diff --git a/dags/aps/aps_process_file.py b/dags/aps/aps_process_file.py
index 49ae03c8..8641e80d 100644
--- a/dags/aps/aps_process_file.py
+++ b/dags/aps/aps_process_file.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from common.exceptions import EmptyOutputFromPreviousTask
 from common.scoap3_s3 import Scoap3Repository
 from common.utils import create_or_update_article, upload_json_to_s3
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from structlog import get_logger
 
 logger = get_logger()
diff --git a/dags/aps/parser.py b/dags/aps/parser.py
index 6d10b10a..d51ed4d5 100644
--- a/dags/aps/parser.py
+++ b/dags/aps/parser.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from common.parsing.json_extractors import CustomExtractor, NestedValueExtractor
 from common.parsing.parser import IParser
 from common.utils import construct_license
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from structlog import get_logger
 
 logger = get_logger()
diff --git a/dags/common/inspire_utils/date.py b/dags/common/inspire_utils/date.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d25f4633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dags/common/inspire_utils/date.py
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+# This file is part of INSPIRE.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2017 CERN.
+#
+# INSPIRE is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# INSPIRE is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with INSPIRE. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+# In applying this license, CERN does not waive the privileges and immunities
+# granted to it by virtue of its status as an Intergovernmental Organization
+# or submit itself to any jurisdiction.
+
+"""Utils to handle dates in INSPIRE."""
+
+from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function
+
+import datetime
+import itertools
+from functools import total_ordering
+
+import six
+from babel import dates
+from dateutil.parser import parse as parse_date
+
+
+@total_ordering
+@six.python_2_unicode_compatible
+class PartialDate(object):
+    """Class for representing a partial date.
+
+    The standard constructor assumes that all date parts are known (or not
+    present) and have already been converted to `int` s. For more flexibility,
+    see :ref:`PartialDate.from_parts` and :ref:`PartialDate.parse`.
+
+    Two `PartialDate` s can be compared and a more complete date is considered
+    smaller than the same date with parts removed.
+
+    Raises:
+        TypeError: when the date parts are not `int` s or `None`.
+        ValueError: when the date is not valid.
+
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, year, month=None, day=None):
+        well_typed = all(
+            isinstance(part, int) or part is None for part in (year, month, day)
+        )
+        if not well_typed:
+            raise TypeError(
+                "arguments to {classname} must be of type int or None".format(
+                    classname=type(self).__name__
+                )
+            )
+        if year is None or year < 1000:
+            raise ValueError("year must be an int >= 1000")
+        if day and not month:
+            raise TypeError("month must not be None if day is not None")
+        # delegate validation of number of months/days to datetime
+        completion = (part or 1 for part in (year, month, day))
+        datetime.date(*completion)
+
+        self.year = year
+        self.month = month
+        self.day = day
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        return (
+            "PartialDate(year={self.year}, month={self.month}, day={self.day})".format(
+                self=self
+            )
+        )
+
+    def __eq__(self, other):
+        return (
+            self.year == other.year
+            and self.month == other.month
+            and self.day == other.day
+        )
+
+    def __lt__(self, other):
+        self_month = self.month or 99
+        self_day = self.day or 99
+        other_month = other.month or 99
+        other_day = other.day or 99
+
+        return (self.year, self_month, self_day) < (other.year, other_month, other_day)
+
+    def __str__(self):
+        return self.pprint()
+
+    @classmethod
+    def loads(cls, string):
+        """Load a date from a string in a record.
+
+        This can also be used to validate a date.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> PartialDate.loads('1686-06')
+            PartialDate(year=1686, month=6, day=None)
+            >>> PartialDate.loads('1686-42')
+            Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+            ValueError: month must be in 1..12
+
+        """
+
+        date_parts = string.split("-")
+
+        if len(date_parts) >= 2 and (len(date_parts[1]) < 2 or date_parts[1] == "00"):
+            raise ValueError("Month must be in MM format")
+        if len(date_parts) == 3 and (len(date_parts[2]) < 2 or date_parts[2] == "00"):
+            raise ValueError("Day must be in DD format")
+        parts = (int(part) for part in date_parts)
+
+        return cls(*parts)
+
+    def dumps(self):
+        """Dump the date for serialization into the record.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: normalized date, in the form ``YYYY-MM-DD``, ``YYYY-MM`` or
+                ``YYYY`` (depending on the information present in the date)
+
+        """
+        non_empty = itertools.takewhile(bool, (self.year, self.month, self.day))
+        # XXX: this only handles dates after 1000, which should be sufficient
+        formatted = ("{:02d}".format(part) for part in non_empty)
+        date = "-".join(formatted)
+
+        return date
+
+    @classmethod
+    def parse(cls, date, **kwargs):
+        """Parse a date given in arbitrary format.
+
+        This attempts to parse the input date, given in an arbitrary format
+
+        Args:
+            date(str): date to normalize
+            **kwargs: these are passed to the `dateutil.parser.parse` function
+                which is used internally to parse the date. Most notably, the
+                `yearfirst` and `datefirst` flags can be used if the ordering
+                of the date parts is known.
+
+        Returns:
+            PartialDate: an object holding the parsed date.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: when the date cannot be parsed or no year is present.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> PartialDate.parse('30 Jun 1686')
+            PartialDate(year=1686, month=6, day=30)
+
+        """
+        # In order to detect partial dates, parse twice with different defaults
+        # and compare the results.
+        default_date1 = datetime.datetime(1, 1, 1)
+        default_date2 = datetime.datetime(2, 2, 2)
+
+        parsed_date1 = parse_date(date, default=default_date1, **kwargs)
+        parsed_date2 = parse_date(date, default=default_date2, **kwargs)
+
