IANA tz database · zone identifier

UTC

The IANA tz database identifier for Coordinated Universal Time. Store this string — not the abbreviation, not the offset — and your timestamps stay correct forever.

UTC+00:00Abbreviation UTCNo DST — never observed
Time in UTC☾ Night
22:56:12
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Offset
UTC+00:00
Abbreviation
UTC
DST
No DST

Current offset

UTC+00:00

same year-round

Abbreviation

UTC

used year-round

DST behaviour

Never

has never observed daylight saving

Country

—

no country on record

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

UTC 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 UTC or +00:00 — abbreviations are ambiguous and fixed offsets can't follow rule changes.

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

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
many years.

UTC has kept UTC+00:00 year-round since — — 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

+00:00:00UTC+00:00 · UNCHANGED — NOW

Keeping this offset since

—

Next transition

None scheduled

no DST rules exist for this zone

Safe to assume

Local = UTC + 0h, always

…but store the identifier anyway

Technical record

The database entry, in full.

source: IANA tz database

IdentifierUTC
Reference coordinates0.00°N, 0.00°Etz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC+00:00abbreviation UTC
Daylight offset—daylight saving has never been observed

Where it applies

Where it applies.

Related identifiers

Nearby in the database.

Same offset · UTC+00:00

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 UTC?
UTC is UTC+00:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does UTC observe daylight saving time?
No. UTC has never observed DST — it has kept UTC+00:00 continuously since —.
Is UTC the same as UTC?
UTC is one of the IANA zones that keeps Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Use UTC in software — UTC 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=UTC
{
"iana": "UTC",
"utc_offset": "+00:00",
"abbreviation": "UTC",
"observes_dst": false
}