Daylight saving time dates for 2026, 2027 and 2028
These dates are worked out from each region's rule, not typed in by hand. The weekday is always a Sunday. In the Southern Hemisphere the clocks go forward in September or October and back in April, so within a calendar year the "go back" date comes first.
2026
| Region | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Sun 8 Mar | Sun 1 Nov |
| United Kingdom | Sun 29 Mar | Sun 25 Oct |
| European Union | Sun 29 Mar | Sun 25 Oct |
| Australia (NSW, VIC, ACT, SA, TAS) | Sun 4 Oct | Sun 5 Apr |
| New Zealand | Sun 27 Sep | Sun 5 Apr |
2027
| Region | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Sun 14 Mar | Sun 7 Nov |
| United Kingdom | Sun 28 Mar | Sun 31 Oct |
| European Union | Sun 28 Mar | Sun 31 Oct |
| Australia (NSW, VIC, ACT, SA, TAS) | Sun 3 Oct | Sun 4 Apr |
| New Zealand | Sun 26 Sep | Sun 4 Apr |
2028
| Region | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Sun 12 Mar | Sun 5 Nov |
| United Kingdom | Sun 26 Mar | Sun 29 Oct |
| European Union | Sun 26 Mar | Sun 29 Oct |
| Australia (NSW, VIC, ACT, SA, TAS) | Sun 1 Oct | Sun 2 Apr |
| New Zealand | Sun 24 Sep | Sun 2 Apr |
How the rules work
Every region fixes its change days by a rule built on Sundays, so the date moves from year to year. The US and Canada go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November, both at 2:00 am local time. The UK goes forward at 1:00 am on the last Sunday in March and back at 2:00 am on the last Sunday in October. The EU uses the same two Sundays as the UK, but every member state changes at the same moment, 1:00 am UTC, so the local clock time differs from country to country.
To check a date by hand, find the weekday of the 1st of the month. In October 2026 the 1st is a Thursday, so the Sundays fall on the 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th. The last Sunday is 25 October, which is the UK and EU change date. The UK government also publishes the official dates for the next few years.
Australia and New Zealand use the first Sunday in April to go back, at 3:00 am daylight time. They go forward at 2:00 am on the first Sunday in October in Australia and on the last Sunday in September in New Zealand.
Common questions
When does daylight saving time end in 2026?
In the United States and Canada it ends on Sunday 1 November 2026, when clocks go back 1 hour at 2:00 am. In the United Kingdom and the European Union it ends a week earlier, on Sunday 25 October 2026. Australia and New Zealand work the other way round: in 2026 their daylight saving ended on 5 April and starts again on 27 September in New Zealand and 4 October in south-east Australia.
Do the clocks go forward or back in autumn?
Back. The saying "spring forward, fall back" covers it: clocks move 1 hour forward in spring and 1 hour back in autumn. On the day the clocks go back, the day lasts 25 hours, so most people gain an extra hour of sleep. On the day they go forward, the day lasts 23 hours.
Why do the US and Europe change their clocks on different dates?
They follow different rules. The US and Canada start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. The UK and the EU start on the last Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in October. For a few weeks each spring and autumn, the time difference between New York and London is 4 hours instead of the usual 5.
Which places in the US and Canada do not change their clocks?
In the United States, most of Arizona (the Navajo Nation is the exception) and Hawaii stay on standard time all year, as do the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. In Canada most areas follow the US dates, but Saskatchewan, for example, stays on standard time all year.
Does all of Australia change its clocks?
No. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory start daylight saving on the first Sunday in October and end it on the first Sunday in April. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory stay on standard time all year, which is why the time gap between Sydney and Brisbane grows by an hour in summer.
Is it daylight saving time or daylight savings time?
The official name is daylight saving time, singular. It describes saving daylight, so "saving" is used like an adjective. "Daylight savings time" is a common spoken variant and is understood everywhere, but it is not the formal name used in laws and government guidance.
Will daylight saving time be abolished?
Proposals to end the twice-yearly change have been debated in the United States and the European Union for years, but no change had taken effect when this page was last reviewed. The dates shown here follow the rules currently in force. If a country adopts permanent time, its entry on this page will be updated.
Does the countdown depend on my time zone?
The countdown takes today's date from your device and counts whole calendar days to the clock-change date for the region you pick. It does not use the time of day, so a change at 2:00 am still counts as that date. If you are travelling, choose the region whose clocks you want to track.