diff --git a/configs/server_config.yaml b/configs/server_config.yaml
index 67a63e91a2..f9156faad2 100644
--- a/configs/server_config.yaml
+++ b/configs/server_config.yaml
@@ -36,3 +36,4 @@ memgpt_version = 0.3.7
 
 [client]
 anon_clientid = 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
+
diff --git a/memgpt/agent.py b/memgpt/agent.py
index ebe06791f1..706e9489b0 100644
--- a/memgpt/agent.py
+++ b/memgpt/agent.py
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
     validate_function_response,
     verify_first_message_correctness,
     create_uuid_from_string,
+    is_utc_datetime,
 )
 from memgpt.constants import (
     FIRST_MESSAGE_ATTEMPTS,
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@ def initialize_message_sequence(
     recall_memory: Optional[RecallMemory] = None,
     memory_edit_timestamp: Optional[str] = None,
     include_initial_boot_message: bool = True,
-):
+) -> List[dict]:
     if memory_edit_timestamp is None:
         memory_edit_timestamp = get_local_time()
 
@@ -291,6 +292,13 @@ def __init__(
             assert all([isinstance(msg, Message) for msg in raw_messages]), (raw_messages, self.agent_state.state["messages"])
             self._messages.extend([cast(Message, msg) for msg in raw_messages if msg is not None])
 
+            for m in self._messages:
+                # assert is_utc_datetime(m.created_at), f"created_at on message for agent {self.agent_state.name} isn't UTC:\n{vars(m)}"
+                # TODO eventually do casting via an edit_message function
+                if not is_utc_datetime(m.created_at):
+                    printd(f"Warning - created_at on message for agent {self.agent_state.name} isn't UTC (text='{m.text}')")
+                    m.created_at = m.created_at.replace(tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
+
         else:
             # print(f"Agent.__init__ :: creating, state={agent_state.state['messages']}")
             init_messages = initialize_message_sequence(
@@ -309,6 +317,13 @@ def __init__(
             self.messages_total = 0
             self._append_to_messages(added_messages=[cast(Message, msg) for msg in init_messages_objs if msg is not None])
 
+            for m in self._messages:
+                assert is_utc_datetime(m.created_at), f"created_at on message for agent {self.agent_state.name} isn't UTC:\n{vars(m)}"
+                # TODO eventually do casting via an edit_message function
+                if not is_utc_datetime(m.created_at):
+                    printd(f"Warning - created_at on message for agent {self.agent_state.name} isn't UTC (text='{m.text}')")
+                    m.created_at = m.created_at.replace(tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
+
         # Keep track of the total number of messages throughout all time
         self.messages_total = messages_total if messages_total is not None else (len(self._messages) - 1)  # (-system)
         # self.messages_total_init = self.messages_total
@@ -445,6 +460,8 @@ def _handle_ai_response(
 
             # role: assistant (requesting tool call, set tool call ID)
             messages.append(
+                # NOTE: we're recreating the message here
+                # TODO should probably just overwrite the fields?
                 Message.dict_to_message(
                     agent_id=self.agent_state.id,
                     user_id=self.agent_state.user_id,
@@ -710,7 +727,7 @@ def validate_json(user_message_text: str, raise_on_error: bool) -> str:
             # (if yes) Step 3: call the function
             # (if yes) Step 4: send the info on the function call and function response to LLM
             response_message = response.choices[0].message
-            response_message.copy()
+            response_message.model_copy()  # TODO why are we copying here?
             all_response_messages, heartbeat_request, function_failed = self._handle_ai_response(response_message)
 
             # Add the extra metadata to the assistant response
diff --git a/memgpt/agent_store/db.py b/memgpt/agent_store/db.py
index cafdd9166c..d36a584af4 100644
--- a/memgpt/agent_store/db.py
+++ b/memgpt/agent_store/db.py
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ class PassageModel(Base):
             metadata_ = Column(MutableJson)
 
