UTC time now
UTC, Coordinated Universal Time, is the time standard that the world's clocks are set from. US time zones are defined by law as a number of hours behind it: Eastern Standard Time is UTC−5, Central UTC−6, Mountain UTC−7 and Pacific UTC−8. During daylight saving time each of them moves one hour closer to UTC; UTC itself never changes.
By Asier Fernández ·
Right now in UTC: --:--:--
US time zones and UTC
| Zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | UTC−4 | No change | Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands |
| Eastern | UTC−5 (EST) | UTC−4 (EDT) | New York, Washington, Atlanta, Miami |
| Central | UTC−6 (CST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis |
| Mountain | UTC−7 (MST) | UTC−6 (MDT) | Denver, Salt Lake City; Phoenix stays on MST |
| Pacific | UTC−8 (PST) | UTC−7 (PDT) | Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas |
| Alaska | UTC−9 (AKST) | UTC−8 (AKDT) | Anchorage |
| Hawaii-Aleutian | UTC−10 (HST) | No change in Hawaii | Honolulu |
| Samoa | UTC−11 | No change | American Samoa |
| Chamorro | UTC+10 | No change | Guam, Northern Mariana Islands |
Federal law divides the United States into nine zones and defines each one by its distance from Coordinated Universal Time (15 U.S.C. 261). Daylight saving time runs from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November (15 U.S.C. 260a); Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year.
Convert UTC to your time
UTC to US time, hour by hour (winter)
| UTC | Eastern Time | Central Time | Mountain Time | Pacific Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 a.m. | 7:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 6:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 5:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 4:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 1:00 a.m. | 8:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 7:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 6:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 5:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 2:00 a.m. | 9:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 8:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 7:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 6:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 3:00 a.m. | 10:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 9:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 8:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 7:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 4:00 a.m. | 11:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 10:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 9:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 8:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 5:00 a.m. | 12:00 a.m. | 11:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 10:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 9:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 6:00 a.m. | 1:00 a.m. | 12:00 a.m. | 11:00 p.m. (−1 day) | 10:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 7:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 1:00 a.m. | 12:00 a.m. | 11:00 p.m. (−1 day) |
| 8:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 1:00 a.m. | 12:00 a.m. |
| 9:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 1:00 a.m. |
| 10:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. |
| 11:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. |
| 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. |
| 1:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. |
| 2:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 8:00 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. |
| 3:00 p.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 8:00 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| 4:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 8:00 a.m. |
| 5:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. |
| 6:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| 7:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. |
| 8:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
| 9:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. |
| 10:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. |
| 11:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. |
Standard time, for example January 15, 2027. From March to early November, add one hour to each US column: 14:00 UTC is 10:00 a.m. Eastern instead of 9:00 a.m.
UTC and GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the UK's civil time in winter and shows the same clock time as UTC. The difference is that the UK changes its clocks: British Summer Time (BST), UTC+1, runs from 1 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday in March to 1 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday in October (Summer Time Order 2002). UTC stays the same all year, which is why logs, flight plans and servers use it.
Zulu time and the 24-hour clock
Aviation, the military and many control rooms write UTC on the 24-hour clock with a “Z”, for “Zulu”: 1400Z is 14:00 UTC. To read 24-hour times, see the military time chart.
UTC on shift work
If your rota is shared between sites in different zones, or your shift logs are stamped in UTC, convert once and write both times on the handover. A night shift that runs 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Eastern is 00:00 to 12:00 UTC in winter and 23:00 to 11:00 UTC in summer. The night the US clocks change, that shift lasts 13 or 11 hours: see daylight saving time dates.
More guides
Figures are worked out from each cycle; rules checked against official sources on . How we calculate
Questions
What is the UTC time zone?
UTC is not a local time zone but the world time standard that time zones are defined from. Its offset is zero, and it does not change for daylight saving time.
Is UTC 4 or 5 hours ahead of EST?
5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (winter) and 4 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, used from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
How do I convert UTC to local time?
Subtract your zone's offset: 5 hours for EST, 6 for CST, 7 for MST and 8 for PST, one hour less during daylight saving time. 14:00 UTC is 9:00 a.m. EST.
Is UTC time the same as EST?
No. EST is UTC minus 5 hours (15 U.S.C. 261).
Is UTC the same as GMT?
They show the same time in winter. GMT is the UK's winter time; in summer the UK uses BST, one hour ahead of UTC.