Current time in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. uses Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, in winter and Eastern Daylight Time, UTC−4, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. The clock below shows the exact local time, today's sun times and conversions to other capitals.
- Time zone
- —
- Abbreviation
- —
- UTC offset
- —
- Daylight saving
- —
- Compared with your clock
- —
- IANA time zone:
- America/New_York
- Country:
- United States
- Coordinates:
- 38.91° N, 77.04° W
- Clock changes in 2026:
- forward on March 8, 2026 · back on November 1, 2026 (UTC−5 / UTC−4)
Sunrise and sunset in Washington, D.C.
Sunday, October 18, 2026, local time
- Sunrise
- 7:20 AM
- Sunset
- 6:25 PM
- Day length
- 11 h 5 min
- Solar noon
- 12:53 PM
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 18 | 7:20 AM | 6:25 PM | 11 h 5 min |
| Mon, Oct 19 | 7:21 AM | 6:23 PM | 11 h 2 min−3′ |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 7:22 AM | 6:22 PM | 11 h 0 min−2′ |
| Wed, Oct 21 | 7:23 AM | 6:21 PM | 10 h 57 min−3′ |
| Thu, Oct 22 | 7:24 AM | 6:19 PM | 10 h 55 min−2′ |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 7:25 AM | 6:18 PM | 10 h 53 min−2′ |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 7:26 AM | 6:17 PM | 10 h 50 min−3′ |
Approximate times (usually within two minutes), calculated from the city's coordinates with the NOAA solar equations. Hills, tall buildings and unusual air refraction can shift what you see.
Time in Washington, D.C. when it is 9:00, 12:00, 17:00 or 21:00 elsewhere
Each cell is the time in Washington, D.C. at that hour in the city on the left, using today's offsets.
| When it is … in | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| London | 4:00 AM | 7:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| Paris | 3:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 3:00 PM |
| Dubai | 1:00 AM | 4:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 1:00 PM |
| Mumbai | 11:30 PM−1 | 2:30 AM | 7:30 AM | 11:30 AM |
| Singapore | 9:00 PM−1 | 12:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| Tokyo | 8:00 PM−1 | 11:00 PM−1 | 4:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| Sydney | 6:00 PM−1 | 9:00 PM−1 | 2:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
Where official US time is kept
The US Naval Observatory in northwest Washington maintains the master clock that sets time for the Department of Defense and GPS, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology keeps civil time from Boulder, Colorado. Together they publish official US time. Time zone boundaries themselves are managed by the Department of Transportation, which inherited the job from the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1966.
Congress decides whether the country observes daylight saving. The Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent in March 2022, which would have made daylight time permanent, but the House never voted on it, so the capital and the rest of the country still change clocks twice a year.
Daylight in the capital
At 38.9° north, Washington has about 14 hours 54 minutes of daylight at the June solstice, with sunrise near 5:43 AM and sunset around 8:37 PM. In late December sunrise is about 7:23 AM and sunset close to 4:50 PM, a day of about 9 hours 26 minutes. The cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin usually peak in late March or early April, soon after the clocks go forward, when sunset moves past 7:15 PM.
Capital hours for international calls
Embassies, think tanks and federal agencies keep long hours to reach other capitals. London is five hours ahead, Brussels and Berlin six, Moscow seven or eight, and Beijing 12 or 13 depending on the season. A 7:00 AM call in Washington is midday in Europe; an 8:00 PM call reaches Tokyo the next morning. For the Eastern–Pacific table, see EST to PST, and compare other capitals on the world clock.
Time zone converters for Washington, D.C.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Washington, D.C. on the same time as New York?
- Yes. The District, Maryland and Virginia all use Eastern Time and switch clocks with New York.
- Who keeps the official time in the United States?
- The US Naval Observatory in Washington and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Colorado. Their combined clock is published at time.gov.
- What happened to the Sunshine Protection Act?
- The Senate passed it in March 2022, but the House did not vote, so it expired. Similar bills have been introduced since without becoming law.
- How many hours ahead of Washington is Beijing?
- Thirteen hours in the US winter and twelve hours from March to November. China does not use daylight saving.
- What time does the sun set in Washington in December?
- Close to 4:46 PM in early December, the earliest of the year, and about 4:50 PM at the solstice.