Germany time now, live flip clock
German law makes Central European Time, CET, UTC+1, the country's legal time. Summer time lifts the clocks to CEST, UTC+2. Above, a live clock ticks through German time second by second.
Time zone in Germany
Clocks in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Köln always agree. Berlin is the capital and the seat of the federal government. Some federal ministries sit in Bonn, on that same clock. The time zone database lists two zones for Germany, one for most of the country and one for Büsingen.
- CET, UTC+1
- CEST, UTC+2
- Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Köln
When the clocks change in Germany
Clocks in Germany 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 Berlin
On 24 October 2026, London is 1 hour behind Berlin.
| City | Difference from Berlin |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Rules and records of German time
- Central European Time in federal law
- CET
- The Units and Time Act names Central European Time as Germany's legal time. It defines that time as Coordinated Universal Time plus one hour. Summer time, under the same act, is Coordinated Universal Time plus two hours. The act says summer time should begin and end on a Sunday. A separate ordinance builds on that rule.
- One autumn hour, lettered A and B
- A, B
- The summer-time ordinance puts summer time in force for an indefinite period. It also gives a name to the hour the autumn change repeats. The first pass through that hour, still on summer time, carries the letter A. The second pass, back on standard time, carries the letter B.
- From Berlin mean time to Moscow time
- 53 min
- Berlin's clocks ran on local mean time until the late nineteenth century. The time zone database puts that time about fifty-three and a half minutes ahead of Greenwich. Its notes record a later episode as well. In the year the Second World War ended, Berlin was switched to Moscow time.
Questions about time in Germany
What time zone is Germany in?
German clocks show Central European Time, CET, UTC+1, in winter. In summer they show Central European Summer Time, CEST, UTC+2. The whole country keeps one time. The clock at the top of this page follows Berlin.
When do the clocks change in Germany?
Germany moves to summer time on the last Sunday in March and leaves it on the last Sunday in October. An EU directive puts both changes at one in the morning, Greenwich Mean Time. So the clocks of every member state, from Lisbon to Helsinki, move together. A proposal to repeal that directive awaits the Council's first-reading position.
What is the time difference between Germany and the UK?
London is 1 hour behind Berlin, and the gap is the same in January as in July. British clocks go forward and back at the very moment German ones do. A Munich train leaving at noon leaves at eleven by a London watch.
What is the time difference between Germany and the US?
New York runs 6 hours behind Germany for most of the year. Los Angeles, on the Pacific coast, is 9 hours behind Berlin over those same months. The US starts summer time weeks before Germany and ends it a week after. In those short spells each difference shrinks by an hour.
Is Büsingen on a different time from the rest of Germany?
No, Büsingen's clocks read the same as Berlin's all year. The time zone database notes that Büsingen and Zurich, in Switzerland, have shared clocks for decades. The site's data files Büsingen under the Swiss zone. That zone changes in the same instants as Berlin.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| Europe/Berlin | CET, UTC+1 | Yes |
| 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.