             # Add a datetime column, with default value as the current time
-            created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now())
+            created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True))
 
             def __repr__(self):
                 return f"<Passage(passage_id='{self.id}', text='{self.text}', embedding='{self.embedding})>"
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ class MessageModel(Base):
             embedding_model = Column(String)
 
             # Add a datetime column, with default value as the current time
-            created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now())
+            created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True))
 
             def __repr__(self):
                 return f"<Message(message_id='{self.id}', text='{self.text}', embedding='{self.embedding})>"
diff --git a/memgpt/client/client.py b/memgpt/client/client.py
index ea48b0ffff..ee7507a9cb 100644
--- a/memgpt/client/client.py
+++ b/memgpt/client/client.py
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ def get_agent_response_to_state(self, response: Union[GetAgentResponse, CreateAg
             embedding_config=embedding_config,
             state=response.agent_state.state,
             # load datetime from timestampe
-            created_at=datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(response.agent_state.created_at),
+            created_at=datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(response.agent_state.created_at, tz=datetime.timezone.utc),
         )
         return agent_state
 
diff --git a/memgpt/data_types.py b/memgpt/data_types.py
index 8202742961..2e09588dcc 100644
--- a/memgpt/data_types.py
+++ b/memgpt/data_types.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 """ This module contains the data types used by MemGPT. Each data type must include a function to create a DB model. """
 
 import uuid
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import Optional, List, Dict, TypeVar
 import numpy as np
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, Json
 
 from memgpt.constants import (
     DEFAULT_HUMAN,
@@ -14,14 +15,9 @@
     MAX_EMBEDDING_DIM,
     TOOL_CALL_ID_MAX_LEN,
 )
-from memgpt.utils import get_local_time, format_datetime, get_utc_time, create_uuid_from_string
+from memgpt.utils import get_utc_time, create_uuid_from_string
 from memgpt.models import chat_completion_response
-from memgpt.utils import get_human_text, get_persona_text, printd
-
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, Json
-from memgpt.utils import get_human_text, get_persona_text, printd
-
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, Json
+from memgpt.utils import get_human_text, get_persona_text, printd, is_utc_datetime
 
 
 class Record:
@@ -136,6 +132,11 @@ def to_json(self):
         json_message = vars(self)
         if json_message["tool_calls"] is not None:
             json_message["tool_calls"] = [vars(tc) for tc in json_message["tool_calls"]]
+        # turn datetime to ISO format
+        # also if the created_at is missing a timezone, add UTC
+        if not is_utc_datetime(self.created_at):
+            self.created_at = self.created_at.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+        json_message["created_at"] = self.created_at.isoformat()
         return json_message
 
     @staticmethod
diff --git a/memgpt/functions/function_sets/base.py b/memgpt/functions/function_sets/base.py
index 99e3ac426b..769a05d2e1 100644
--- a/memgpt/functions/function_sets/base.py
+++ b/memgpt/functions/function_sets/base.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ def send_message(self: Agent, message: str) -> Optional[str]:
         Optional[str]: None is always returned as this function does not produce a response.
     """
     # FIXME passing of msg_obj here is a hack, unclear if guaranteed to be the correct reference
-    self.interface.assistant_message(message, msg_obj=self._messages[-1])
+    self.interface.assistant_message(message)  # , msg_obj=self._messages[-1])
     return None
 
 
diff --git a/memgpt/metadata.py b/memgpt/metadata.py
index 77e36268e0..7d34ddeea9 100644
--- a/memgpt/metadata.py
+++ b/memgpt/metadata.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from typing import Optional, List
 
