In the United States daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In 2027 that means clocks go forward on 14 March and back on 7 November, each time at 2:00 a.m. local time, so every time zone changes at its own 2:00 a.m. and the country rolls over from east to west across several hours. Two states stay out of it altogether. Every zone has its own row in the table, the places that do not change included.

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Next clock change in United States

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

All clock changes 2026–2028: New York (Eastern)

The Rule: Second Sunday in March, First Sunday in November

The current dates were set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and have applied since 2007. Before that, from 1987, daylight time ran from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, which is why older Americans remember a shorter season. The change always happens at 2:00 a.m. local time: in spring the clock goes from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., and in autumn it goes from 1:59 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m., so the hour between 1:00 and 2:00 happens twice. Daylight time now covers about 34 weeks, close to two thirds of the year, which means that so-called standard time is in force for only about four and a half months.

Arizona, Hawaii and the Territories

Hawaii has not changed its clocks since 1945 and Arizona since 1967; both sit far enough south that long summer evenings are no advantage, and in Arizona an extra hour of evening heat is a cost. The exception inside Arizona is the Navajo Nation, which does observe daylight time because its land extends into New Mexico and Utah. The Hopi Reservation, surrounded by the Navajo Nation, does not. Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa keep one time all year as well. Indiana was the last big holdout: most of the state did not change until 2006. In practice this means that Phoenix is on the same time as Los Angeles in summer and as Denver in winter.

Will the United States Stop Changing Its Clocks?

Possibly, but it has not happened yet. Federal law lets a state opt out of daylight time, as Arizona and Hawaii have, but not stay on it all year, so the roughly twenty states that have passed laws in favour of permanent daylight time are waiting for Congress. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight time permanent nationwide, passed the House of Representatives on 14 July 2026 by 308 votes to 117. As of November 2026 the Senate had not voted on it. The country has tried this before: year-round daylight time was introduced in January 1974 during the oil crisis and repealed within the year after complaints about children going to school in the dark. Until a law is signed, the March and November changes continue.

Born in the United States? Why the Clock Matters for a Birth Chart

American birth times are among the hardest in the world to convert correctly. The whole country was on War Time, daylight time all year, from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. Between 1945 and 1967 there was no federal rule at all: each state, county and sometimes town decided for itself, and neighbouring cities could be an hour apart in summer. Only the Uniform Time Act of 1966 made the dates national. If you were born in those years, or in Indiana before 2006, the hour on your birth certificate may be daylight or standard time depending on the exact place. A birth between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. on the autumn changeover night is ambiguous by an hour. Our natal chart calculator applies the historical rule for the birthplace; if a certificate states the time zone, trust the certificate.

Frequently asked

When does daylight saving time start in 2027?

On Sunday 14 March 2027 at 2:00 a.m. local time, when clocks go forward to 3:00 a.m. It ends on Sunday 7 November 2027 at 2:00 a.m., when clocks go back to 1:00 a.m.

Which US states do not observe daylight saving time?

Hawaii and Arizona, except the Navajo Nation in north-eastern Arizona. The territories of Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa do not change either.

Is daylight saving time permanent in the US now?

No. The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House of Representatives in July 2026 but, as of November 2026, had not passed the Senate, so clocks still change twice a year.

Clock changes by country