Daylight saving time dates by region

When do the clocks change in Europe in 2026?

In the European Union and the United Kingdom the clocks go forward on Sunday, March 29, 2026 and back on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The change happens at the same moment everywhere, 01:00 UTC. In the US the dates are March 8 and November 1.

What is the EU rule?

Directive 2000/84/EC makes summer time start in every member state at 1:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in March, and end on the last Sunday in October. Because the moment is the same in UTC, local clocks change at different hours: 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. in Paris, 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. in London. The UK, which has left the EU, still uses the same dates. The EU's plan to end seasonal clock changes, backed by the European Parliament in 2019, is stalled in the Council, so the directive still applies.

Why do the US and Europe change on different dates?

The US rule is “second Sunday in March, first Sunday in November” (15 U.S.C. 260a), which was set by Congress in 2005; the EU rule is “last Sunday in March, last Sunday in October.” In 2026 the US moves its clocks 21 days before Europe in spring and Europe moves back 7 days before the US in autumn. During those weeks the time difference between New York and London is 4 hours instead of the usual 5, which matters for meetings, trading hours and flight schedules.

When does daylight saving time start in Australia and New Zealand?

In New South Wales it starts on the first Sunday in October (Sunday, October 4, 2026) at 2:00 a.m. standard time and ends on the first Sunday in April (Sunday, April 4, 2027), when 3:00 a.m. daylight time becomes 2:00 a.m. In New Zealand it starts on the last Sunday in September (Sunday, September 27, 2026) and ends on the first Sunday in April. Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania follow the same first-Sunday rule as New South Wales; Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe daylight saving time.

How long does daylight saving time last?

In 2026: 238 days in the US (March 8 to November 1), 210 days in the EU and UK (March 29 to October 25), 182 days in New South Wales (starting October 4), 189 days in New Zealand (starting September 27). The US period is longer than the European one by 28 days.

Does Brazil still change its clocks?

No. Brazil ended daylight saving time by a decree signed on April 25, 2019 (Decree 9,772). The last period ran from November 4, 2018 to February 17, 2019. The time zone database, which phones and computers use, records the same.

How long is the night when the clocks change?

The day of the change has 23 hours when clocks go forward and 25 hours when they go back. Overnight shifts, train and flight schedules and recurring jobs on a server have to allow for that 23- or 25-hour day.

How each date is found

All four regions use a weekday rule, so the date is the Nth Sunday of a month. For the US the second Sunday in March is always between March 8 and 14, and the first Sunday in November between November 1 and 7. The EU's last Sunday in March is between March 25 and 31 and in October between October 25 and 31. The first Sunday in April or October (New South Wales, New Zealand's end) is between the 1st and 7th, and New Zealand's last Sunday in September falls on September 24 to 30. In the southern hemisphere the daylight period crosses New Year, so the New South Wales period that starts on October 4, 2026, ends on April 4, 2027.

Worked example: 2026

For the US, March 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so the second Sunday is March 8, and November 1 is a Sunday, so the clocks go back on November 1: 238 days of daylight saving time. For the EU the last Sunday in March is March 29 and the last in October is October 25: 210 days. In the weeks between March 8 and March 29 New York is only 4 hours behind London, and from October 25 to November 1 it is again. The table under the calculator lists every region for the year you choose.

Limits

The calculator covers the rules in force today, so it accepts years 2008 to 2098: the US rule dates from 2007 and the Australian and New Zealand rules from 2008. Before that, the dates were different. Governments can change them, as Brazil did in 2019 and as the US Congress did in 2005, so check a year far ahead against the current law. It covers four regions, not every country: other countries use their own rules, and many places (including Hawaii, most of Arizona, India, Japan and China) observe no daylight saving time. Use the time zone converter for the offset between two cities on a given date.

Sources: 15 U.S.C. § 260a (US daylight saving time); Directive 2000/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 January 2001 on summer-time arrangements, Article 2 (the full text on EUR-Lex could not be opened here; the wording follows the quoted article and the European Commission's summertime page); IANA Time Zone Database, files “northamerica”, “europe”, “australasia” and “southamerica” (rules US, EU, AN, NZ, and the Brazil notes), github.com/eggert/tz, read October 28, 2026; European Parliament, “Seasonal changes of time” procedure file. Related: US daylight saving time calculator, time zone converter, meeting time planner, season start calculator and calendar.