021 100644
--- a/server/apiv1/api.go
+++ b/server/apiv1/api.go
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ func Search(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	//	    required: false
 	//	    type: integer
 	//	    default: 50
+	//	  + name: tz
+	//	    in: query
+	//	    description: Timezone for `before:` & `after:` queries, eg: "Pacific/Auckland"
+	//	    required: false
+	//	    type: string
 	//
 	//	Responses:
 	//		200: MessagesSummaryResponse
@@ -121,7 +126,7 @@ func Search(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	start, limit := getStartLimit(r)
 
-	messages, results, err := storage.Search(search, start, limit)
+	messages, results, err := storage.Search(search, r.URL.Query().Get("tz"), start, limit)
 	if err != nil {
 		httpError(w, err.Error())
 		return
@@ -173,7 +178,7 @@ func DeleteSearch(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if err := storage.DeleteSearch(search); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.DeleteSearch(search, r.URL.Query().Get("tz")); err != nil {
 		httpError(w, err.Error())
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/server/handlers/messages.go b/server/handlers/messages.go
index d77fbe9..fd2fc8c 100644
--- a/server/handlers/messages.go
+++ b/server/handlers/messages.go
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ func RedirectToLatestMessage(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	search := strings.TrimSpace(r.URL.Query().Get("query"))
 	if search != "" {
-		messages, _, err = storage.Search(search, 0, 1)
+		messages, _, err = storage.Search(search, "", 0, 1)
 		if err != nil {
 			httpError(w, err.Error())
 			return
diff --git a/server/ui-src/App.vue b/server/ui-src/App.vue
index 7519d8b..08a85b6 100644
--- a/server/ui-src/App.vue
+++ b/server/ui-src/App.vue
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export default {
 	beforeMount() {
 		document.title = document.title + ' - ' + location.hostname
 		mailbox.showTagColors = !localStorage.getItem('hideTagColors') == '1'
+		mailbox.timeZone = localStorage.getItem('timezone') ? localStorage.getItem('timezone') : Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone;
 
 		// load global config
 		this.get(this.resolve('/api/v1/webui'), false, function (response) {
diff --git a/server/ui-src/stores/mailbox.js b/server/ui-src/stores/mailbox.js
index 4d3824f..3cf3684 100644
--- a/server/ui-src/stores/mailbox.js
+++ b/server/ui-src/stores/mailbox.js
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export const mailbox = reactive({
 	appInfo: {},			// application information
 	uiConfig: {},			// configuration for UI
 	lastMessage: false,		// return scrolling
+	timeZone: '', 			// browser timezone
 })
 
 watch(
diff --git a/server/ui-src/views/SearchView.vue b/server/ui-src/views/SearchView.vue
index cf68920..e1a9940 100644
--- a/server/ui-src/views/SearchView.vue
+++ b/server/ui-src/views/SearchView.vue
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ export default {
 			}
 
 			this.apiURI = this.resolve(`/api/v1/search`) + '?query=' + encodeURIComponent(s)
+			if (mailbox.timeZone != '' && (s.indexOf('after:') != -1 || s.indexOf('before:') != -1)) {
+				this.apiURI += '&tz=' + encodeURIComponent(mailbox.timeZone)
+			}
 			this.loadMessages()
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/server/ui/api/v1/swagger.json b/server/ui/api/v1/swagger.json
index 90a7396..74cc145 100644
--- a/server/ui/api/v1/swagger.json
+++ b/server/ui/api/v1/swagger.json
@@ -550,6 +550,12 @@
             "description": "Limit results",
             "name": "limit",
             "in": "query"
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "Timezone for `before:` \u0026 `after:` queries, eg: \"Pacific/Auckland\"",
+            "name": "tz",
+            "in": "query"
           }
         ],
         "responses": {