diff --git a/src/opnsense/service/modules/addons/template_helpers.py b/src/opnsense/service/modules/addons/template_helpers.py
index 56ad905e7..a3fd46c19 100644
--- a/src/opnsense/service/modules/addons/template_helpers.py
+++ b/src/opnsense/service/modules/addons/template_helpers.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 """
 
 import os
+import datetime
 import glob
 import collections
 import netaddr
@@ -142,6 +143,13 @@ class Helpers(object):
         """
         return netaddr.IPNetwork(network)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def getUtcTime():
+        """ return UTC timestamp in ISO 8601 format with second granularity
+            :return: string
+        """
+        return datetime.datetime.utcnow().astimezone().isoformat(timespec="seconds")
+
     @staticmethod
     def sortDictList(lst, *operators):
         if type(lst) == list: