Daylight Saving Time in the US: How the Dates Work

ficklestudio26 · Facts checked October 25, 2026

The clocks do not change on the same calendar date every year. They follow a rule about Sundays, which is easy to work out once you see it.

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See the start and end dates for any year.
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The rule

Since 2007, daylight saving time in the United States begins at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2:00 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in November. When it starts, clocks move forward one hour (2:00 becomes 3:00). When it ends, they move back one hour (2:00 becomes 1:00). The change comes from the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Working out the date for any year

Find the weekday of the 1st of the month, then count. The second Sunday in March always falls between March 8 and March 14, and the first Sunday in November always falls between November 1 and November 7. Following that rule, the 2026 dates are March 8 and November 1, and the 2027 dates are March 14 and November 7.

Who does not change the clocks

Federal law lets a state stay on standard time all year. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time (the Navajo Nation part of Arizona does). The US territories also do not change their clocks. Other countries use different dates, so a meeting between time zones can shift by an hour for a few weeks each year.

Tips

A day with the spring change has 23 hours, and the day with the autumn change has 25 hours. This matters for shift hours and for timers.
Phones and computers update themselves, but older clocks, ovens and car dashboards do not.
When scheduling across regions, write the time zone name next to the time.