 from memgpt.constants import DEFAULT_HUMAN, DEFAULT_MEMGPT_MODEL, DEFAULT_PERSONA, DEFAULT_PRESET, LLM_MAX_TOKENS
-from memgpt.utils import get_local_time, enforce_types
+from memgpt.utils import enforce_types
 from memgpt.data_types import AgentState, Source, User, LLMConfig, EmbeddingConfig, Token, Preset
 from memgpt.config import MemGPTConfig
 from memgpt.functions.functions import load_all_function_sets
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ def list_tools(self, user_id: uuid.UUID) -> List[ToolModel]:
                 )
                 for k, v in available_functions.items()
             ]
-            print(results)
+            # print(results)
             return results
             # results = session.query(PresetModel).filter(PresetModel.user_id == user_id).all()
             # return [r.to_record() for r in results]
diff --git a/memgpt/persistence_manager.py b/memgpt/persistence_manager.py
index 4615970a0b..acee437bd3 100644
--- a/memgpt/persistence_manager.py
+++ b/memgpt/persistence_manager.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     BaseRecallMemory,
     EmbeddingArchivalMemory,
 )
-from memgpt.utils import get_local_time, printd
+from memgpt.utils import printd
 from memgpt.data_types import Message, ToolCall, AgentState
 
 from datetime import datetime
diff --git a/memgpt/server/rest_api/agents/message.py b/memgpt/server/rest_api/agents/message.py
index 4455d9e6c8..3c1d0b67a2 100644
--- a/memgpt/server/rest_api/agents/message.py
+++ b/memgpt/server/rest_api/agents/message.py
@@ -1,20 +1,21 @@
 import asyncio
 import json
 import uuid
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from asyncio import AbstractEventLoop
 from enum import Enum
 from functools import partial
-from typing import List, Optional
+from typing import List, Optional, Any
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Body, HTTPException, Query, Depends
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, validator
 from starlette.responses import StreamingResponse
 
 from memgpt.constants import JSON_ENSURE_ASCII
 from memgpt.server.rest_api.auth_token import get_current_user
 from memgpt.server.rest_api.interface import QueuingInterface
 from memgpt.server.server import SyncServer
+from memgpt.data_types import Message
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
@@ -33,6 +34,14 @@ class UserMessageRequest(BaseModel):
         description="Timestamp to tag the message with (in ISO format). If null, timestamp will be created server-side on receipt of message.",
     )
 
+    @validator("timestamp")
+    def validate_timestamp(cls, value: Any) -> Any:
+        if value.tzinfo is None or value.tzinfo.utcoffset(value) is None:
+            raise ValueError("Timestamp must include timezone information.")
+        if value.tzinfo.utcoffset(value) != datetime.fromtimestamp(timezone.utc).utcoffset():
+            raise ValueError("Timestamp must be in UTC.")
+        return value
+
 
 class UserMessageResponse(BaseModel):
     messages: List[dict] = Field(..., description="List of messages generated by the agent in response to the received message.")
@@ -90,6 +99,12 @@ def get_agent_messages_cursor(
         [_, messages] = server.get_agent_recall_cursor(
             user_id=user_id, agent_id=agent_id, before=request.before, limit=request.limit, reverse=True
         )
+        # print("====> messages-cursor DEBUG")
+        # for i, msg in enumerate(messages):
+        # print(f"message {i+1}/{len(messages)}")
+        # print(f"UTC created-at: {msg.created_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%f')[:-3] + 'Z'}")
+        # print(f"ISO format string: {msg['created_at']}")
+        # print(msg)
         return GetAgentMessagesResponse(messages=messages)
 
     @router.post("/agents/{agent_id}/messages", tags=["agents"], response_model=UserMessageResponse)
diff --git a/memgpt/server/rest_api/interface.py b/memgpt/server/rest_api/interface.py
index eb8f635a98..440decdf20 100644
--- a/memgpt/server/rest_api/interface.py
+++ b/memgpt/server/rest_api/interface.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 from memgpt.interface import AgentInterface
 from memgpt.data_types import Message
+from memgpt.utils import is_utc_datetime
 
 
 class QueuingInterface(AgentInterface):
@@ -57,34 +58,54 @@ def error(self, error: str):
     def user_message(self, msg: str, msg_obj: Optional[Message] = None):
         """Handle reception of a user message"""
         assert msg_obj is not None, "QueuingInterface requires msg_obj references for metadata"
+        if self.debug:
+            print(msg)
+            print(vars(msg_obj))
+            print(msg_obj.created_at.isoformat())
 
