CET and CEST — Central European Time and Central European Summer Time
CET (Central European Time) means UTC+01:00 and CEST (Central European Summer Time) means UTC+02:00: Paris keeps CET in winter and CEST in summer.
Current time in CET
16:22:14
Central European Time · UTC+01:00
Current time in CEST
17:22:14
Central European Summer Time · UTC+02:00
About CET and CEST
CET is the winter time of most of continental western Europe. In summer these countries use CEST (UTC+2).
Working with CET and CEST
Other labels for the same offsets: BST and WAT for UTC+01:00, and EET and SAST for UTC+02:00. One hour to the west of CET in this directory sits UTC (UTC+00:00); one hour to the east, EET (UTC+02:00).
Clock changes in CET and CEST
Paris follows the European rule: clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, at 01:00 UTC.
| Date | Change | New offset |
|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2027 | Clocks go forward one hour on Mar 28, 2027 at 02:00, moving from UTC+01:00 to UTC+02:00. | UTC+02:00 |
| October 31, 2027 | Clocks go back one hour on Oct 31, 2027 at 03:00, moving from UTC+02:00 to UTC+01:00. | UTC+01:00 |
Clock history of Europe/Paris
| Period | Clocks set to | Seasonal changes |
|---|---|---|
| since 1942 | UTC+01:00 | 54 years with a change, 1943–2026 |
| 1940–1942 | UTC+02:00 | none |
| 1940 | UTC+01:00 | none |
| 1911–1940 | UTC+00:00 | 24 years with a change, 1916–1939 |
| 1900–1911 | UTC+00:09:21 | none |
Who keeps UTC+01:00 and UTC+02:00
Moving between UTC+01:00 and UTC+02:00 through the year: Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Paris, Vienna, Warsaw, Budapest, Barcelona, Munich, Milan, Prague, Brussels, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Oslo and 2 more.
Countries and territories whose clocks move between UTC+01:00 and UTC+02:00: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Serbia and 7 more.
UTC+01:00
All year: Lagos. Part of the year: London, Dublin, Manchester, Lisbon and Edinburgh from March 28, 2027 to October 31, 2027.
Countries and territories that keep UTC+01:00 all year, from every entry in the tz database: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo - Brazzaville, parts of Congo - Kinshasa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria and Tunisia. Also on UTC+01:00 for part of the year: Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, parts of Portugal, parts of Spain and the United Kingdom. Where it is kept all year, UTC+01:00 also goes by these names in the tz database: West Africa Time.
UTC+02:00
All year: Johannesburg and Cape Town. Part of the year: Cairo until April 30, 2027 and from October 29, 2027; Kyiv, Bucharest, Athens and Helsinki until March 28, 2027 and from October 31, 2027; Jerusalem and Tel Aviv until March 26, 2027 and from October 31, 2027.
Countries and territories that keep UTC+02:00 all year, from every entry in the tz database: Botswana, Burundi, parts of Congo - Kinshasa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, parts of Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also on UTC+02:00 for part of the year: Åland Islands, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Moldova, Palestinian Territories, Romania and Ukraine. Where it is kept all year, UTC+02:00 also goes by these names in the tz database: Central Africa Time, Eastern European Standard Time and South Africa Standard Time.
| City | Longitude | Solar noon on CET / CEST |
|---|---|---|
| Lagos | 3.38°E | 12:46 / 13:46 |
| Cairo | 31.24°E | 10:55 / 11:55 |
| London | 0.13°W | 13:01 / 14:01 |
| Johannesburg | 28.05°E | 11:08 / 12:08 |
| Cape Town | 18.42°E | 11:46 / 12:46 |
| Berlin | 13.40°E | 12:06 / 13:06 |
| Madrid | 3.70°W | 13:15 / 14:15 |
| Kyiv | 30.52°E | 10:58 / 11:58 |
| Rome | 12.50°E | 12:10 / 13:10 |
| Paris | 2.35°E | 12:51 / 13:51 |
Which of CET and CEST applies today
Europe/Paris is on CET (UTC+01:00) at the moment. On March 28, 2027, 145 days from the day this page was generated, its clocks move to CEST (UTC+02:00).
