Sixty Years of Photos, Filed Under Scan Day

Get Scanned Photos in the Right Order in Immich (2026)

You self-host Immich, you scanned the family archive, and now every print from 1962 to 1999 sits at the top of the timeline under the day the scanner ran. Nothing is broken. Here's exactly how Immich decides which date a photo gets — and the three ways to put your scans where they belong, including fixing them in place without re-uploading anything.

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Last updated: July 6, 2026 · checked against Immich's current docs and GitHub discussions

Quick answer

Immich sorts the timeline by the capture date stored inside each file. Per the Immich maintainers, an asset first gets the file's creation date, then the metadata-extraction job replaces it with the EXIF capture date; if there's no EXIF date, Immich falls back to the file's modified date[2]. Within EXIF, the tags are checked in priority order: SubSecDateTimeOriginal, DateTimeOriginal, SubSecCreateDate, then CreateDate[3]. A scanner generates its image file on scan day[7] — so every one of those fields either says scan day or says nothing. Your 1975 beach photo files under 2026.

There are three ways out:

  • Edit dates by hand in Immich. Free and built-in, but you must already know every date — and the edit lands in Immich's database and an .xmp sidecar, never in the photo file itself[1].
  • Rewrite the files with ExifTool before importing. Free and permanent, but it's a command-line tool and you still supply every date yourself.
  • Have Timeline Scan date the archive in place. It connects to your Immich server, finds the scans stuck on scan day, works out each real date from handwriting on the backs, lab-printed dates, and visual clues, then writes the results back onto the same photos — metadata only, originals untouched. See the Immich integration.

The mechanics

Why Every Scan Lands on Scan Day

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Three small facts stack into one scrambled timeline. None of them is your fault — and none of them is an Immich bug.

  1. Paper has no metadata. An estimated 3.5 trillion photos were taken in the film era[6], and for every one of them the date lives as handwriting on the back, a lab stamp in the margin, or someone's memory — nowhere a computer can read it.
  2. The scanner stamps scan day. The Exif standard defines the capture-date field as “the date and time when the original image data was generated”[7] — and a scanner generates its image data at the moment of the scan. So scanning software either stamps the scan moment into the file or writes no capture date at all.
  3. Immich believes the file. The metadata job reads the EXIF capture date; when there isn't one, Immich falls back to the file's modified time[2] — which for a fresh scan is also scan day, or worse, the day you copied the files to the drive. In one 35,000-photo import, thousands of photos filed under a single March day for exactly that reason[4].

Because Immich shows newest first, the failure is especially visible: decades of family history stack on top of your timeline, above last week's phone photos. The Immich community has years of threads on it[3][4] — it's one of the most common questions self-hosters hit after a big scanning project.

The scale of it

The Scan-Date Problem by the Numbers

Every figure below is sourced; citations link to the sources at the bottom of the page.

  • 106,000+ GitHub stars on Immich — among the most-starred self-hosted projects anywhere, and growing fast[5]
  • 3.5 trillion Photos taken in the film era through 2011, per the classic 1000memories estimate — prints that carry no digital date[6]
  • ~1 in 8 Photos that arrived with wrong or missing dates in one reported 35,000-photo Immich import (4,000–5,000 affected)[4]
  • 0 Bytes of your original file changed when you edit a date inside Immich — “all edited metadata is saved in companion .xmp sidecar files and the database”[1]

Pick your fix

3 Ways to Fix Scanned Photo Dates in Immich

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All three work. They differ in who figures out the dates, how many photos you can fix at once, and whether your actual files get fixed. Numbered citations link to the sources below.

Three ways to fix scanned photo dates in Immich, July 2026
Criteria Edit dates in Immich ExifTool (DIY) Timeline Scan
What it is Immich's built-in date editor (single photo or multi-select) A free, open-source command-line tool that rewrites metadata inside your files before import A done-for-you dating service that connects to your Immich server — or dates the files before you import them
Figures out the dates for you NoYou type every date yourself NoYou type every date yourself YesReads handwriting on the backs, lab-printed dates, visual clues, and neighboring photos; you review the timeline and adjust anything
Finds the misdated scans for you NoYou hunt them down in the timeline yourself NoYou sort the files into date groups yourself YesCombs your library and gathers the photos stuck on their scan date into one list
Fixes a whole archive at once PartlyMulti-select applies one single date & time to everything selected; there's no option to shift a group while keeping its spacing[8] PartlyOne command per folder or date group you've already sorted out YesThe whole collection comes back dated on one reviewable timeline
Writes the date into your actual files No“Immich does not modify the original files” — edits go to the database and an .xmp sidecar[1] YesEXIF capture-date fields are rewritten in place Your choiceIn place via the Immich integration (metadata only, originals untouched — Immich's own rule), or written into real EXIF/XMP when you take the folder download
Dates survive outside Immich (Apple Photos, Google Photos, backups) PartlyOnly where .xmp sidecars travel with the files and the next app reads them; the photo itself still says scan day[1] YesThe date travels wherever the file goes YesThe corrected download carries real EXIF any app reads — and exports to Google Photos or a folder download are built in
Skill required Patience: finding, selecting, and typing dates event by event Comfort with the command line and organizing files into date groups first None: connect (or upload), review the timeline, adjust anything, sync
Cost Free, part of Immich Free, open source Free trial with no credit card, then per-photo pricing (see pricing)

