Daylight Saving Time 2026–2027: Dates by Region and How to Schedule Through the Switch
Why DST Breaks Schedules
Daylight saving time (DST) does not change on the same day everywhere. The US and Europe switch on different Sundays, the Southern Hemisphere switches in the opposite direction, and many countries do not switch at all. For a few weeks each spring and autumn, the gap between two cities you work with every day is an hour different from usual. Recurring meetings drift, and someone shows up an hour early or late.
2026 and 2027 Clock-Change Dates
Dates below come from the IANA time zone database (release 2026c), the same data phones, calendars and QuickToolApp's converter rely on. Times are local.
| Region | 2026 starts | 2026 ends | 2027 starts | 2027 ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada (most areas) | Sun Mar 8, 2:00 → 3:00 | Sun Nov 1, 2:00 → 1:00 | Sun Mar 14 | Sun Nov 7 |
| European Union, UK, most of Europe | Sun Mar 29 (01:00 UTC) | Sun Oct 25 (01:00 UTC) | Sun Mar 28 | Sun Oct 31 |
| Mexico (most of the country) | No DST since 2022. Mexico City stays on UTC−6 all year. Northern border cities such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez follow the US dates. | |||
| Chile (mainland) | Sun Sep 6 | Sun Apr 5 (clocks go back at midnight Saturday) | Sun Sep 5 | Sun Apr 4 |
| Australia: NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia | Sun Oct 4 | Sun Apr 5 | Sun Oct 3 | Sun Apr 4 |
| New Zealand | Sun Sep 27 | Sun Apr 5 | Sun Sep 26 | Sun Apr 4 |
In the Southern Hemisphere, DST runs across the new year, so the "ends" date in a calendar year closes the season that started the previous spring.
Places with no DST
- United States: Hawaii and most of Arizona (the Navajo Nation in Arizona does observe DST), plus Puerto Rico and other territories.
- Australia: Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
- Latin America: Brazil (abolished in 2019, so São Paulo is UTC−3 all year), most of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru. Chile's Aysén Region has stayed on UTC−3 year-round since 2025.
- Most of Asia and Africa, including India, China, Japan and the UAE.
Could these dates change?
Possibly. In the US, the House passed a bill to make DST permanent in July 2026, but as of early October it had not passed the Senate, so clocks still fall back on November 1, 2026. The EU's proposal to end seasonal changes has been stalled since 2019, and Directive 2000/84/EC (last Sunday of March to last Sunday of October) still applies. Countries can change rules with little notice, which is why device updates matter. This page will be updated if the 2027 dates change.
The Shoulder Weeks
Between the US and European switches, the usual gap between New York and London shrinks from 5 hours to 4. Chicago and London go from 6 to 5.
| Period | New York to London | Chicago to London |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 8 to Mar 28, 2026 | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Oct 25 to Oct 31, 2026 | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Mar 14 to Mar 27, 2027 | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Oct 31 to Nov 6, 2027 | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Rest of the year | 5 hours | 6 hours |
Southern Hemisphere changes add a second set of shifts. Sydney is 17 hours ahead of Chicago in the northern winter, 16 hours between the US spring change and early April (and again between early October and the US autumn change), and 15 hours from April to early October.
Worked Example: a 9 AM Chicago Meeting
A team holds a weekly Wednesday 9:00 AM meeting anchored to Chicago time. Here is what the other offices see on representative dates:
| Wednesday | Chicago | London | São Paulo | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 14, 2026 | 9:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Thu 02:00 |
| Mar 11, 2026 (US shifted, Europe not) | 9:00 | 14:00 | 11:00 | Thu 01:00 |
| Apr 8, 2026 (Sydney back to standard time) | 9:00 | 15:00 | 11:00 | Thu 00:00 |
| Jun 17, 2026 | 9:00 | 15:00 | 11:00 | Thu 00:00 |
| Oct 7, 2026 (Sydney on DST) | 9:00 | 15:00 | 11:00 | Thu 01:00 |
| Oct 28, 2026 (Europe shifted, US not) | 9:00 | 14:00 | 11:00 | Thu 01:00 |
| Nov 4, 2026 (US back to standard time) | 9:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Thu 02:00 |
São Paulo has no DST, yet its local time for the meeting still changes twice a year because Chicago changes. London sees four different shifts. And 9 AM in Chicago is the middle of the night in Sydney all year. For a team that includes Sydney, a 5:00 PM Chicago slot works better: that is 8:00 to 10:00 AM Thursday in Sydney across the year, though 22:00 to 23:00 in London. With three widely spread offices, rotating the slot is often fairer than finding one time that suits nobody.
Calendar Best Practice: Anchor to a City, Not an Offset
- Create events in a named time zone such as America/Chicago, not "UTC−5" or "CST." A fixed offset does not follow DST, and abbreviations are ambiguous: CST is also China Standard Time.
- Pick the anchor city on purpose. Everyone else's local time shifts when the anchor changes, so anchor to the office where the meeting time matters most.
- Send a note before the shoulder weeks listing the new local times for each office.
- Avoid scheduling between 1:00 and 3:00 AM local time on change nights. Those hours are skipped or repeated, and automated jobs can run twice or not at all.
- Write dates with times in announcements: "Wed Oct 28, 9:00 Chicago / 14:00 London."
Using QuickToolApp's Timezone Converter
Open the converter with New York to London pre-filled, choose your cities, and enter an hour (10 means 10:00; Batch Convert also accepts times such as 09:30 on separate lines). Two things to keep in mind:
- It uses today's offsets. The converter applies the current DST state of each city. For a meeting on the other side of a clock change, use the table above or check on the date itself.
- It shows the time of day only. Results wrap at midnight without a date, so for Sydney or Tokyo check whether the result falls on the next day.
The converter's city list includes New York but not Chicago. Chicago is always exactly one hour behind New York, because both follow US DST rules. For São Paulo, convert to UTC and subtract 3 hours. For a broader planning workflow, see the timezone scheduling guide.
FAQ
Does Arizona change its clocks?
Most of Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC−7) all year, so in summer it matches Los Angeles and in winter it matches Denver. The Navajo Nation observes DST.
What about Hawaii?
Hawaii stays on UTC−10 all year: 2 hours behind Los Angeles in winter and 3 hours behind in summer.
Does all of Canada change?
Most provinces follow the US dates. Most of Saskatchewan stays on Central Standard Time year-round, as do some communities in British Columbia, Quebec and elsewhere.
Why is my phone right but my old calendar invite wrong?
If an invite was created with a fixed offset or by an outdated system, it will not follow the change. Recreate it in a named time zone.