IANA tz database · zone identifier

America/Cancun

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

UTC-05:00Abbreviation ESTNo daylight saving
Time in America/Cancun☾ Night
18:00:26
Wednesday, October 14, 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

None

one offset all year

Country

🇲🇽 Mexico

ISO 3166: MX · view country page →

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

America/Cancun 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/Cancun',
dateStyle: 'full', timeStyle: 'long'
}).format(new Date());

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
11 years.

America/Cancun has kept UTC-05:00 year-round since 1 February 2015 — 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

−05:47:04UTC-05:00 · UNCHANGED 1 February 2015 NOW

Keeping this offset since

1 February 2015

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 · release 2026d

IdentifierAmerica/Cancun
ISO country codeMX🇲🇽 Mexico
Reference coordinates21.08°N, 86.77°Wtz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC-05:00abbreviation EST
Daylight offset—no daylight saving time
tzdb release2026ddata current as of this IANA release

Where it applies

One of Mexico's 12 zones.

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

🇲🇽
Mexico

132M people, 12 time zones — this identifier covers one of them.

Country page →
🇲🇽 Cancún
18:00
18:00:26 · EST
pop. 889KEST

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/Cancun?
America/Cancun is UTC-05:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does America/Cancun observe daylight saving time?
No. America/Cancun stays on UTC-05:00 all year, as it has since 1 February 2015.
Which country uses America/Cancun?
Mexico. It is one of 12 IANA zones covering the country.
Is America/Cancun the same as EST?
America/Cancun is one of the IANA zones that keeps Eastern Standard Time (EST). Use America/Cancun in software — EST is a human-friendly label, not a valid identifier.

Free · Developer API

This zone, as JSON.

Its live offset, abbreviation and DST status, plus its coordinates and country, from one endpoint.

GET /v1/timezones Live

Also in the API: time zones by coordinates, conversions that flag daylight saving gaps, and abbreviations decoded.

Get your free API key → All endpoints Plans and pricing

Moving off WorldTimeAPI? Our drop-in replacement needs no key.

// this identifier, resolved live
GET /v1/timezones/America/Cancun
{
"data": {
"iana": "America/Cancun",
"observes_dst": false,
"country": { "code": "MX", "name": "Mexico" },
"current": {
"utc_offset": "-05:00",
"abbreviation": "EST",
…
},
…
}
}