When Do the Clocks Change in 2026?

I hate Daylight Saving Time. Twice a year, my sleep schedule gets wrecked, my international meeting times shift by an hour, and I spend a week confused about what time it actually is. But here we are.

If you need to know when clocks change in 2026—whether you're in the US, Europe, Australia, or elsewhere—here are the exact dates and what they mean for your schedule.

United States: March 9 and November 2

The US has been doing this dance since 2007 (thanks, Energy Policy Act of 2005). Here's when it happens in 2026:

Spring Forward — March 9, 2026

Sunday, March 9, 2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM.

You lose an hour of sleep. Set your clocks forward Saturday night or wake up confused on Sunday.

What changes:

• EST becomes EDT
• PST becomes PDT
• Sunrise and sunset shift an hour later
• Everyone's grumpy Monday morning

Fall Back — November 2, 2026

Sunday, November 2, 2:00 AM becomes 1:00 AM.

You gain an hour. It's the good one. Enjoy it while it lasts.

What changes:

• Back to standard time (EST, PST, etc.)
• Sunrise and sunset an hour earlier
• It gets dark at like 5 PM and you remember why winter's depressing

Places That Said "No Thanks" to DST

Smart states:

• Arizona (except Navajo Nation): stays on MST year-round
• Hawaii: permanent HST
• Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands: no DST

They've got it figured out.

Europe: March 29 and October 25

Europe changes clocks on different dates than the US, which creates a few weeks of timezone chaos twice a year. Fun times.

Spring Forward — March 29, 2026

Sunday, March 29, 1:00 AM UTC.

Different local times depending on where you are:

• UK/Ireland: 1 AM → 2 AM (GMT → BST)
• Central Europe (France, Germany, Spain, Italy): 2 AM → 3 AM (CET → CEST)
• Eastern Europe (Finland, Greece, Romania): 3 AM → 4 AM (EET → EEST)

Fall Back — October 25, 2026

Sunday, October 25, 1:00 AM UTC.

• UK/Ireland: 2 AM → 1 AM (BST → GMT)
• Central Europe: 3 AM → 2 AM (CEST → CET)
• Eastern Europe: 4 AM → 3 AM (EEST → EET)

European Countries That Opted Out

• Iceland: permanent GMT
• Russia: killed DST in 2011, stayed on permanent standard time
• Belarus: UTC+3 forever
• Turkey: stopped in 2016

Russia made the right call. The rest of us are still suffering.

Australia: April 5 and October 4 (But Only Some States)

Australia makes this complicated. Different states do different things. Also, they're in the southern hemisphere, so their seasons are flipped.

Fall Back — April 5, 2026

Sunday, April 5, 3:00 AM becomes 2:00 AM.

Summer's ending (for them), so they fall back.

Spring Forward — October 4, 2026

Sunday, October 4, 2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM.

Spring's starting (again, for them), so clocks go forward.

Who Actually Changes Clocks

States that do DST:

• New South Wales
• Victoria
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Australian Capital Territory

States that said no:

• Queensland
• Western Australia
• Northern Territory

This means Sydney and Brisbane—both on the east coast, basically the same longitude—can have different times during summer. Sydney's an hour ahead. It's absurd.

New Zealand: September 27 and April 5

New Zealand starts DST earlier than Australia. Because why make things simple?

• Spring forward: September 27, 2:00 AM → 3:00 AM
• Fall back: April 5, 3:00 AM → 2:00 AM

The Chatham Islands (yes, those exist) do DST too, with their weird 45-minute offset intact.

Places That Don't Do This Nonsense

Most of the world skipped DST. Lucky them.

Asia — Nobody Does DST

• China: single timezone (UTC+8), no DST
• Japan: stopped after WWII, never went back
• India: UTC+5:30 forever
• South Korea: no DST
• Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia): permanent standard time

Africa — Almost Nobody Does DST

• South Africa: no DST
• Egypt: abolished it in 2014
• Morocco: tried it, gave up
• Most of sub-Saharan Africa: permanent standard time

Latin America — Gave Up On It

• Brazil: killed DST in 2019
• Argentina: doesn't do it
• Chile: inconsistent, currently observes it
• Mexico: ended it in 2022 (except border areas near the US)

Middle East — Mostly No

• UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar: permanent standard time
• Israel: does DST (March 27 - October 25 in 2026)
• Iran: does DST on its own schedule

The Chaos Weeks (When Scheduling Gets Messy)

The worst part? Different regions change on different dates, creating weeks of confusion.

March 9-29, 2026 (Three Weeks of Hell)

US springs forward March 9. Europe waits until March 29. For three weeks, the time differences are off:

• New York to London: 4 hours instead of 5
• LA to Paris: 8 hours instead of 9

Your regular meeting times? Shifted by an hour for one group.

October 25 - November 2, 2026 (One Week of Confusion)

Europe falls back October 25. US waits until November 2. Again, time differences shift temporarily:

• New York to London: 4 hours instead of 5

How to Not Lose Your Mind

Use Tools That Handle DST Automatically

Whenest and other decent scheduling tools account for DST transitions. When you schedule a meeting for October, they know what the time will be after clocks change. Your brain doesn't have to.

Check Your Recurring Meetings

Got a standing weekly call with someone across the ocean? Review it around DST dates. A meeting at "9 AM your time, 2 PM their time" might suddenly become "9 AM your time, 3 PM their time" or vice versa.

Bookmark These Dates

Put these in your calendar so you're not blindsided:

• March 9: US springs forward
• March 29: Europe springs forward
• April 5: Australia & New Zealand fall back
• September 27: New Zealand springs forward
• October 4: Australia springs forward
• October 25: Europe falls back
• November 2: US falls back

Double-Check During Transition Weeks

March 9-29 and October 25 - November 2 are danger zones. Confirm meeting times with the other person. Don't assume.

For Way More Detail

If you want the full breakdown of every region's DST schedule, time difference tables throughout the year, and strategies for global teams, I've written a longer guide: 2026 Daylight Saving Time Dates Worldwide.

Let Tools Handle the Complexity

Seriously, don't do DST math manually. Meeting Planner handles all the clock changes automatically. Time Zone Converter for quick checks. Overlap Finder for finding times that work across multiple zones, with full DST awareness.

Your brain has better things to do than track which regions have sprung forward yet.