IANA tz database · zone identifier

America/Jamaica

The IANA tz database identifier for Eastern Standard Time in Jamaica. Store this string — not the abbreviation, not the offset — and your timestamps stay correct forever.

UTC-05:00Abbreviation ESTNo DST — never observed
Time in America/Jamaica☀ Daylight
17:59:54
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Offset
UTC-05:00
Abbreviation
EST
DST
No DST

Current offset

UTC-05:00

same year-round

Abbreviation

EST

used year-round

DST behaviour

Never

has never observed daylight saving

Country

🇯🇲 Jamaica

ISO 3166: JM · view country page →

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

America/Jamaica is the identifier to use in code and config for this region. Every modern language, database, and OS resolves it through the same tz database, so the examples here behave identically everywhere.

Avoid storing EST or -05:00 — abbreviations are ambiguous and fixed offsets can't follow rule changes.

// format a date in this zone
new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
timeZone: 'America/Jamaica',
dateStyle: 'full', timeStyle: 'long'
}).format(new Date());

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
42 years.

America/Jamaica has kept UTC-05:00 year-round since 30 October 1983 — no daylight saving and no offset changes on record since. It is among the most stable identifiers in the database.

Every offset this zone has kept

−05:07:10UTC-05:00 · UNCHANGED 30 October 1983 NOW

Keeping this offset since

30 October 1983

Next transition

None scheduled

no DST rules exist for this zone

Safe to assume

Local = UTC − 5h, always

…but store the identifier anyway

Technical record

The database entry, in full.

source: IANA tz database

IdentifierAmerica/Jamaica
ISO country codeJM🇯🇲 Jamaica
Reference coordinates17.97°N, 76.79°Wtz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC-05:00abbreviation EST
Daylight offset—daylight saving has never been observed

Where it applies

All of Jamaica, one clock.

Looking for travel-friendly info? See Kingston or Eastern Standard Time.

🇯🇲
Jamaica

2.7M people, one time zone. The whole country resolves to America/Jamaica.

Country page →
🇯🇲 Kingston
17:59
17:59:54 · EST
pop. 938KEST
🇯🇲 New Kingston
17:59
17:59:54 · EST
pop. 938KEST

Related identifiers

Nearby in the database.

Same zone group · Eastern Standard Time

other identifiers keeping EST

Same offset · UTC-05:00

other zones keeping this offset right now

Frequently asked questions

Answers specific to this identifier — generated from the database record. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].

What UTC offset is America/Jamaica?
America/Jamaica is UTC-05:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does America/Jamaica observe daylight saving time?
No. America/Jamaica has never observed DST — it has kept UTC-05:00 continuously since 30 October 1983.
Which country uses America/Jamaica?
Jamaica. The identifier covers the whole country.
Is America/Jamaica the same as EST?
America/Jamaica is one of the IANA zones that keeps Eastern Standard Time (EST). Use America/Jamaica in software — EST is a human-friendly label, not a valid identifier.

Free · Developer API

This zone, as JSON.

Everything on this page — offset, abbreviation, DST rules, coordinates — from one endpoint, always current with the latest tzdb release.

GET /v1/timezones Live

countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.

Get your free API key →
// this identifier, resolved live
GET /v1/timezones?iana=America/Jamaica
{
"iana": "America/Jamaica",
"utc_offset": "-05:00",
"abbreviation": "EST",
"observes_dst": false,
"country": "JM"
}