+        has_year = parsed_date1.year == parsed_date2.year
+        has_month = parsed_date1.month == parsed_date2.month
+        has_day = parsed_date1.day == parsed_date2.day
+
+        if has_year:
+            year = parsed_date1.year
+        else:
+            raise ValueError("date does not contain a year")
+        month = parsed_date1.month if has_month else None
+        day = parsed_date1.day if has_day else None
+
+        return cls(year, month, day)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_parts(cls, year, month=None, day=None):
+        """Build a PartialDate from its parts.
+
+        Unlike the standard constructor, the parts don't have to be `int` s but
+        can be strings containing textual month information.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> PartialDate.from_parts('1686', 'June', '30')
+            PartialDate(year=1686, month=6, day=30)
+
+        """
+        # XXX: 0 is not a valid year/month/day
+        non_empty = itertools.takewhile(
+            bool, (str(part) if part else None for part in (year, month, day))
+        )
+        return cls.parse("-".join(non_empty), yearfirst=True)
+
+    def pprint(self):
+        """Pretty print the date.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> PartialDate(1686, 6, 30).pprint()
+            u'Jun 30, 1686'
+
+        """
+        if not self.month:
+            return dates.format_date(
+                datetime.date(self.year, 1, 1), "yyyy", locale="en"
+            )
+        if not self.day:
+            return dates.format_date(
+                datetime.date(self.year, self.month, 1), "MMM, yyyy", locale="en"
+            )
+        return dates.format_date(
+            datetime.date(self.year, self.month, self.day), "MMM d, yyyy", locale="en"
+        )
+
+
+def normalize_date(date, **kwargs):
+    """Normalize a date to the be schema-compliant.
+
+    This is a convenience wrapper around :ref:`PartialDate`, which should be
+    used instead if more features are needed.
+
+    Note:
+        When ``date`` is ``None`` this returns ``None`` instead of raising
+        an exception because this makes ``DoJSON``'s code simpler, as it
+        already knows how to strip ``None`` values at the end.
+
+    Args:
+        date(str): date to normalize
+        **kwargs: these are passed to the `dateutil.parser.parse` function
+            that is used internally to parse the date. Most notably, the
+            `yearfirst` and `datefirst` flags can be used if the ordering
+            of the date parts is know.
+
+    Returns:
+        str: normalized date, in the form ``YYYY-MM-DD``, ``YYYY-MM`` or
+            ``YYYY`` (depending on the information present in the date).
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: when the date cannot be parsed or no year is present.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> normalize_date(None)
+        >>> normalize_date('30 Jun 1686')
+        '1686-06-30'
+
+    """
+    if date is None:
+        return
+
+    return PartialDate.parse(date, **kwargs).dumps()
+
+
+def format_date(date):
+    """Format a schema-compliant date string in a human-friendy format.
+
+    This is a convenience wrapper around :ref:`PartialDate`, which should be
+    used instead if more features are needed.
+    """
+    return PartialDate.loads(date).pprint()
+
+
+def earliest_date(dates):
+    """Return the earliest among the schema-compliant dates.
+
+    This is a convenience wrapper around :ref:`PartialDate`, which should be
+    used instead if more features are needed.
+
+    Args:
+        dates(list): List of dates from which oldest/earliest one will be returned
+    Returns:
+        str: Earliest date from provided list
+    """
+    min_date = min(PartialDate.loads(date) for date in dates)
+    return min_date.dumps()
+
+
+def fill_missing_date_parts(date):
+    """Sets missing day and/or month to 1. Useful to avoid errors when saving to DB."""
+
+    if date is None:
+        return
+
+    date_obj = PartialDate.loads(date)
+    if not date_obj.month:
+        date_obj.month = 1
+    if not date_obj.day:
+        date_obj.day = 1
+    return date_obj.dumps()
diff --git a/dags/common/inspire_utils/inspire_utils.py b/dags/common/inspire_utils/inspire_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af01a61b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dags/common/inspire_utils/inspire_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import re
+
+from six import string_types
+
+SPLIT_KEY_PATTERN = re.compile(r"\.|\[")
+
+
+def get_value(record, key, default=None):
+    """Return item as `dict.__getitem__` but using 'smart queries'.
+
+    .. note::
+
+        Accessing one value in a normal way, meaning d['a'], is almost as
+        fast as accessing a regular dictionary. But using the special
+        name convention is a bit slower than using the regular access:
+        .. code-block:: python
+            >>> %timeit x = dd['a[0].b']
+            100000 loops, best of 3: 3.94 us per loop
+            >>> %timeit x = dd['a'][0]['b']
+            1000000 loops, best of 3: 598 ns per loop
+    """
+
+    def getitem(k, v, default):
+        if isinstance(v, string_types):
+            raise KeyError
+        elif isinstance(v, dict):
+            return v[k]
+        elif "]" in k:
+            k = k[:-1].replace("n", "-1")
+            # Work around for list indexes and slices
+            try:
+                return v[int(k)]
+            except IndexError:
+                return default
+            except ValueError:
+                return v[
+                    slice(
+                        *map(
+                            lambda x: int(x.strip()) if x.strip() else None,
+                            k.split(":"),
+                        )
+                    )
+                ]
+        else:
+            tmp = []
+            for inner_v in v:
+                try:
+                    tmp.append(getitem(k, inner_v, default))
+                except KeyError:
+                    continue
+            return tmp
+
+    # Wrap a top-level list in a dict
+    if isinstance(record, list):
+        record = {"record": record}
+        key = ".".join(["record", key])
+
+    # Check if we are using python regular keys
+    try:
+        return record[key]
+    except KeyError:
+        pass
+
+    keys = SPLIT_KEY_PATTERN.split(key)
+    value = record
+    for k in keys:
+        try:
+            value = getitem(k, value, default)
+        except KeyError:
+            return default
+    return value
diff --git a/dags/common/parsing/json_extractors.py b/dags/common/parsing/json_extractors.py
index 20253537..25f2362e 100644
--- a/dags/common/parsing/json_extractors.py
+++ b/dags/common/parsing/json_extractors.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from common.parsing.extractor import IExtractor
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 
 
