Switzerland time now, live flip clock
Through the winter months Switzerland keeps Central European Time, CET, UTC+1. In summer it moves one hour ahead, to CEST, UTC+2. Swiss time ticks by live, second by second, on the clock above.
Time zone in Switzerland
Switzerland has one time zone, so Zürich, Genève, Basel and Lausanne always show the same time. Bern is on that time too. It is the official seat of the Federal Council and the federal departments.
- CET, UTC+1
- CEST, UTC+2
- Zürich, Genève, Basel, Lausanne
When the clocks change in Switzerland
Clocks in Switzerland change twice a year.
Sunday 25 October 2026
3:00 AMto2:00 AM
Sunday 28 March 2027
2:00 AMto3:00 AM
How many hours ahead or behind Zürich
On 24 October 2026, London is 1 hour behind Zürich.
| City | Difference from Zürich |
|---|---|
| London | 1 hour behind |
| New York | 6 hours behind |
| Dubai | 2 hours ahead |
| Singapore | 6 hours ahead |
| Tokyo | 7 hours ahead |
| Sydney | 9 hours ahead |
| Your time zone | Detected after this page loads |
Federal acts and records behind Swiss clocks
- Legal time in the Measurement Act
- CET
- The federal Measurement Act, the Messgesetz, states that Central European Time applies in Switzerland. That time, in the act's definition, is Coordinated Universal Time with one hour added. The same act gives the Federal Council the power to prescribe summer time. Its stated aim is agreement with neighbouring states. Summer time, as the act sets it out, adds a further hour to Central European Time.
- The institute that spreads legal time
- EIMG
- A federal act governs the Eidgenössisches Institut für Metrologie. The act calls it the national metrology institute of Switzerland. One of the tasks it lists is to disseminate the legal time of Switzerland.
- Bern Mean Time and two wartime summers
- 29 min 46 s
- The time zone database keeps Switzerland on Bern Mean Time until the late nineteenth century. The database also logs summer time in two war years in a row, during the Second World War. Each spell began on a Monday in May, an hour after midnight. A note in the database finds no summer time the year before. Its author says the law collection was checked carefully.
Questions about time in Switzerland
What time zone is Switzerland in?
Switzerland runs on Central European Time, CET, UTC+1, outside the summer months. From late March to late October the clocks show Central European Summer Time, CEST, UTC+2. Liechtenstein matches Swiss clocks in both seasons. The time zone database files the two countries under the same zone.
When do the clocks change in Switzerland?
On the last Sunday in March, Swiss clocks jump from two in the morning to three. Autumn's change falls on the final Sunday of October, and clocks drop back an hour at three. A Swiss ordinance on summer time sets these dates. It fixes the same period as the European Union uses.
What is the time difference between Switzerland and the UK?
London is 1 hour behind Zürich in winter and in summer alike. Both countries change their clocks at one shared moment, an hour apart by the local reading. A meeting set for ten in Basel starts at nine on a London clock.
What is the time difference between Switzerland and the US?
For most of the year, New York runs 6 hours behind Zürich, and Los Angeles 9 hours behind. American clocks go forward on a Sunday in March, weeks ahead of the Swiss change. They go back one week after it in autumn. Across those weeks the two gaps are each one hour shorter.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| Europe/Zurich | CET, UTC+1 | Yes |
Sources
We checked each fact on this page against these sources on 16 October 2026. Times, offsets and clock changes come from the time zone database.