Jamaica time now, live flip clock
Jamaica keeps one time zone for the whole island, EST, UTC-5, and its clocks do not change. The clock above shows Jamaica's time live, with seconds.
Time zone in Jamaica
Kingston, Spanish Town, Portmore and Montego Bay all keep the same time.
- EST, UTC-5
- Not observed
- Kingston, New Kingston, Spanish Town, Portmore
How many hours ahead or behind Jamaica
On 7 October 2026, New York is 1 hour ahead of Jamaica.
| City | Difference from Jamaica |
|---|---|
| New York | 1 hour ahead |
| Toronto | 1 hour ahead |
| Chicago | Same time |
| London | 6 hours ahead |
| Panama | Same time |
| Port-au-Prince | 1 hour ahead |
| Havana | 1 hour ahead |
| Kolkata | 10 hours 30 minutes ahead |
| Your time zone | Detected after this page loads |
Convert a time between any two placesDaylight saving dates around the world
How Jamaica keeps its time
- The official time
- BSJ
- Under the Interpretation Act, the Governor-General in Council declares Jamaica's standard time by order. The Bureau of Standards Jamaica keeps the national time scale on two caesium atomic clocks. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures now publishes it with other national laboratories' time.
- The same letters as New York
- EST
- Jamaica's time carries the code EST, the same letters as the eastern US in winter. But Jamaica does not change its clocks. So from March to November, when New York moves its clocks forward, Jamaica is one hour behind it.
- Daylight saving, tried and dropped
- 0
- Michael Manley's government brought in daylight saving in the seventies, on the same dates as the US. Edward Seaga's government ended it in the eighties. Jamaica's clocks have not changed since.
- The same clock as Panama
- 0 h
- Panama and the Cayman Islands keep the same time as Jamaica all year. None of the three changes its clocks. Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas share Jamaica's time only in winter. In summer they move an hour ahead.
Questions about time in Jamaica
What time zone is Jamaica in?
Jamaica keeps one time zone for the whole island, EST, UTC-5, and its clocks do not change. Kingston, Montego Bay and every parish show the same time. The Governor-General in Council declares the standard time by order. The Bureau of Standards Jamaica keeps the national time scale.
Does Jamaica have daylight saving time?
No. Jamaica keeps EST, UTC-5 in every season. It moved its clocks forward in summer for some years, on the US dates, then stopped in the eighties. So Jamaica now matches New York in winter, and falls one hour behind it from March to November.
Is Jamaica on the same time as New York?
Only in winter. New York is on the same time as Jamaica in winter, from November to March. The rest of the year New York is one hour ahead. It moves its clocks forward and Jamaica does not. Miami and Toronto follow the same pattern as New York.
What is the time difference between Jamaica and the UK?
London is 5 hours ahead of Jamaica in the British winter. In summer the UK puts its clocks forward, and the gap grows by an hour. So a morning call from Kingston reaches London in the afternoon.
What is the time difference between Jamaica and India?
India is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of Jamaica in every season. Neither Jamaica nor India uses daylight saving time. So late evening in Kingston is already the next morning in Mumbai and Delhi.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| America/Jamaica | EST, UTC-5 | No |
Sources
We checked each fact on this page against these sources on 30 September 2026. Times, offsets and clock changes come from the time zone database.