If you want to become a dividend investor there are three very important dates you need to know about for each dividend you are investing in. These three dates are:

1) Declaration Date
2) Ex-Dividend Date
3) Payment Date


Declaration Date:
The declaration date is when the board of directors in a company announces its dividend. Here they’re also going to tell investors when the other two dates occur. The great thing about dividend stocks, folks, is that most of these try to stay extremely consistent with these dates, declaring a dividend in the same week, every 3 months, and every year. That gives you the opportunity to create a portfolio like this one. A portfolio with the right stocks that are going to schedule a dividend payment every single week.

Ex-Dividend Date:
Now, the most important date for dividend investors is called the ex-dividend date. That is the first day the stock trades without the dividend. Now pay attention to that.
It means you need to own the shares on the day before that to get that dividend. So, everyone that owns that stock at the close of market on the day before the ex-dividend date is going to get paid. If you buy the stocks on that ex-dividend date or after, you’re not going to get paid in that cycle. So, make sure you understand this if you’re going to buy these stocks.
Now, most of the time, for most of you, this isn’t going to be a big deal because you’re going to be buying these stocks and holding them for years. And those dividend dates, they’re going to come every 3 months like clockwork, and you’re going to get paid in your account. The only time it will matter is if you’re adding or selling some of your stocks, or if you are actively managing weekly and monthly dividend stocks for income.

Once you know the ex-dividend date for a stock, you can plan out your payments so you have income coming in at different days of the week, weeks of the month, or even spread out across different months.

Payment Date:
Dividend payment dates are the dates a company sends out its dividend payments to shareholders, typically occurring a few weeks after the ex-dividend date.

So to summarize the key dates you need to know in the dividend investing process – these dates include the declaration date (when the dividend is announced), the record date (when shareholders must be on the books to be eligible), the ex-dividend date (usually the day after the record date, after which new buyers are not entitled to the dividend), and the payment date. To receive a dividend, you must own the stock before the ex-dividend date.

Dividend timeline

• Declaration Date: The date a company’s board of directors announces a dividend. 
• Ex-Dividend Date: The date on which a stock trades without the value of its upcoming dividend. Shareholders who buy the stock on or after this date will not receive the dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is set to ensure shareholders are determined by the record date. 
• Record Date: The date on which the company checks its records to identify which shareholders are entitled to the dividend. To receive the dividend, you must be a shareholder of record on this date. 
• Payment Date: The date when the dividend is actually paid out to the shareholders who are on the record. This is usually about two weeks to a month after the ex-dividend date. 
• Reinvestment Date: For shareholders who have opted to reinvest, this is the date their distribution amount is used to buy more shares. This is a strategy called DRIP.

How to find upcoming dividend payment dates

• Check the company’s investor relations website for a dividend history or calendar. 
• Use financial websites and services that provide dividend calendars, often searchable by stock ticker symbol. These can be anything from Google, to Yahoo Finance, to custom investing tracking tools.
• These calendars will show you the ex-dividend date and the payment date, allowing you to plan accordingly.