North America · UTC-5
Eastern Standard Time
EST
UTC-5
Yes — becomes EDT (UTC-4) from March to November
North America
UTC-4 (EDT)
Eastern Standard Time (EST) is UTC-5 and covers the eastern United States and Canada including New York, Washington D.C., and Toronto — the most populated timezone in North America.
Use our Time Zone Converter to instantly convert EST to any other time zone worldwide. You can also add North America cities to the World Clock to track multiple time zones simultaneously.
Yes — becomes EDT (UTC-4) from March to November. For a full list of DST changes worldwide, see our DST Changes page.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) is UTC−5, meaning it is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. It is observed along the eastern seaboard of North America during winter months. During summer, the region switches to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) at UTC−4 when clocks are moved one hour forward. Together, EST and EDT form the Eastern Time Zone — the most populated time zone in the United States.
Major cities observing Eastern Time include New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, and Montreal. The Eastern Time Zone is home to the US financial markets and major media networks, making it one of the most globally referenced time zones.
EST (Eastern Standard Time) is UTC−5 and is used during winter. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) is UTC−4 and is used during summer. The region is collectively called the "Eastern Time Zone." When Americans say "EST" colloquially, they often mean Eastern Time regardless of which offset is currently in effect.
EST is 5 hours behind GMT. When it is 12:00 noon in London (GMT/UTC), it is 7:00 AM in New York (EST). During British Summer Time (BST), London is UTC+1, making the difference 6 hours.
Clocks move forward one hour on the second Sunday in March (start of EDT), and move back one hour on the first Sunday in November (return to EST).
States fully observing Eastern Time include New York, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana (most), and the New England states. Parts of Indiana and a few other states have exceptions.