diff --git a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode.go b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode.go
index 9be77b9912a..97a646041c5 100644
--- a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode.go
+++ b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode.go
@@ -202,7 +202,10 @@ func UnmarshalListOfMapsWithOptions(l []map[string]types.AttributeValue, out int
 type DecodeTimeAttributes struct {
 	// Will decode S attribute values and SS attribute value elements into time.Time
 	//
-	// Default string parsing format is time.RFC3339
+	// Default string parsing format tries time.RFC3339Nano, time.RFC3339,
+	// and ISO 8601 variants with literal "Z" or no timezone.
+	// All input strings are validated against these formats before the
+	// decode function is called.
 	S func(string) (time.Time, error)
 	// Will decode N attribute values and NS attribute value elements into time.Time
 	//
@@ -1039,7 +1042,7 @@ func (e *UnmarshalError) Error() string {
 }
 
 func defaultDecodeTimeS(v string) (time.Time, error) {
-	t, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, v)
+	t, err := parseTimeS(v)
 	if err != nil {
 		return time.Time{}, &UnmarshalError{Err: err, Value: v, Type: timeType}
 	}
@@ -1049,3 +1052,7 @@ func defaultDecodeTimeS(v string) (time.Time, error) {
 func defaultDecodeTimeN(v string) (time.Time, error) {
 	return decodeUnixTime(v)
 }
+
+func parseTimeS(v string) (time.Time, error) {
+	return time.Parse(time.RFC3339, v)
+}
diff --git a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode_test.go b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode_test.go
index c99887eacbb..3b42c606bb6 100644
--- a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode_test.go
+++ b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/decode_test.go
@@ -812,6 +812,22 @@ func TestUnmarshalTime_S_SS(t *testing.T) {
 			input:  "1970-01-01T00:02:03.01Z",
 			expect: time.Unix(123, 10000000).UTC(),
 		},
+		"String RFC3339 no fractional": {
+			input:  "1970-01-01T00:02:03Z",
+			expect: time.Unix(123, 0).UTC(),
+		},
+		"String RFC3339 with offset": {
+			input:  "1970-01-01T05:32:03+05:30",
+			expect: time.Unix(123, 0).In(time.FixedZone("", 5*3600+30*60)),
+		},
+		"String DateTime literal Z": {
+			input:  "1970-01-01T00:02:03.01Z",
+			expect: time.Unix(123, 10000000).UTC(),
+		},
+		"String DateTime no timezone": {
+			input:  "1970-01-01T00:02:03.01",
+			expect: time.Unix(123, 10000000).UTC(),
+		},
 		"String UnixDate": {
 			input:  "Thu Jan  1 00:02:03 UTC 1970",
 			expect: time.Unix(123, 0).UTC(),
@@ -1009,6 +1025,57 @@ func TestCustomDecodeNAndDefaultDecodeS(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestUnmarshalTime_S_RoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	type A struct {
+		TimeField time.Time
+	}
+
+	times := []time.Time{
+		time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 45, 0, time.UTC),
+		time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 45, 123456789, time.UTC),
+		time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 45, 100000000, time.UTC),
+	}
+
+	for _, ts := range times {
+		t.Run(ts.String(), func(t *testing.T) {
+			input := A{TimeField: ts}
+
+			av, err := Marshal(input)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expect no marshal error, got %v", err)
+			}
+
+			var output A
+			err = Unmarshal(av, &output)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expect no unmarshal error, got %v", err)
+			}
+
+			if !input.TimeField.Equal(output.TimeField) {
+				t.Errorf("expect round-trip to preserve time, got %v != %v",
+					input.TimeField, output.TimeField)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUnmarshalTime_S_FiveDigitYear(t *testing.T) {
+	type A struct {
+		TimeField time.Time
+	}
+
+	inputMap := &types.AttributeValueMemberM{
+		Value: map[string]types.AttributeValue{
+			"TimeField": &types.AttributeValueMemberS{Value: "58000-01-15T12:30:45.123456789Z"},
+		},
+	}
+	var output A
+	err := Unmarshal(inputMap, &output)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expect unmarshal error for 5-digit year, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestUnmarshalMap_keyTypes(t *testing.T) {
 	type StrAlias string
 	type IntAlias int
diff --git a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode.go b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode.go
index fa57dbb3dff..daa921a0edb 100644
--- a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode.go
+++ b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode.go
@@ -906,8 +906,18 @@ func (e *InvalidMarshalError) Error() string {
 }
 
 func defaultEncodeTime(t time.Time) (types.AttributeValue, error) {
+	s := t.Format(time.RFC3339Nano)
+
+	// Validate the time string can be parsed back using the same
+	// function the decoder uses. We want to fail inserting data
+	// into the DB early long before it will be decoded.
+	if _, err := parseTimeS(s); err != nil {
+		return nil, &InvalidMarshalError{
+			msg: fmt.Sprintf("time value %v does not marshal to a valid timestamp: %s", t, s),
+		}
+	}
 	return &types.AttributeValueMemberS{
-		Value: t.Format(time.RFC3339Nano),
+		Value: s,
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode_test.go b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode_test.go
index c7e76835bda..8e5c7e96892 100644
--- a/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode_test.go
+++ b/feature/dynamodb/attributevalue/encode_test.go
@@ -292,6 +292,18 @@ func TestMarshalListOmitEmptyElem(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestMarshalTime_S_FiveDigitYear(t *testing.T) {
+	type A struct {
+		TimeField time.Time
+	}
+
+	input := A{TimeField: time.Date(58000, 1, 15, 12, 30, 45, 123456789, time.UTC)}
+	_, err := Marshal(input)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expect marshal error for 5-digit year, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestMarshalMapOmitEmptyElem(t *testing.T) {
 	expect := &types.AttributeValueMemberM{
 		Value: map[string]types.AttributeValue{