Europe · Western Europe · Sovereign state
Current time in Netherlands
A single time zone at UTC+02:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
About Netherlands's time
A single time zone.
The European Netherlands observes a single time zone, Central European Time, switching between UTC+01:00 in winter and UTC+02:00 during daylight saving time.
Next clock change
2026 Sunday · clocks fall back
Clocks fall back by one hour · next week.
Daylight saving schedule
Major cities
Cities of Netherlands.
Territories & dependencies
The Republic, around the world.
History
How Netherlands keeps time.
The Netherlands made Amsterdam Time its legal time in 1909, based on the longitude of Amsterdam (UTC+00:19:32, rounded to UTC+00:20 in 1937), before switching to Central European Time (UTC+01:00) on May 16, 1940, under German occupation—a change that was never reversed. Summer time was first used in 1916 and every year until 1940, was dropped after the war, returned in 1977, and has followed the common EU schedule since.
Did you know?
Things about Netherlands's time.
The European Netherlands uses Central European Time, while Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands use Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−04:00) all year, the same time as neighbors such as Saint Martin, Anguilla, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Convert
Netherlands to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Netherlands's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What is the time zone of the Netherlands?
- The European Netherlands uses a single time zone, Central European Time (UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 during daylight saving time).
- Do the Dutch Caribbean territories follow the same time zone?
- No, Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands use Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−04:00).
- Does the Netherlands observe daylight saving time?
- Yes, like most EU member states, the Netherlands springs forward by one hour in late March and falls back in late October.
- Why is Dutch time set to Central European Time instead of GMT/UTC±0?
- This dates back to May 1940, during the German occupation, when the Netherlands switched from its own Amsterdam Time (about 20 minutes ahead of GMT) to Central European Time, and the change was kept after the war.
- Is there ever an overlap in time zones between the Dutch Caribbean and mainland Netherlands?
- No, because the Caribbean islands use Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−04:00), which is always 5–6 hours behind mainland Netherlands depending on daylight saving.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
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