Americas · South America · Sovereign state
Current time in Colombia
A single time zone at UTC-05:00.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
About Colombia's time
A single time zone.
Colombia keeps things simple with a single time zone across the entire country — UTC−05:00 — and it's never touched Daylight Saving Time, so the clocks stay the same year-round.
Major cities
Cities of Colombia.
History
How Colombia keeps time.
Colombia officially adopted its current standard time, UTC−05:00, aligning with American/Bogota well before the modern era. Like most Latin American countries, Colombia historically cycled through various local mean times based on astronomical observations at different cities before standardization became necessary with the expansion of railroads and telecommunications.
By the early 20th century, the country consolidated around UTC−05:00 as its national standard. Colombia experimented briefly with Daylight Saving Time during the energy crisis periods in the 1990s but abandoned the practice after finding limited benefit. Since then, the country has maintained consistent UTC−05:00 (known as COT — Colombia Time) without DST changes.
Did you know?
Things about Colombia's time.
Colombia is one of the rare South American countries situated almost entirely on the UTC−05:00 longitude band but doesn't observe DST at all. This makes it one of the most straightforward countries in the Americas for scheduling — no springing forward, no falling back.
Interestingly, because Colombia straddles the equator, daylight hours barely change throughout the year (roughly 12 hours of daylight daily). This geographic position is a major reason why DST never gained traction there — there simply wasn't much variation in daylight hours to justify the disruption of clock changes.
Colibra's consistent time also means it shares the same time with Eastern Standard Time (EST) during US winter months but switches to sharing with Central Daylight Time during US summer months, which can create temporary coordination challenges for international business travelers.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Colombia's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What time zone is Colombia in?
- Colombia uses Colombia Time (COT), which is UTC−05:00 year-round.
- Does Colombia observe Daylight Saving Time?
- No, Colombia does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The country maintains UTC−05:00 all year.
- Is the time the same throughout Colombia?
- Yes, Colombia uses a single time zone (America/Bogota) across the entire country.
- What countries share the same time as Colombia?
- Colombia shares its UTC−05:00 time with countries like Peru, Ecuador (mainland), and Panama.
- How does Colombia time compare to US time?
- Colombia is the same time as Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00) during US winter, but during US summer (when US switches to DST), Colombia stays on UTC−05:00 while the US East Coast moves to UTC−04:00.
- Why doesn't Colombia use DST?
- Colombia's location near the equator means daylight hours are consistent year-round, so there's little benefit to changing clocks. The country briefly tried DST in the 1990s but discontinued it.
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