A working day on CET and CEST
| Place | CET’s 09:00–17:00 there | CEST’s 09:00–17:00 there | Shared on CET, over the next 12 months | Shared on CEST, over the next 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | 08:00–16:00 | 07:00–15:00 | — | — |
| New York | 03:00–11:00 / 04:00–12:00 | 02:00–10:00 / 03:00–11:00 | 2 h to 3 h | 1 h to 2 h |
| London | 08:00–16:00 / 09:00–17:00 | 07:00–15:00 / 08:00–16:00 | 7 h to 8 h | 6 h to 7 h |
| Tokyo | 17:00–01:00 | 16:00–00:00 | none all year | always 1 h |
At 09:00 on a Monday on CET time, Honolulu is still on Sunday. For part of the year, so is Anchorage. By 17:00 on a Friday on CET time, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Manila, Seoul and 14 more have already reached Saturday.
For the working hours Paris shares with New York, London and Tokyo, and for its sunrise and sunset through the year, see the Paris page.
How CET and CEST compare with other zones
Right now CET runs ahead of UTC, New York, London and Los Angeles and behind Dubai, Kolkata, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney. At the moment it shows the same time as Berlin.
| Zone | UTC offset | Difference from CET | Difference from CEST | Against CET, over the next 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | UTC+00:00 | 1h ahead | 2h ahead | all year |
| New York | UTC-05:00 | 6h ahead | 7h ahead | 6h ahead / 5h ahead |
| London | UTC+00:00 | 1h ahead | 2h ahead | 1h ahead / Same time |
| Berlin | UTC+01:00 | Same time | 1h ahead | Same time / 1h behind |
| Dubai | UTC+04:00 | 3h behind | 2h behind | all year |
| Kolkata | UTC+05:30 | 4h 30m behind | 3h 30m behind | all year |
| Singapore | UTC+08:00 | 7h behind | 6h behind | all year |
| Tokyo | UTC+09:00 | 8h behind | 7h behind | all year |
| Sydney | UTC+11:00 | 10h behind | 9h behind | 9h behind / 10h behind |
| Los Angeles | UTC-08:00 | 9h ahead | 10h ahead | 9h ahead / 8h ahead |
Cities using CET and CEST
CET
CEST
Convert CET and CEST to another zone
Related time zones
Time zone rules: IANA tz database release 2026c, applied when this page was generated on 2026-11-02.
Frequently asked questions
What are CET and CEST?
CET is Central European Time, UTC+01:00, and CEST is Central European Summer Time, UTC+02:00. CEST is the daylight saving time of central Europe, used from late March to late October.
What is the IANA identifier for CET and CEST?
Europe/Paris, named after Paris. It has moved between UTC+01:00 and UTC+02:00 on the same yearly pattern since 1996.
When is it CET and when is it CEST in Paris?
Over the coming year Paris is on CEST (UTC+02:00) from March 28, 2027 to October 31, 2027, and on CET (UTC+01:00) until March 28, 2027 and from October 31, 2027. The labels themselves never move: CET always means UTC+01:00 and CEST always means UTC+02:00.
What time is it on CET and CEST when it is 09:00 in London?
On CET: 10:00 until March 28, 2027 and from October 31, 2027; 09:00 from March 28, 2027 to October 31, 2027. On CEST: 11:00 until March 28, 2027 and from October 31, 2027; 10:00 from March 28, 2027 to October 31, 2027.
Is CET the same as BST?
As labels, both mean UTC+01:00. The places behind them, Paris and London, do not keep the same clock for a whole day at any point in the coming year.
Is CEST the same as EET?
As labels, both mean UTC+02:00. The places behind them, Paris and Athens, do not keep the same clock for a whole day at any point in the coming year.