ABSTRACTA new methodology for developing macromechanical constitutive formulations for time-dependent materials is presented in this article. In particular, two phenomenological constitutive models for polymer materials are illustrated, describing time-dependent and nonlinear mechanical behavior. In this new approach, short-term creep test data are used for modeling both short-term and long-term responses. The differential form of a model is used to simulate typical nonlinear viscoelastic polymeric behavior using a combination of springs and dashpots. Unified plasticity theory is then used to develop the second model, which is a nonlinear viscoplastic one. Least squares fitting is applied for the determination of material parameters for both models, based on experimental results. Due to practical constraints, experimental data are usually available for short-term time-frames. In the presented proposed formulation, the material parameters determined from short-term testing are used to obtain material parameter relationships for predicting the long-term material response. This is done by extending short-term information for longer time frames. Finally, theoretical and experimental results of tensile tests on polyethylene subjected to various load levels and test times are compared and discussed. Very good agreement of the modeling results with experimental data shows that the developed formulation provides a flexible and reliable framework for predicting load responses of polymers.