The 2026 daylight saving dates for the US, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand — which way the clocks move, why the regions don't switch together, and the one phrase that tells you which way to turn them.
In 2026 the clocks change on:
US & Canada — forward 8 March, back 1 November. UK & most of Europe — forward 29 March, back 25 October. Australia & New Zealand (seasons flipped) — back 5 April, forward again in spring.
The 2026 clock-change dates
Daylight saving time (DST) always starts and ends on a Sunday, in the small hours, so the lost or gained hour falls while most people are asleep. The exact dates depend on where you are — here are the main regions for 2026.
Region
Forward (spring)
Back (autumn)
US & Canada
Sun 8 March
Sun 1 November
UK & Ireland
Sun 29 March
Sun 25 October
EU (most of Europe)
Sun 29 March
Sun 25 October
Australia (NSW, VIC, SA, ACT, TAS)
Sun 4 October
Sun 5 April
New Zealand
Sun 27 September
Sun 5 April
Australia and New Zealand are south of the equator, so their seasons — and their clock changes — run the opposite way round: they go back in April and forward in spring. Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia don't observe daylight saving at all.
Which way do the clocks go — and what you lose or gain
There are only two moves, and they always happen the same way:
Spring forward. The clocks jump ahead one hour. The night the change happens is an hour shorter, so you lose an hour of sleep, but evenings stay light for longer. In the UK, 1:00 am becomes 2:00 am; in the US it's 2:00 am to 3:00 am.
Fall back. The clocks drop back one hour. You gain an hour of sleep and the mornings get lighter, but the evenings go dark earlier. In the UK, 2:00 am becomes 1:00 am; in the US, 2:00 am becomes 1:00 am.
The four-word reminder is "spring forward, fall back." In spring you push the clocks forward; in autumn (fall) you let them fall back. Most phones, computers and smart devices do this automatically — it's the oven, the car and the wall clock you have to change by hand.
Why the US and Europe don't change on the same day
Each region writes its own rule, and the two big ones don't line up:
The US and Canada switch on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November.
The European Union and the UK switch on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October.
That gap matters if you're booking calls across the Atlantic. For about three weeks in March and one week in late October, the US has already changed but Europe hasn't (or the other way round), so the usual offset between, say, New York and London is an hour different from normal — five hours apart instead of the usual five, or four, depending on the week. If a recurring call suddenly feels an hour off in spring or autumn, this is almost always why. For the underlying time gaps, see time zones and UTC explained.
What daylight saving is actually for
The idea is to shift an hour of daylight from the early morning, when many people are asleep, to the evening, when they're awake to use it. Through the long days of summer that means lighter evenings; in winter, when there's little daylight to move around, the clocks go back to standard time so the morning isn't pitch dark when people travel to work and school.
It's a genuinely debated practice. Supporters point to lighter evenings and more outdoor time; critics point to the disruption of the switch itself, with studies linking the lost hour each spring to a short-term rise in poor sleep and even heart attacks and road accidents in the days that follow. The European Union has voted in principle to scrap the twice-yearly change, though it has not yet settled on a single permanent time.
Where the clocks don't change
Most of the world's population doesn't observe daylight saving. It's concentrated in North America, Europe, the Middle East, southern Australia and New Zealand — broadly the places far enough from the equator for day length to swing a lot between summer and winter.
Near the equator there's little point: the day is close to twelve hours all year, so there's nothing to gain by shifting it. Several places have dropped DST too — most of Arizona and Hawaii in the US, and Russia, which went to permanent standard time in 2014. If you're ever unsure whether a particular country changes its clocks, it's worth checking before assuming the usual offset holds.
Forward. In spring the clocks "spring forward" an hour, so you lose an hour of sleep but get lighter evenings. In the US that's 8 March 2026; in the UK and most of Europe it's 29 March 2026. The autumn change, when they go back, is in October or November.
Will I lose or gain an hour of sleep?
In spring you lose an hour — the clocks jump forward overnight, so the night is shorter. In autumn you gain an hour, because the clocks fall back and the night is an hour longer. The autumn change is the one most people look forward to.
What time exactly do the clocks change?
Always in the early hours of a Sunday. In the UK and Europe the spring change happens at 1:00 am and the autumn change at 2:00 am local time; in the US both changes happen at 2:00 am local time. The hour is chosen so the jump happens while almost everyone is asleep and few things are scheduled.
Why is it called "daylight saving" and not "savings"?
The correct name is daylight saving time, singular — "saving" describes the daylight being saved, like a saving grace. "Daylight savings" with an s is extremely common in everyday speech and most people will know exactly what you mean, but the official term has no s.
Clock-change dates are the scheduled 2026 daylight saving transitions for each region and can change if a country alters its rules. This page is fixed reference material — nothing you read here is sent anywhere.