Eastern Standard Time – EST Time Zone

Also known as: Eastern Time (ET) and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

Caution: This is NOT the current local time in most locations in that time zone

North America, Caribbean: Only some locations are currently on EST because most places in this time zone are currently on summer time / daylight saving time and are observing EDT.

Currently observing EST – Eastern Standard Time.

Observes EST – Eastern Standard Time part of the year, but not currently.

Currently has same time zone offset as EST (UTC -5) but different time zone name.

Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone is in use during standard time in: North America, Caribbean, Central America.

See full time zone map

What Is Eastern Standard Time?

Eastern Standard Time (EST) is the easternmost time zone in the United States. It is also used in Canada.

It covers all or parts of 23 states in the US and three provinces or territories in Canada. It is also used in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Almost half of the population in the USA live in the EST time zone. It spans from northern Canada and south to Panama near the equator.

In North America, Eastern Standard Time shares a border with Atlantic Standard Time (AST) in the east and with Central Standard Time (CST) in the west.

Eastern Standard Time Zone

Eastern Standard Time (EST) is a standard time zone in use from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March—when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not in effect. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is used during the remainder of the year.