What time is it in Denmark?
CET / CEST · Europe/Copenhagen
Back to DenmarkNow in Copenhagen
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Clocks across Denmark proper, from the west coast of Jutland to Rønne on Bornholm, show Central European Time, UTC+1, and go forward to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October. Copenhagen and Aarhus keep that single clock. The Faroe Islands and Greenland, the other two parts of the Danish Realm, run on zones of their own, between one and five hours behind Copenhagen.
Today
Daylight in Copenhagen today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:05First light 06:29
- Sunset
- 18:55Last light 19:32
- Day length
- 11 h 50 min−4 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:00Sun at 33°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Denmark 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 Denmark is from other places
Neighbours
- GermanyBerlinSame time
- NorwayOsloSame time
- SwedenStockholmSame 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 Denmark
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 |
Summer time came to Denmark in 1916, returned in 1940 and ran again from 1945 to 1948. It then lapsed for three decades, until Denmark brought it back in 1980 in the same year as Sweden and Norway. The Faroe Islands followed in 1981. Since then the change has followed the European rule, at 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and of October, which reads 02:00 in spring and 03:00 in autumn on a Danish clock. The time zone database now treats Copenhagen as a link to Berlin, so the wartime rows in the table above are Germany's history rather than Denmark's own.
The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to end the seasonal clock change from 2021, with each member state choosing summer or winter time for good. In the debate Denmark leaned toward permanent winter time, UTC+1, while Germany and Poland leaned toward permanent summer time. The directive still needs the Council of the European Union, which had not approved it by March 2026, so Danish clocks keep changing twice a year.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Copenhagen
- Sunrise
- 07:05
- Sunset
- 18:55
- Daylight
- 11 h 50 min
- Change
- −4 min
Longest day of 2026: 21 June, 17 h 33 min.
Computed for 55.68, 12.57 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
- 05.03.2026
- Long date
- 5. marts 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Copenhagen
History
How the clocks in Denmark got here
- 1970
- To 1979.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1980
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Copenhagen, as the build machine carries it. The database keeps this zone's own history from 1970 only; the years before are told above from the sources.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Denmark
What time zone is Denmark in?
Winter clocks in Denmark read UTC+1, Central European Time, and summer clocks UTC+2, the summer variant of the same zone, filed in the time zone database as Europe/Copenhagen. That covers all of Denmark proper, Bornholm included. The Faroe Islands keep Western European Time, an hour behind, and most of Greenland keeps UTC−2 in winter, three hours behind Copenhagen.
When do the clocks change in Denmark in 2026?
Forward on Sunday 29 March, from 02:00 to 03:00, and back on Sunday 25 October, from 03:00 to 02:00. The following year brings the same pair of changes on 28 March and 31 October 2027. The instant is fixed in UTC, 01:00, so the Faroe Islands change an hour earlier by their own clocks and most of Greenland changes late on the Saturday evening.
Do the Faroe Islands and Greenland keep Danish time?
No. The Danish Realm spans six time zones. The Faroes keep UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer. West Greenland, with Nuuk, Ilulissat and Qaqortoq, moved its standard time forward an hour on 25 March 2023 to UTC−2. Danmarkshavn and the northeast coast stay on UTC+0 all year with no summer time, and Pituffik Space Base follows the United States rules at UTC−4 and UTC−3.
What did the 2023 time law change in Denmark?
The definition, not the clocks. An act of 1893 had set Danish standard time as the mean solar time of the meridian 15°E, from 1 January 1894. Solar time follows the Earth's rotation, which is irregular, so the legal time could drift up to 0.9 seconds from UTC+1. The Folketing adopted a new act unanimously on 14 March 2023, and from 26 March 2023 at 02:00 Danish time has been UTC+1 by law.
Why does Denmark set its clocks by a meridian through Bornholm?
Because 15°E, the centre line of UTC+1, passes about 2 kilometres from Gudhjem on Bornholm, leaving 99.5% of the country to its west. Copenhagen, at 12°34′E, sits closer to UTC+0:50 in solar terms, and the west coast of Jutland to UTC+0:32. Before 1894 the country ran on Copenhagen's own time, 50 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of Greenwich, first on the railways from 1890 and then as the national standard.
When did Denmark start using summer time?
In 1916, with further summers of it in 1940 and from 1945 to 1948. The modern run began in 1980, when Denmark, Sweden and Norway reintroduced it together, and it has continued every year since. A national association against summer time, Landsforeningen mod Sommertid, campaigns for its end.
Will Denmark stop changing the clocks?
Not while the European Union's proposal is stalled. Parliament backed ending the change on 26 March 2019, but the Council of the European Union had still not approved it by March 2026. If it passed, Denmark's preference in the debate was to stay on winter time, UTC+1, which would put it an hour behind Germany in summer should Germany choose permanent summer time as it leaned toward doing.
How long are the days in Denmark in winter and summer?
In midwinter the sun rises around 08:45 and sets around 15:45 on standard time. At midsummer it rises around 04:30 and sets around 22:00 on summer time, and in the middle of summer the sky never gets fully dark. The swing comes from how far north the country lies.