Daylight Saving Time 2025: When Does the Time Change?

Standard Time will be here before you know it! In November, we “fall back” 1 hour! So, why DO we observe DST? Here’s the surprising history of this clock-changing practice. And no, it’s not due to farmers! Why is it Daylight “Saving” Time—not “Savings” Time? 

What Is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight Saving Time (“DST”) is the practice of moving the clocks forward one hour from Standard Time during the summer months and changing the time back again in the fall.

The general idea is that this allows us all to use natural daylight better: moving the clocks forward 1 hour in the spring grants us more daylight during summer evenings, while moving clocks back 1 hour in the fall grants us more daylight during winter mornings.

Read Next

• Will We Ever Stop Changing the Clocks? The Fight Over DST
• 5 Tips to Adjust to Daylight Saving Time (Fall Back Smoothly)
• The Night Sky: March 2025 Skywatching Tips

However, DST has many detractors—and rightfully so! 

Daylight Saving Time 2025: When Does the Time Change?

Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. To remember which way to set their clocks, folks often use the expression “spring forward, fall back.”

• November 2, 2025, at 2:00 A.M.: Clocks are set back 1 hour (“fall back”), gaining an hour. Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour earlier than the day before. There will be more light in the morning. Since the time changes at 2:00 A.M., we generally change our clocks before bed on Saturday.
• March 8, 2026, at 2:00 A.M.: Clocks are set forward 1 hour (“spring forward”), losing an hour. Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later than the day before. There will be more light in the evening. (Again, we generally change our clocks before bed on Saturday.)

QUICK TIP: Figuring out Daylight Saving Time doesn’t have to be tricky. Use Almanac’s Time Zone Converter for Daylight Saving Time—it adjusts automatically and shows you the exact local time.

Daylight Saving Time Dates

(Note that DST dates are for locations in the United States and Canada only; other countries may follow different dates!)

Note: In the U.S., exceptions to DST are Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.