What time is it in Norway?
CET / CEST · Europe/Oslo
Back to NorwayNow in Oslo
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Norway runs on Central European Time, UTC+1, and moves to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, on the same Sundays in March and October as the European Union. A single zone covers a mainland that spans 26°41′ of longitude, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen keep mainland time as well. The 15th meridian east, on which the zone is set, crosses the country only in the north, through Vesterålen, Lofoten and Salten. Most Norwegians live west of it, where the clock runs ahead of the sun.
Today
Daylight in Oslo today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:14First light 06:33
- Sunset
- 19:01Last light 19:42
- Day length
- 11 h 47 min−6 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:07Sun at 28°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Norway 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 Norway is from other places
Neighbours
- FinlandHelsinki+1 h
- RussiaMoscow+1 h
- SwedenStockholmSame time
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Norway
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 |
Norway first kept summer time in 1916, and again during the Second World War up to 1945. It came back from 1959 to 1965, years in which Sweden did without it; the arrangement was disputed, and in 1965 the Storting voted to end it. Summer time returned in 1980, introduced together with Sweden and Denmark. Since 1996 the dates of the change have been those of the European Union.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Oslo
- Sunrise
- 07:14
- Sunset
- 19:01
- Daylight
- 11 h 47 min
- Change
- −6 min
Longest day of 2026: 19 June, 18 h 50 min.
Computed for 59.91, 10.74 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. mars 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Oslo
History
How the clocks in Norway 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/Oslo, 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 Norway
What time zone is Norway in?
In winter the country keeps Central European Time, one hour ahead of UTC, and from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October it keeps Central European Summer Time, two hours ahead. The time zone database files the country as Europe/Oslo, and the entries for Svalbard (Arctic/Longyearbyen) and Jan Mayen (Atlantic/Jan_Mayen) are links to it, so a clock in Oslo, Tromsø or Longyearbyen shows the same time.
When do the clocks change in Norway in 2026?
Forward on Sunday 29 March 2026, from 02:00 to 03:00, and back on Sunday 25 October, from 03:00 to 02:00. The 2027 dates are 28 March and 31 October. Norway voted against joining the European Union in 1972 and 1994, yet its clocks change on the EU's nights.
Does Svalbard have its own time zone?
No. Svalbard and Jan Mayen keep the time of the mainland, summer time included, even though both lie far to the north and west of it. The time zone database gives them their own names, Arctic/Longyearbyen and Atlantic/Jan_Mayen, but each is a link to Europe/Oslo with the same offsets and the same clock changes.
Why does Norway have only one time zone?
It was the choice made in 1893. The first proposals for a standard time came in 1885, and the most complicated of four would have divided the country into five zones 15 minutes apart; none was accepted. By 1893 Sweden, Denmark and Germany had standard time, and the railways of eastern and western Norway were soon to be joined, which happened in 1909. Adopting Central European Time was then widely accepted. The country is 1 hour 46 minutes wide in solar time, from 4°30′E to 31°10′E.
When did Norway introduce standard time?
On 1 January 1895. Before that the telegraph between Kristiania and Drammen, opened in 1855, ran on Copenhagen time until 1866, when Kristiania's own local time replaced it. Railways out of Bergen and Stavanger kept those towns' time, 22 minutes behind the capital. On the changeover church clocks east of 15°E were put back and those west of it forward, except in Hadsel and Steigen, whose churches stand almost on the meridian. Rural areas kept local time alongside railway time for years.
Why did Norway stop using summer time in 1965?
Summer time from 1959 to 1965 was controversial, and in 1965 the Storting voted to end it. Sweden had not used summer time in those years. The clocks stayed on Central European Time all year until 1980, when summer time returned in Norway, Sweden and Denmark together.
Does the sun set in northern Norway in summer?
Not north of the Arctic Circle between late May and late July, when the sun stays above the horizon all night; the rest of the country gets up to 20 hours of daylight. From late November to late January the sun does not rise at all in the north. Summer time moves the clock an hour but changes neither.