Daylight Saving Time Calculator
Daylight saving time dates for any year in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, with the day the clocks go forward, the day they go back, and the rule behind both.
Daylight saving 2026
- Clocks go forward (spring)
- Sunday, March 8, 2026
- Clocks go back (autumn)
- Sunday, November 1, 2026
- Daylight time lasts About 65% of the year.
- 238 days
- The rule And back on the first Sunday in November, at 02:00 local time. Energy Policy Act of 2005, in force since 2007.
- the second Sunday in March at 02:00 local time
- Next year
- Sunday, March 14, 2027 to Sunday, November 7, 2027
- Who does not change
- Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the territories
- Is it being abolished
- proposed repeatedly, never enacted
How the Daylight Saving Time Calculator works
Daylight saving time moves the clock forward in spring and back in autumn, so that waking hours line up better with daylight in summer. The dates come from a rule, not a maintained list: each jurisdiction names a weekday in a month, and the calendar fixes the date.
In the United States the rule is the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in force since 2007: clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March at 02:00 local time, and back on the first Sunday in November at 02:00 local. Because it is 02:00 in each zone separately, the daylight saving time change rolls west across the country over three hours. Before 2007 the window was shorter (April to October), and the extension was justified on energy grounds that subsequent studies have largely failed to find.
In the European Union and the United Kingdom, Directive 2000/84/EC sets the change on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October, both at 01:00 UTC. The difference matters: Europe changes at a single instant everywhere rather than at a local hour, so the gaps between European time zones never wobble during the transition.
The southern hemisphere runs the other way, and the window straddles the new year. Australian eastern states go forward on the first Sunday in October and back on the first Sunday in April; New Zealand runs from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April. Queensland does not observe it at all, so Brisbane and Sydney share a clock in winter and are an hour apart all summer.
Because the rules name a weekday rather than a date, the dates move by a few days each year: the second Sunday in March always falls between the 8th and the 14th.
Daylight Saving Time Calculator FAQ
When do the clocks go forward in the US?
The second Sunday in March, at 02:00 local time, which becomes 03:00. They go back on the first Sunday in November. That rule comes from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and has applied since 2007.
When do the clocks change in the UK and Europe?
Forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, both at 01:00 UTC. Europe changes at a single instant across all its zones rather than at a local hour, unlike the US.
Why are the US and European dates different?
They are set by separate laws that happen not to align. The US switches about three weeks earlier in spring and one week later in autumn, so for a few weeks each year the gap between, say, New York and London is an hour different from usual.
Which way do the clocks go?
Forward in spring, back in autumn: 'spring forward, fall back'. Going forward deletes an hour, making that night 23 hours long; going back repeats one, making it 25.
Which US states do not observe daylight saving?
Hawaii and most of Arizona. Arizona opted out in 1968, with the exception of the Navajo Nation within it, which does observe it, so the state contains both. Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands also do not change.
Is daylight saving time being abolished?
It has been proposed and not enacted on both sides of the Atlantic. The US Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate in 2022 and died in the House; the European Parliament voted in 2019 to end the practice from 2021 and the Council never agreed a position. Both rules remain in force.
What happens to a time that is skipped or repeated?
In spring, local times in the skipped hour do not exist; there is no 02:30 on that date in the US. In autumn, times in the repeated hour occur twice and are ambiguous. Both are why software should store an instant in UTC and convert only when displaying it.