Central Time to Eastern Time (CT to ET)
To convert Central Time to Eastern Time (CT to ET): in summer 11:00 AM CDT is 12:00 PM EDT, and in winter 11:00 AM CST is 12:00 PM EST. The gap holds all year, because both ends switch together.
In Eastern Daylight Time
- On a 24-hour clock
- 11:00 CDT is 12:00 EDT
- The offsets
- CDT is UTC-05:00, EDT is UTC-04:00
- Difference
- EDT is 1 hour ahead of CDT
- Date
- Same calendar day.
- This gap holds all year
- Both zones switch on the same dates, so they move together.
- CDT is only in force part of the year United States: daylight time starts the second Sunday in March, at 02:00 local time and ends the first Sunday in November, at 02:00 local time (Energy Policy Act of 2005, in force since 2007). In 2026 that is 2026-03-08 to 2026-11-01. Chicago is on CST between those dates.
- otherwise CST, UTC-06:00
- Military time zone letters Z (Zulu) is UTC. A to M run east of Greenwich an hour apart, N to Y west, and J is left out. A letter names an offset, so a zone that switches to daylight time changes letter: EST is R, EDT is Q.
- CDT is R (Romeo), EDT is Q (Quebec)
- In every zone
- HST 06:00 AKST 07:00 PST 08:00 AKDT 08:00 MST 09:00 PDT 09:00 CST 10:00 MDT 10:00 EST 11:00 CDT 11:00 EDT 12:00 UTC 16:00 GMT 16:00 BST 17:00 CET 17:00 CEST 18:00 EET 18:00 EEST 19:00 MSK 19:00 IST 21:30 SGT 00:00 HKT 00:00 JST 01:00 AEST 02:00 AEDT 03:00 NZST 04:00 NZDT 05:00
How the Time Zone Converter works
CT means Central Time, whichever of its two offsets is in force: CST at UTC-06:00 in winter, and CDT at UTC-05:00 from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. ET means Eastern Time, whichever of its two offsets is in force: EST at UTC-05:00 in winter, and EDT at UTC-04:00 from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. So converting CT to ET is the same arithmetic all year: ET is 1 hour ahead of CT.
The gap between these two does not change during the year. Both ends switch to daylight saving on the same dates under the United States rule, so they move together: CST to EST in winter and CDT to EDT in summer are both 1 hour. Only the abbreviations change.
Worked through: in summer, 11:00 AM CDT is 12:00 PM EDT. In winter, 11:00 AM CST is 12:00 PM EST.
One hour, all year, and the pair where the generic name is the safer one to write: CT cannot be misread as China Standard Time the way CST can, and it stays correct in July when CST is technically wrong. The catch specific to Central time is that its boundary runs through states rather than between them. Western Kentucky, Middle and West Tennessee, Florida's panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, two corners of Indiana and four counties of Michigan's Upper Peninsula are all on Central time while the rest of their state is Eastern, so 'same state' is not 'same clock'.
CST to EST has its own page, and it is a different question. That page converts the abbreviations exactly as written, which is right when an invitation names a specific offset. This one converts the zone (the clock on the wall in Chicago), which is almost always what someone typing CT to ET wants. The converter above is preset to the summer pairing, CDT to EDT, because that is in force for about eight months of the year; for a date between November and March, pick CST and EST in the lists instead.
Common times for this pair, summer and winter:
- 8:00 AM CDT is 9:00 AM EDT; in winter, 8:00 AM CST is 9:00 AM EST - 11:00 AM CDT is 12:00 PM EDT; in winter, 11:00 AM CST is 12:00 PM EST - 2:00 PM CDT is 3:00 PM EDT; in winter, 2:00 PM CST is 3:00 PM EST - 4:00 PM CDT is 5:00 PM EDT; in winter, 4:00 PM CST is 5:00 PM EST
Time Zone Converter FAQ
What is the time difference between CT and ET?
1 hour, all year: ET is 1 hour ahead of CT. In winter that is CST to EST and in summer CDT to EDT, and both pairings have the same gap because the two ends switch together.
What time is 11:00 AM CT in ET?
In summer, 11:00 AM CDT is 12:00 PM EDT. In winter, 11:00 AM CST is 12:00 PM EST.
Is CT the same as CST?
Only in winter. CT is Central Time, whichever offset is in force: CST at UTC-06:00 from the first Sunday in November until the second Sunday in March, and CDT at UTC-05:00 the rest of the time. CST written in July is, strictly, an hour away from the clock in Chicago. That is why CT is the safer thing to write in an invitation that has to be right all year.
When does the difference between CT and ET change?
It does not. Both ends switch under the United States rule on the same dates (in 2026, 2026-03-08 and 2026-11-01), so the abbreviations change and the gap of 1 hour stays put.
Is there anything specific to this pair worth knowing?
One hour, all year, and the pair where the generic name is the safer one to write: CT cannot be misread as China Standard Time the way CST can, and it stays correct in July when CST is technically wrong. The catch specific to Central time is that its boundary runs through states rather than between them. Western Kentucky, Middle and West Tennessee, Florida's panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, two corners of Indiana and four counties of Michigan's Upper Peninsula are all on Central time while the rest of their state is Eastern, so 'same state' is not 'same clock'.
More from the Time Zone Converter
- Eastern Time to Pacific Time (ET to PT)
- Eastern Time to GMT (ET to GMT)
- Pacific Time to Eastern Time (PT to ET)
- UTC to Eastern Time (UTC to ET)
- Mountain Time to Eastern Time (MT to ET)
- UTC to Pacific Time (UTC to PT)
- Pacific Time to GMT (PT to GMT)
- AEST to EST