Fix #1 · a handful of photos

Edit the Dates by Hand in Immich

For a few dozen scans whose dates you already know, Immich's built-in editor is the fastest fix:

  1. Find the scans. They're easy to spot: every photo from a scanning session is clumped on the same day, usually at the very top of the timeline.
  2. For one photo: open it, open the info panel, and click the edit (pencil) control next to the date. Set the correct date, time, and timezone.
  3. For several at once: select them in the timeline, then choose the date-edit action from the selection menu. Immich applies the same date & time to everything selected — there's no “shift by N years” option to move a group while keeping its spacing[8], so group photos by event before you edit.
  4. Repeat for every event in the shoebox.

The catch, in Immich's own words: “No, Immich does not modify the original files. All edited metadata is saved in companion .xmp sidecar files and the database.”[1] That's exactly the right philosophy for a photo server — but it means your files still carry scan day. Download an original, restore from a backup, or open the library with an app that ignores sidecars, and the wrong dates come back.

Fix #2 · the DIY route

Rewrite the Files with ExifTool Before Importing

If you're comfortable in a terminal and you already know the dates, the free tool ExifTool fixes the actual files. Sort your scans into folders by event first, then stamp each folder before it ever touches Immich:

exiftool "-AllDates=1975:06:15 12:00:00" -overwrite_original ~/Scans/1975-beach-trip
  • Writes DateTimeOriginal — the first real capture-date tag Immich checks[3] — so the scans import straight into the right years
  • The fix lives in the file itself, so it survives in Immich, Apple Photos, Google Photos, and every backup
  • Stamp before importing. Immich detects duplicates by checksum, and a corrected file is no longer byte-identical — re-uploading it creates a second copy next to the misdated one, so delete those first
  • One command per date group: working out every date, sorting the scans, and reading the handwriting on the backs is still on you

Fix #3 · the whole archive, in place

Let Timeline Scan Date Your Library Where It Lives

When it's a thousand scans and nobody remembers which Christmas was which, this is the job Timeline Scan's Immich integration was built for — no re-uploads, no duplicates, originals untouched:

  1. Connect your Immich server with its URL and an API key (stored encrypted; disconnect any time and it's deleted). Timeline Scan reads small preview copies for analysis — your full-size originals never leave your hardware.
  2. Your stuck scans are found for you. Timeline Scan combs the library and gathers every photo sitting on its scan date into one list. You pick which ones to date; photos that already carry a real date are left alone.
  3. AI works out each date from handwriting on the backs, lab-printed dates, visual clues, and neighboring photos — then shows the whole collection on one timeline to review and adjust. (Weighing AI photo-dating tools? See how it compares to MyHeritage PhotoDater.)
  4. Everything writes back in place: the corrected date (locked so Immich won't overwrite it), the handwriting as each photo's searchable description, upright rotation, and the people you tagged — onto the exact same assets. Metadata only; the original files are never modified, the same rule Immich itself follows[1]. See exactly what syncs to Immich.

Prefer the dates inside the files themselves? Run the same dating pass and take the folder download instead: every corrected date is written into standard EXIF/XMP capture-date fields[7] — how the date fixing works — and Immich reads them the moment you import.

Common questions

Scanned Photo Dates in Immich: FAQ

Why do my scanned photos show the scan date in Immich?

Immich sorts the timeline by the capture date stored inside each photo file's metadata. A scanner creates a brand-new file at the moment of scanning, so the only date inside that file is the scan date — or no date at all, in which case Immich falls back to the file's modified time[2], which for a fresh scan is also scan day (or the day the files were copied to the drive[4]). Either way, a print from 1975 files itself at the top of your timeline under the day the scanner ran. The photo isn't wrong; the metadata inside the file is.

Which date does Immich use to sort the timeline?

