Eastern Standard Time – EST Time Zone

Eastern Time (ET) or the Eastern Time Zone. This can add a bit of confusion as the term Eastern Time does not differentiate between standard time and Daylight Saving Time, so Eastern Time switches between EST and EDT in areas that use DST during part of the year.

Most North American time zones also have generic terms, including Pacific Time (PT), Mountain Time (MT), Central Time (CT), and Atlantic Time (AT).

Converting Eastern Time to Other US Time Zones

Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 1 hour ahead of Central Standard Time (CST).
To convert EST to CST, you have to subtract one hour.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 2 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time (MST).
To convert EST to MST, you have to subtract two hours.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 3 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (PST).
To convert EST to PST, you have to subtract three hours.

Time Zone Converter: UTC to EST

Where and When is EST Observed?

North America

US states using EST in the winter and EDT in the summer:

Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida - Southern/Eastern parts Show
except Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties and norther Gulf county - look in CST/CDT
Georgia
Indiana - all except for these north-western counties near Chicago (Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, Jasper, Starke) and these south-western counties in Indiana near Evansville Show
Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Perry
Kentucky - eastern parts Show
counties of Anderson, Bath, Bell, Boone, Bourbon, Boyd, Boyle, Bracken, Breathitt, Bullitt, Campbell, Carroll, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay, Elliott, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Floyd, Franklin, Gallatin, Garrard, Grant, Greenup, Hancock, Hansock, Hardin, Harlan, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jessamine, Johnson, Kenton, Knott, Knox, Larue, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, Mason, McCreary, Meade, Menifee, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Nelson, Nicholas, Oldham, Owen, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Rowan, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Taylor, Trimble, Washington, Wayne, Whitley, Wolfe, Woodford
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan - most except these western counties Show
Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee - which are on CST/CDT
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee - eastern counties Show
Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, and Washington
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia

Canadian provinces/territories using EST in the winter and EDT in the summer:

Nunavut - most of it Show
except Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay - CST/CDT and Southampton Island (Coral Harbor) EST all year
Ontario - most parts east of 90 West and two communities west of 90 West Show
Shebandowan, Upsala
Quebec - most of it Show
except East of 63 West, Blanc Sablon which observe AST all year

Canadian provinces/territories using EST all year:

Nunavut - Southampton Island only (Coral Harbour)

Mexican states using EST all year:

Quintana Roo

Caribbean

Caribbean countries using EST in the winter and EDT in the summer:

Caribbean countries using EST all year:

Central America

Central American countries using EST all year:

Panama

Other Eastern Standard Time Zones

Time zones can have similar names and abbreviations but have a different UTC offset:

Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST): UTC +10
Eastern Africa Time (EAT): UTC +3
Eastern European Time (EET): UTC +2
East Greenland Time (EGT): UTC -1

Other Time Zones in UTC -5

Some time zones exist that have the same offset as EST, but can be found under a different name:

EST time now

4:44:12 am

Monday, September 1, 2025

Did you mean EDT?

EST is currently observed in Kingston
EST will be observed in New York, Toronto, Nassau starting from Nov 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
UTC Offset: UTC -5
1 hour behind Toronto

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Other names

ET – Tiempo del Este (Spanish)
HNE – Heure Normale de l'Est (French)

Example cities

USA – New York (Winter)
Canada – Toronto (Winter)
Bahamas – Nassau (Winter)
Jamaica – Kingston (All Year)
Panama – Panama (All Year)

Related time zones

EDT – Eastern Daylight Time (Daylight Time)