What time is it in Belgium?
CET / CEST · Europe/Brussels
Back to BelgiumNow in Brussels
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Belgium sets its clocks to Central European Time, UTC+1, and to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. By longitude the country belongs with Greenwich, so its clocks run an hour ahead of the sun in winter and two hours ahead in summer. There is one zone for the whole kingdom, Europe/Brussels in the time zone database, fixed since 2018 by a law that defines Belgian legal time as an offset from Coordinated Universal Time.
Today
Daylight in Brussels today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:37First light 07:04
- Sunset
- 19:29Last light 20:02
- Day length
- 11 h 52 min−4 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:33Sun at 37°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Belgium and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far Belgium is from other places
Neighbours
- GermanyBerlinSame time
- FranceParisSame time
- LuxembourgLuxembourgSame time
- NetherlandsAmsterdamSame time
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Moscow+1 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Belgium
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 03:00 it becomes 02:00 CET, UTC+01:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 25 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 31 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 29 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 28 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 27 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
Belgian clocks followed Brussels mean time, 17 minutes ahead of Greenwich, until 1892, when a law of 29 April unified the country on Greenwich time. Summer time first appeared in 1916, when the clocks already stood at UTC+1, and between the wars it was kept on a Greenwich base: UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer, each year from 1919 to 1939. In 1940 Belgium moved to Central European Time and spent 1941 at UTC+2 all year; summer time ran on that base until 1946. From 1947 to 1976 the clocks did not change at all. Summer time returned in 1977 and has been used every year since, ending on the last Sunday in October from 1998 under European rules.
The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to end the twice-yearly change, leaving each member state to keep either summer or winter time. The Council of the European Union had still not approved the proposal by March 2026, and a plenary debate on 23 October 2025 set no date. The summary of national positions in the sources records a choice for the Netherlands, France and Germany but none for Belgium.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Brussels
- Sunrise
- 07:37
- Sunset
- 19:29
- Daylight
- 11 h 52 min
- Change
- −4 min
Longest day of 2026: 18 June, 16 h 31 min.
Computed for 50.85, 4.35 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 24-hour
- Short date
- 5/03/2026
- Long date
- 5 maart 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Brussels
History
How the clocks in Belgium got here
- 1890
- To 1891.Local mean time, UTC+00:17, before the standard zone.
- 1892
- The move from local mean time, UTC+00:17, to UTC+00:00.
- 1893
- To 1913.UTC+00:00 all year.
- 1914
- Clocks on UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00 at different times of the year.
- 1915
- UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1916
- To 1917.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1918
- Clocks on UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1919
- To 1939.Clocks on UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00 at different times of the year.
- 1940
- Clocks on UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1941
- Summer time kept through the winter: UTC+02:00 all year.
- 1942
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1943
- To 1946.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1947
- To 1976.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1977
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Brussels, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Belgium
What time zone is Belgium in?
Belgium keeps one zone, Europe/Brussels in the database: UTC+1 from late October and UTC+2 from late March, the Central European standard and summer times. The legal wording since 2018 is UTC plus 60 minutes in winter and UTC plus 120 minutes in summer. A clock in Brussels therefore shows the time for every province of the country.
When do the clocks change in Belgium in 2026?
Forward on Sunday 29 March 2026 at 02:00, which becomes 03:00, and back on Sunday 25 October at 03:00, which becomes 02:00 again. For 2027 the Sundays are 28 March and 31 October. Both changes happen at 01:00 UTC, the same instant as in every other European Union member state.
Why does Belgium use Central European Time and not Greenwich time?
By geography it would sit in the UTC+0 band with the United Kingdom, and it did keep Greenwich time from 1892 until 1940. The switch to Central European Time came in 1940 and was never reversed. The result is that Belgium, like Spain, France and the Netherlands, is sometimes described as keeping summer time all winter and double summer time in summer.
What law sets the legal time in Belgium?
The law of 11 June 2018 introducing Coordinated Universal Time as the basis for legal time, published in the Belgian official journal on 10 September 2018. Its second article fixes legal time at UTC plus 60 minutes in winter and plus 120 minutes in summer. It repealed the law of 29 April 1892 that first unified Belgian time and the amending law of 7 February 1920.
Is Belgium on the same time as the Netherlands, France and Germany?
Yes. All four neighbours, Luxembourg included, keep Central European Time and change their clocks on the same Sundays, so Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg and Berlin never differ. That could change if the European Union ends the seasonal change, because the positions recorded so far point different ways: the Netherlands towards permanent UTC+1, France and Germany towards permanent UTC+2.
How far ahead of London is Belgium?
One hour, in every season. The United Kingdom keeps Greenwich Mean Time in winter and British Summer Time in summer, and changes on the same Sundays as Belgium. When it is 08:00 in London it is 09:00 in Brussels, whatever the season, and neither side ever has a week out of step.
When did Belgium start using summer time?
In 1916, and then every year from 1919 to 1939 on a Greenwich base, when summer clocks read UTC+1. After the move to Central European Time in 1940 it continued until 1946. It then lapsed for three decades, from 1947 to 1976, and has run every year since 1977.