     def internal_monologue(self, msg: str, msg_obj: Optional[Message] = None) -> None:
         """Handle the agent's internal monologue"""
         assert msg_obj is not None, "QueuingInterface requires msg_obj references for metadata"
         if self.debug:
             print(msg)
+            print(vars(msg_obj))
+            print(msg_obj.created_at.isoformat())
 
         new_message = {"internal_monologue": msg}
 
         # add extra metadata
         if msg_obj is not None:
             new_message["id"] = str(msg_obj.id)
+            assert is_utc_datetime(msg_obj.created_at), msg_obj.created_at
             new_message["date"] = msg_obj.created_at.isoformat()
 
         self.buffer.put(new_message)
 
     def assistant_message(self, msg: str, msg_obj: Optional[Message] = None) -> None:
         """Handle the agent sending a message"""
-        assert msg_obj is not None, "QueuingInterface requires msg_obj references for metadata"
+        # assert msg_obj is not None, "QueuingInterface requires msg_obj references for metadata"
+
         if self.debug:
             print(msg)
+            if msg_obj is not None:
+                print(vars(msg_obj))
+                print(msg_obj.created_at.isoformat())
 
         new_message = {"assistant_message": msg}
 
         # add extra metadata
         if msg_obj is not None:
             new_message["id"] = str(msg_obj.id)
+            assert is_utc_datetime(msg_obj.created_at), msg_obj.created_at
             new_message["date"] = msg_obj.created_at.isoformat()
+        else:
+            # FIXME this is a total hack
+            assert self.buffer.qsize() > 1, "Tried to reach back to grab function call data, but couldn't find a buffer message."
+            # TODO also should not be accessing protected member here
+
+            new_message["id"] = self.buffer.queue[-1]["id"]
+            # assert is_utc_datetime(msg_obj.created_at), msg_obj.created_at
+            new_message["date"] = self.buffer.queue[-1]["date"]
 
         self.buffer.put(new_message)
 
@@ -95,6 +116,8 @@ def function_message(self, msg: str, msg_obj: Optional[Message] = None, include_
 
         if self.debug:
             print(msg)
+            print(vars(msg_obj))
+            print(msg_obj.created_at.isoformat())
 
         if msg.startswith("Running "):
             msg = msg.replace("Running ", "")
@@ -121,6 +144,7 @@ def function_message(self, msg: str, msg_obj: Optional[Message] = None, include_
         # add extra metadata
         if msg_obj is not None:
             new_message["id"] = str(msg_obj.id)
+            assert is_utc_datetime(msg_obj.created_at), msg_obj.created_at
             new_message["date"] = msg_obj.created_at.isoformat()
 
         self.buffer.put(new_message)
diff --git a/memgpt/server/server.py b/memgpt/server/server.py
index 023a9bd45b..183d578e90 100644
--- a/memgpt/server/server.py
+++ b/memgpt/server/server.py
@@ -1064,7 +1064,7 @@ def get_agent_recall_cursor(
         order_by: Optional[str] = "created_at",
         order: Optional[str] = "asc",
         reverse: Optional[bool] = False,
-    ):
+    ) -> Tuple[uuid.UUID, List[dict]]:
         if self.ms.get_user(user_id=user_id) is None:
             raise ValueError(f"User user_id={user_id} does not exist")
         if self.ms.get_agent(agent_id=agent_id, user_id=user_id) is None:
diff --git a/memgpt/utils.py b/memgpt/utils.py
index d4c9aa00a4..0b61439075 100644
--- a/memgpt/utils.py
+++ b/memgpt/utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
 import copy
 import re
 import json
@@ -469,6 +469,10 @@
 ]
 
 
+def is_utc_datetime(dt: datetime) -> bool:
+    return dt.tzinfo is not None and dt.tzinfo.utcoffset(dt) == timedelta(0)
+
+
 def get_tool_call_id() -> str:
     return str(uuid.uuid4())[:TOOL_CALL_ID_MAX_LEN]