What time is it in Germany?
CET / CEST · Europe/Berlin
Back to GermanyNow in Berlin
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
German law defines the legal time as Mitteleuropäische Zeit, MEZ, which is coordinated universal time plus one hour, and for the months of summer time as Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit, MESZ, plus two. The clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October. Germany keeps one time throughout, yet the time zone database carries two zones for it: Europe/Berlin, and Europe/Busingen for an exclave surrounded by Switzerland.
Today
Daylight in Berlin today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:01First light 06:27
- Sunset
- 18:52Last light 19:26
- Day length
- 11 h 51 min−4 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:57Sun at 36°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Germany 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 Germany is from other places
Neighbours
- AustriaViennaSame time
- BelgiumBrusselsSame time
- SwitzerlandBernSame time
- CzechiaPragueSame time
- DenmarkCopenhagenSame time
- FranceParisSame time
- LuxembourgLuxembourgSame time
- NetherlandsAmsterdamSame time
- PolandWarsawSame 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 Germany
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 |
The German Empire introduced summer time during the First World War and kept it from 1916 to 1918; the Weimar Republic dropped it. It returned in 1940 to save energy for the war economy, and the database records no return to standard time at all in 1941. After 1945 the occupation powers retained it. Berlin and the Soviet zone ran on Central European Midsummer Time, UTC+3, in 1945, and in 1947 all of Germany did so from 11 May to 29 June. The two German states abandoned summer time in 1950. West Germany decided to restore it in 1978, after the 1973 oil crisis, but waited until 1980, when an agreement with East Germany let both states change on the same dates: the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in September. Reunified Germany kept the West German Time Act, and since 1996 summer time has ended in October under European rules.
The European Parliament backed the Commission's proposal to end seasonal clock changes on 26 March 2019, and in the discussions around it Germany was among the members leaning towards permanent summer time. The directive needs the Council of the European Union, which had not approved it by March 2026, so Germany still changes its clocks twice a year. A plenary debate on 23 October 2025 found every speaker in favour of stopping the change, with no date set.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Berlin
- Sunrise
- 07:01
- Sunset
- 18:52
- Daylight
- 11 h 51 min
- Change
- −4 min
Longest day of 2026: 18 June, 16 h 50 min.
Computed for 52.52, 13.38 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
- 05.03.26
- Long date
- 5. März 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Berlin
History
How the clocks in Germany got here
- 1890
- To 1892.Local mean time, UTC+00:53, before the standard zone.
- 1893
- The move from local mean time, UTC+00:53, to UTC+01:00.
- 1894
- To 1915.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1916
- To 1918.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1919
- To 1939.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1940
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 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 1944.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1945
- Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00 at different times of the year.
- 1946
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1947
- Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00 at different times of the year.
- 1948
- To 1949.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1950
- 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/Berlin, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Germany
What time zone is Germany in?
Central European Time, which German law calls Mitteleuropäische Zeit (MEZ) and fixes at UTC plus one hour. During summer time the legal time becomes Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit (MESZ), UTC plus two. There is one time across the whole country. The time zone database lists Germany under Europe/Berlin, with a second entry, Europe/Busingen, for the exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein.
When do the clocks change in Germany in 2026?
On Sunday 29 March 2026 clocks moved from 02:00 to 03:00, and on Sunday 25 October they go back from 03:00 to 02:00. The hour between 02:00 and 03:00 happens twice that night; German practice calls the first run 2A, still on summer time, and the second 2B, on standard time. In 2027 the changes fall on 28 March and 31 October.
Why does Büsingen have its own time zone entry?
Büsingen am Hochrhein is a German village entirely surrounded by Swiss territory, and it keeps Swiss time. When West Germany restarted summer time in 1980, Switzerland did not, so Büsingen stayed on standard time that summer and ran an hour behind the rest of Germany. Both have changed together since 1981. The tz database split the village off as Europe/Busingen in its 2013a release, because its clocks have followed Zurich's since 1970.
What does German law say about the legal time?
Section 4 of the Units and Time Act (Einheiten- und Zeitgesetz) sets it out in two sentences each. The legal time is Central European Time, defined as coordinated universal time plus one hour. For the period in which it is introduced, Central European Summer Time is the legal time instead, defined as coordinated universal time plus two hours.
Did Germany use a UTC+3 midsummer time after the war?
Yes, twice. In 1945 Berlin and the Soviet occupation zone moved to Mitteleuropäische Hochsommerzeit, Central European Midsummer Time, three hours ahead of UTC, while the western zones did not follow. In 1947 the whole of Germany kept midsummer time from 11 May to 29 June. Summer time of any kind then stopped in 1950 and stayed off for thirty years.
Why did Germany wait until 1980 to bring back summer time?
West Germany decided in 1978 to reintroduce it, as several neighbours had done after the 1973 oil crisis. It held off until East Germany agreed to change on the same dates, so that the two states kept the same time. Both began in 1980, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in September.
Will Germany stop changing the clocks?
Not while the European Union has no decision. The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to end the seasonal change, with each member state keeping summer or winter time for good, and discussion in Germany favoured permanent summer time. The Council of the European Union had still not approved the directive by March 2026, so the twice-yearly change continues under the rules every member state shares.
Germany has 2 zones; this page reads the capital’s. All figures