 class NestedValueExtractor(IExtractor):
diff --git a/dags/common/utils.py b/dags/common/utils.py
index 34399b82..688378b1 100644
--- a/dags/common/utils.py
+++ b/dags/common/utils.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from ftplib import error_perm
 from io import StringIO
 from stat import S_ISDIR, S_ISREG
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 
 import backoff
 import pycountry
diff --git a/dags/elsevier/elsevier_file_processing.py b/dags/elsevier/elsevier_file_processing.py
index 258a8f6f..f5cd8eeb 100644
--- a/dags/elsevier/elsevier_file_processing.py
+++ b/dags/elsevier/elsevier_file_processing.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 )
 from elsevier.parser import ElsevierParser
 from elsevier.repository import ElsevierRepository
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from structlog import get_logger
 
 logger = get_logger()
diff --git a/dags/hindawi/hindawi_file_processing.py b/dags/hindawi/hindawi_file_processing.py
index 103ff671..9731d88e 100644
--- a/dags/hindawi/hindawi_file_processing.py
+++ b/dags/hindawi/hindawi_file_processing.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from common.utils import create_or_update_article, upload_json_to_s3
 from hindawi.parser import HindawiParser
 from hindawi.repository import HindawiRepository
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from structlog import get_logger
 
 logger = get_logger()
diff --git a/dags/iop/iop_process_file.py b/dags/iop/iop_process_file.py
index f280b2ae..61406253 100644
--- a/dags/iop/iop_process_file.py
+++ b/dags/iop/iop_process_file.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 from common.exceptions import EmptyOutputFromPreviousTask
 from common.scoap3_s3 import Scoap3Repository
 from common.utils import create_or_update_article, upload_json_to_s3
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from iop.parser import IOPParser
 from iop.repository import IOPRepository
 from structlog import get_logger
diff --git a/dags/iop/parser.py b/dags/iop/parser.py
index 4a8ec1ca..03c7646f 100644
--- a/dags/iop/parser.py
+++ b/dags/iop/parser.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
     parse_country_from_value
 )
 from idutils import is_arxiv
-from inspire_utils.date import PartialDate
+from common.inspire_utils.date import PartialDate
 from structlog import get_logger
 
 
diff --git a/dags/oup/oup_process_file.py b/dags/oup/oup_process_file.py
index ac8481d5..cdd6c9a2 100644
--- a/dags/oup/oup_process_file.py
+++ b/dags/oup/oup_process_file.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     parse_without_names_spaces,
     upload_json_to_s3,
 )
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from jsonschema import validate
 from oup.parser import OUPParser
 from oup.repository import OUPRepository
diff --git a/dags/springer/springer_process_file.py b/dags/springer/springer_process_file.py
index 83d82565..f44349f3 100644
--- a/dags/springer/springer_process_file.py
+++ b/dags/springer/springer_process_file.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from common.exceptions import EmptyOutputFromPreviousTask
 from common.scoap3_s3 import Scoap3Repository
 from common.utils import create_or_update_article, upload_json_to_s3
-from inspire_utils.record import get_value
+from common.inspire_utils.inspire_utils import get_value
 from jsonschema import validate
 from springer.parser import SpringerParser
 from springer.repository import SpringerRepository
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index de52da92..619aa6da 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ paramiko
 boto3
 backoff
 bleach==6.0.0
-inspire-utils==3.0.25
 idutils==1.2.1
 furl==2.1.3
 busypie==0.4.5