Most of Mexico no longer changes its clocks. Daylight saving time was abolished in October 2022, and the last change, on 30 October 2022, put the country back on standard time for good. The exception is the northern border: Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez and the other municipalities next to the United States still change on the American dates, 14 March and 7 November in 2027, so that the two sides of each border crossing show the same hour.

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Next clock change in Mexico

Local time in each place. Computed from the IANA time zone database.

All clock changes 2026–2028: Tijuana

What the 2022 Law Changed

Mexico had observed summer time nationwide since 1996. The Ley de los Husos Horarios, the Time Zones Act, passed in October 2022, ended it. Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and most of the country are now six hours behind Universal Time all year, with no change in spring or autumn. The government's argument was that the electricity saving was under one per cent and that most people disliked the change. The practical effect is felt in summer: the sun now rises in Mexico City around 6:00 a.m. in June and sets around 7:15 p.m., an hour earlier on both counts than under the old system, and the gap with New York and Chicago is one hour wider in summer than it used to be.

The Border Still Changes

The 2022 law made an exception for the strip along the United States border, where daily life crosses the line. Baja California, including Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada, follows California. Ciudad Juárez and Ojinaga in Chihuahua follow El Paso and western Texas. In Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas the border municipalities, among them Ciudad Acuña, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros, follow central Texas. All of them put the clocks forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m. For part of the year, then, Ciudad Juárez is an hour ahead of the city of Chihuahua, its own state capital.

Four Time Zones, and Two States That Opted Out Earlier

Mexico has four time zones. The Southeast zone, which is only the state of Quintana Roo with Cancún and the Riviera Maya, is five hours behind Universal Time; it moved there in February 2015 to give tourists longer evenings and has not changed since. The Central zone covers most of the country. The Pacific zone covers Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit and Sonora, and the Northwest zone is Baja California. Sonora has not changed since 1998, to stay level with neighbouring Arizona, which does not change either. So for travellers the rule of thumb is simple: nothing changes in Mexico except on the US border, but the difference with the United States, Canada and Europe changes whenever they do.

Born in Mexico? The Years That Matter for a Birth Chart

For a birth chart, Mexican birth times fall into clear periods. From 1996 to 2022 most of the country was an hour ahead from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, so a summer birth in those years has to be converted with summer time. Before 1996 there was no summer time in most states, apart from Baja California and a few wartime years. Quintana Roo has changed time zone several times, most recently in February 2015, and births in the border cities after 2010 follow the United States dates, not the Mexican ones. A summer birth converted without that hour gives an Ascendant about fifteen degrees off. Our natal chart calculator decides by municipality and date, so a birth in Tijuana and a birth in Mexico City on the same day are treated differently.

Frequently asked

Does the time change in Mexico in 2027?

Not in most of the country. Mexico abolished daylight saving time in 2022. Only the municipalities on the US border change, on 14 March and 7 November 2027.

When was the last time change in Mexico?

On Sunday 30 October 2022, when clocks went back one hour for the last time in most of the country.

Does Cancún change its clocks?

No. Quintana Roo has been five hours behind Universal Time all year since February 2015, the same as US Eastern Standard Time.

Clock changes by country