Time zone · Americas
CST
Central Standard Time
Central Standard Time (CST) spans 25 zones from Central America into the heart of North America, where many clocks stay fixed year-round while others typically spring forward for daylight saving. That mixed rhythm calls for extra care when scheduling across the region, especially during the months when parts of the U.S. and Canada shift ahead while Mexico and Central America often hold steady.
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Current offset
UTC-06:00
Standard · CST
Daylight saving
Not observed
Year-round standard time
IANA zones
13
None observe daylight saving
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About CST
A fixed, year-round offset.
Central Standard Time (CST) spans 25 zones from Central America into the heart of North America, where many clocks stay fixed year-round while others typically spring forward for daylight saving. That mixed rhythm calls for extra care when scheduling across the region, especially during the months when parts of the U.S. and Canada shift ahead while Mexico and Central America often hold steady.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The 13 zones that resolve to CST.
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 CST
The same hour, city by city.
38 cities · all UTC-06:00
Where CST is used
8 countries.
Same offset · UTC-06:00
Other zones at UTC-06:00 right now.
These named zones share CST's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Convert
CST to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CST, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Why is this region called Central Standard Time?
- It’s named for the central belt of North America where the standard offset is UTC‑06:00, covering much of Mexico, Central America, and the U.S. and Canadian central corridors.
- What’s unique about Central Standard Time?
- The region is split: around a third of its member zones observe daylight saving while the rest do not, so clocks aren’t aligned all year.
- Do all of Mexico use CST?
- No. Most of Mexico historically fell into the Central zone, but some border areas follow U.S. daylight-saving rules and others keep CST permanently.
- When does daylight saving usually apply here?
- In the parts of the U.S. and Canada that do observe it, clocks typically spring forward in March and fall back in November.
- Which central time zones currently observe daylight saving?
- Major U.S. central zones like Chicago and parts of Indiana, plus central Canadian zones, are the ones typically shifting for daylight saving.
- Which central time zones do not observe daylight saving?
- Central American nations such as Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua stay on CST year-round, as do parts of Mexico like Bahia_Banderas.
- How many countries are included in this region?
- The sample includes mostly Mexico, the United States, Canada, and several Central American nations such as Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
- Which zone is used as the representative for CST on this page?
- America/Bahia_Banderas (Mexico), which stays on UTC‑06:00 year-round with no daylight saving transitions.
- When did the representation last change?
- For America/Bahia_Banderas, the current fixed CST offset has been in effect since 2022-10-30 at 01:00 CST.
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.
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