Per the Immich maintainers: at first backup an asset gets the file's creation date, then the metadata-extraction job replaces it with the EXIF capture date if one exists, and if none is available Immich falls back to the file's modified date[2]. Within EXIF, the capture-date tags are checked in priority order — SubSecDateTimeOriginal, DateTimeOriginal, SubSecCreateDate, then CreateDate[3]. Writing the real date into DateTimeOriginal before import is therefore the most reliable way to control where a scan lands.

How do I change the date of a scanned photo in Immich?

Open the photo in the Immich web app, open its info panel, and click the edit (pencil) control next to the date to set a new date, time, and timezone. You can also select several photos at once and use the date-edit action from the selection menu — but Immich applies the same single date and time to everything selected; there's no option to shift a group while keeping the gaps between photos[8]. Either way you must already know each photo's real date, and the edit is stored in Immich's database and an .xmp sidecar, not in the photo file itself[1].

Does editing a date in Immich fix my actual photo files?

No. Immich's own FAQ is explicit: “No, Immich does not modify the original files. All edited metadata is saved in companion .xmp sidecar files and the database.”[1] That's the right philosophy for a photo server, but it means the file itself still carries the scan date. Download the original, restore from a backup, or open the library with an app that doesn't read sidecars, and the wrong date comes back. Only rewriting the EXIF inside the file makes the fix travel with the photo everywhere.

Should I fix the dates before or after importing scans to Immich?

Before, if you can: a real date written into each file's EXIF DateTimeOriginal field is read automatically by Immich at import[3] — and by every other photo app, forever. If the scans are already in Immich, you don't have to start over: Timeline Scan's Immich integration connects to your server, finds the photos stuck on their scan date, works out each one's real date, and writes it back onto the same assets in place — metadata only, originals untouched, no re-upload.

Can Timeline Scan fix the dates without re-uploading my library?

Yes. Connect your self-hosted Immich server with an API key and Timeline Scan reads small previews for analysis — full-size originals never leave your server. It gathers the photos stuck on their scan date into one list, estimates each one's real date from handwriting on the backs, lab-printed dates, and visual clues, and after you review the timeline it writes the corrected date (locked so Immich won't overwrite it), handwriting notes, rotation, and tagged people back onto the exact same assets[1]. Original files are never modified — the same rule Immich itself follows. Details on the Immich integration page.

Will corrected files create duplicates in Immich?

They can if you re-upload. Immich recognizes duplicates by file checksum, and a file with corrected EXIF is no longer byte-identical to the original, so it uploads as a new asset alongside the misdated one. If you fix files with ExifTool, delete the misdated copies before re-uploading. Timeline Scan's Immich integration avoids the problem entirely by writing dates onto the assets already in your library — nothing is uploaded twice.

Show your work

Sources

  1. Immich documentation: FAQ (accessed July 6, 2026). States: “No, Immich does not modify the original files. All edited metadata is saved in companion .xmp sidecar files and the database.” See also the XMP sidecars feature page.
  2. Immich GitHub Discussion #1947: “document how dates are determined for photos / videos in timeline” — maintainer answer: at first backup the date is the file's creation date; the metadata-extraction pipeline then uses the EXIF creation date; “if none are available, then it will fall back to the modified date.”
  3. Immich GitHub Discussion #12292: “[BUG] Wrong Date but Exif good” — documents the EXIF tag priority Immich uses for the capture date (SubSecDateTimeOriginal, DateTimeOriginal, SubSecCreateDate, CreateDate) and the long tail of wrong-date-on-import reports.
  4. Immich GitHub Discussion #7654: “Dates importing incorrectly (or not at all)” — a 35,000-photo import in which roughly 4,000–5,000 files arrived with wrong or missing dates, many filed under the day the files were moved to the drive.
  5. GitHub: immich-app/immich (accessed July 6, 2026) — “High performance self-hosted photo and video management solution”; 106,000+ stars.
  6. Fstoppers: “[Stats] How Many Photos Have Ever Been Taken?” — coverage of the widely cited 2011 estimate by photo-archiving startup 1000memories that roughly 3.5 trillion photographs had been taken since the invention of photography, the overwhelming majority on film.
  7. CIPA standard DC-008 (Exif), Standardization — Camera & Imaging Products Association. Defines the Exif capture-date field DateTimeOriginal as “the date and time when the original image data was generated.” For a scanned print, the image data is generated by the scanner — on scan day.
  8. Immich GitHub Discussion #10235: “How to Pictures / Albums Date and Time offset in bulk” — confirms the web UI's bulk edit sets one date, time, and timezone for every selected photo, with shift-by-offset editing still an open feature request.

Immich is an open-source project; its name belongs to the Immich project (FUTO). Timeline Scan is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Immich or FUTO. Immich behavior described on this page was checked against Immich's public documentation and GitHub discussions on July 6, 2026; if something here has gone out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.

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