Europe ¡ Southeast Europe ¡ Sovereign state

Current time in Romania

A single time zone at UTC+03:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.

Time in Bucharest☀ Daylight
06:26:37

Sunday, May 31, 2026

05:3413:1320:51
Zone
EEST
UTC
UTC+03:00
IANA
Europe/Bucharest

About Romania's time

A single time zone.

Romania operates entirely within a single timezone, Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00 in winter, UTC+03:00 in summer), with DST switching clocks forward every spring—so if you're scheduling calls in late March or October, watch for the last Sunday switch.

Next clock change

October 25

2026 Sunday ¡ clocks fall back

Clocks fall back by one hour ¡ in 5 months.

Daylight saving schedule

EET · UTC+02:00EEST · UTC+03:00EET · UTC+02:0029 Mar · +1h25 Oct · −1h Jan 2026 Dec

Major cities

Cities of Romania.

History

How Romania keeps time.

Romania's modern timezone dates from 1918, when it adopted Eastern European Time (EET, UTC+02:00) as the country unified under a single standard following World War I and the consolidation of Greater Romania. Before that, various regions used local mean time based on Bucharest or other cities.

The country briefly used Central European Time (UTC+01:00) during parts of the 20th century under shifting political alignments, but firmly settled back into the EET zone by 1970. Romania formally adopted EU DST rules from 1979 onward, aligning with Western Europe's clock changes for economic and energy reasons.

Since 2019 Romania, like other EU members, has debated scrapping the twice-yearly clock changes—supporters say aligning with neighbours' time zone year-round would simplify cross-border business, while others worry about winter mornings staying darker later into the day.

Did you know?

Things about Romania's time.

Fact ¡ 01

Romania's solar noon (when the sun is highest) sits around 12:30 standard time—dinner rarely kicks off until 8 or 9 pm locally, a habit many visitors find surprisingly late.

Fact ¡ 02

Cross-border coordination feels familiar for Romania as it shares UTC+02:00 with Bulgaria, Greece, Finland, and the Baltics—yet joiners should double-check the bi-annual DST shift on the last Sunday of March and October.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Romania'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 Romania in?
Romania uses Eastern European Time (EET, UTC+02:00) in winter and Eastern European Summer Time (EEST, UTC+03:00) in summer.
Does Romania observe Daylight Saving Time?
Yes—clocks move forward one hour on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, following the EU schedule since 1979; a legislative move to scrap the change remains under review.
Is there more than one time zone in Romania?
No—Romania has a single time zone across its territory, headquartered on Europe/Bucharest (UTC+02:00 standard) nationwide.
What UTC offset does Romania use?
UTC+02:00 in winter (EET) and UTC+03:00 in summer (EEST).
How do I schedule calls with Romania?
Check whether DST is active (last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October): during summer add three hours to UTC; otherwise add two; the fixed hour shift makes planning easy across EU partners.
When did Romania adopt its current time zone?
Romania settled into Eastern European Time around 1918 post-WWI but formalised summer-time rules in 1979 to match EU patterns after fleeting experiments with Central European Time.
Is Romania's time zone the same as neighbouring countries?
Romania shares EET with Bulgaria, Greece, Finland, and the Baltics; just confirm all sides use the same DST switch dates each year.

Free ¡ Developer API

Time, as JSON.

Every IANA time zone with live offsets, DST status, and the countries and cities that use them — clean, dependable JSON. Sign up free and get an API key in seconds.

GET /v1/timezones Live

countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.

Get your free API key →
// France's time zones, right now
GET /v1/timezones?country=fr
{
"data": [
{
"iana": "Europe/Paris",
"display_name": "Paris",
"current": {
"utc_offset": "+02:00",
"abbreviation": "CEST",
"is_dst": true
}
}
]
}