Time zone · Americas
CDT
Central Daylight Time
Central Daylight Time (CDT) is the North American Central Time zone during its daylight saving period, shifting clocks forward to UTC-5 between March and November. Its twelve member zones — stretching from Chicago deep into Mexico — align during that stretch so that meetings, broadcasts and travel across this broad region stay in sync for roughly eight months each year.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Current offset
UTC-05:00
Daylight · CDT
Daylight saving
Active
Reverts 1 Nov 2026
IANA zones
12
12 observe DST, 0 don't
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About CDT
Standard time, with a summer shift.
Central Daylight Time (CDT) is the North American Central Time zone during its daylight saving period, shifting clocks forward to UTC-5 between March and November. Its twelve member zones — stretching from Chicago deep into Mexico — align during that stretch so that meetings, broadcasts and travel across this broad region stay in sync for roughly eight months each year.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The 12 zones that resolve to CDT.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Cities currently on CDT
The same hour, city by city.
2 cities · all UTC-05:00
Where CDT is used
3 countries.
Same offset · UTC-05:00
Other zones at UTC-05:00 right now.
These named zones share CDT's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CDT, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- How long does CDT stay active each year?
- CDT clocks run from the second Sunday in March (including on 2026-03-08 in the representative zone) through the first Sunday in November (2026-11-01 in Chicago), spanning almost eight months of forward-shifted schedules.
- Which major cities follow Central Daylight Time?
- During DST the zone covers Chicago, Dallas, Mexico City's border cities such as Matamoros, and several Indigenous communities in the US Midwest.
- Why does the region observe daylight saving?
- Shifting to CDT extends usable evening daylight across this heavily populated corridor, aligning business hours, school schedules and cross-border logistics across the US and northern Mexico.
- How many time zones does the United States Central region include?
- Under CDT the broader Central region spawns eight closely related but individually managed zones — including several for Indiana and North Dakota counties — each with its own DST transition history.
- When do clocks fall back from CDT?
- At 01:00 local time on 2026-11-01 the representative Chicago zone will turn clocks back, ending that year's Central Daylight Time period.
- Does CDT match Mexico's daylight schedule?
- Since 2010 broadly equivalent rules let Mexico's northern border cities such as Matamoros switch in step with US Central DST, smoothing cross-border life and commerce.
- How do Indiana's time zones complicate CDT?
- Indiana historically resisted DST in many counties; today even nearby towns like Knox and Tell City follow CDT to neighbors like Evansville, simplifying everyday schedules.
- Which US states can be split between CDT and another zone?
- Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas all contain communities on different sides of the CDT boundary.
- Why does CDT matter for remote collaboration?
- Because CDT covers economic hubs such as Chicago and Dallas, a huge portion of US meetings, events and project timelines run on a forward-shifted CDT clock.
Free · Developer API
Time, as JSON.
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