UTC to Eastern Time (UTC to ET)
To convert UTC to Eastern Time (UTC to ET): in summer 3:00 PM UTC is 11:00 AM EDT, and in winter 3:00 PM UTC is 10:00 AM EST. The gap moves with US daylight saving, as explained below.
In Eastern Daylight Time
- On a 24-hour clock
- 15:00 UTC is 11:00 EDT
- The offsets
- UTC is UTC+00:00, EDT is UTC-04:00
- Difference
- EDT is 4 hours behind UTC
- Date
- Same calendar day.
- This gap does NOT hold all year Convert through the offset in force on the date you care about.
- The two ends switch on different dates, or one does not switch at all.
- EDT 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. New York is on EST between those dates.
- otherwise EST, UTC-05:00
- 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.
- UTC is Z (Zulu), EDT is Q (Quebec)
- In Zulu notation Four digits on a 24-hour clock, no colon, then Z for UTC.
- 1500Z
- In every zone
- HST 05:00 AKST 06:00 PST 07:00 AKDT 07:00 MST 08:00 PDT 08:00 CST 09:00 MDT 09:00 EST 10:00 CDT 10:00 EDT 11:00 UTC 15:00 GMT 15:00 BST 16:00 CET 16:00 CEST 17:00 EET 17:00 EEST 18:00 MSK 18:00 IST 20:30 SGT 23:00 HKT 23:00 JST 00:00 AEST 01:00 AEDT 02:00 NZST 03:00 NZDT 04:00
| Letter | Offset | Local time |
|---|---|---|
| Y (Yankee) | UTC-12:00 | 03:00 |
| X (X-ray) | UTC-11:00 | 04:00 |
| W (Whiskey) | UTC-10:00 | 05:00 |
| V (Victor) | UTC-09:00 | 06:00 |
| U (Uniform) | UTC-08:00 | 07:00 |
| T (Tango) | UTC-07:00 | 08:00 |
| S (Sierra) | UTC-06:00 | 09:00 |
| R (Romeo) | UTC-05:00 | 10:00 |
| Q (Quebec) | UTC-04:00 | 11:00 |
| P (Papa) | UTC-03:00 | 12:00 |
| O (Oscar) | UTC-02:00 | 13:00 |
| N (November) | UTC-01:00 | 14:00 |
| Z (Zulu) | UTC+00:00 | 15:00 |
| A (Alfa) | UTC+01:00 | 16:00 |
| B (Bravo) | UTC+02:00 | 17:00 |
| C (Charlie) | UTC+03:00 | 18:00 |
| D (Delta) | UTC+04:00 | 19:00 |
| E (Echo) | UTC+05:00 | 20:00 |
| F (Foxtrot) | UTC+06:00 | 21:00 |
| G (Golf) | UTC+07:00 | 22:00 |
| H (Hotel) | UTC+08:00 | 23:00 |
| I (India) | UTC+09:00 | 00:00 next day |
| K (Kilo) | UTC+10:00 | 01:00 next day |
| L (Lima) | UTC+11:00 | 02:00 next day |
| M (Mike) | UTC+12:00 | 03:00 next day |
How the Time Zone Converter works
UTC is UTC+00:00 and never shifts. 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 UTC to ET is two different subtractions depending on the date: ET is 4 hours behind UTC in summer and 5 hours behind it in winter.
The gap between these two is not the same all year, which is the thing to get right. ET shifts for daylight saving and UTC does not, so ET is 4 hours behind UTC from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, and 5 hours behind it for the rest of the year. In 2026 the switch dates are 2026-03-08 and 2026-11-01.
Worked through: in summer, 3:00 PM UTC is 11:00 AM EDT. In winter, 3:00 PM UTC is 10:00 AM EST.
This is what a developer usually means by 'UTC to EST', and the reason that phrasing causes bugs. The offset to subtract is four hours from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November and five the rest of the year, so a hard-coded 'minus five' is wrong for about two thirds of the year. The switch itself happens at 02:00 local time, which is 07:00 UTC in March and 06:00 UTC in November. A UTC log line from 06:30 on the November switch day therefore maps to 01:30 Eastern, an hour that occurs twice. Store UTC, and convert with the America/New_York zone from a tz database rather than with any fixed number.
UTC 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 New York), which is almost always what someone typing UTC to ET wants. The converter above is preset to the summer pairing, UTC to EDT, because that is in force for about eight months of the year; for a date between November and March, pick UTC and EST in the lists instead.
Common times for this pair, summer and winter:
- 12:00 AM UTC is 8:00 PM EDT the previous day; in winter, 12:00 AM UTC is 7:00 PM EST the previous day - 3:00 PM UTC is 11:00 AM EDT; in winter, 3:00 PM UTC is 10:00 AM EST - 6:00 PM UTC is 2:00 PM EDT; in winter, 6:00 PM UTC is 1:00 PM EST - 11:00 PM UTC is 7:00 PM EDT; in winter, 11:00 PM UTC is 6:00 PM EST
Time Zone Converter FAQ
What is the time difference between UTC and ET?
It depends on the date. ET is 4 hours behind UTC from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, while UTC to EDT applies, and 5 hours behind it for the rest of the year, under UTC to EST.
What time is 3:00 PM UTC in ET?
In summer, 3:00 PM UTC is 11:00 AM EDT. In winter, 3:00 PM UTC is 10:00 AM EST. The hour of difference between those two answers is daylight saving, applied at one end only.
Is ET the same as EST?
Only in winter. ET is Eastern Time, whichever offset is in force: EST at UTC-05:00 from the first Sunday in November until the second Sunday in March, and EDT at UTC-04:00 the rest of the time. EST written in July is, strictly, an hour away from the clock in New York. That is why ET is the safer thing to write in an invitation that has to be right all year.
When does the difference between UTC and ET change?
At the United States daylight saving switch, which starts on the second Sunday in March, at 02:00 local time and ends on 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. Between those dates the gap is 4 hours; outside them, 5 hours.
Is there anything specific to this pair worth knowing?
This is what a developer usually means by 'UTC to EST', and the reason that phrasing causes bugs. The offset to subtract is four hours from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November and five the rest of the year, so a hard-coded 'minus five' is wrong for about two thirds of the year. The switch itself happens at 02:00 local time, which is 07:00 UTC in March and 06:00 UTC in November. A UTC log line from 06:30 on the November switch day therefore maps to 01:30 Eastern, an hour that occurs twice. Store UTC, and convert with the America/New_York zone from a tz database rather than with any fixed number.
More from the Time Zone Converter
- Eastern Time to GMT (ET to GMT)
- CST to UTC
- UTC to Pacific Time (UTC to PT)
- Central Time to Eastern Time (CT to ET)
- Eastern Time to Pacific Time (ET to PT)
- Pacific Time to Eastern Time (PT to ET)
- Mountain Time to Eastern Time (MT to ET)
- IST to UTC