Time in Washington DC
The current local time and date in Washington DC, its time zone, and a converter to your own time.
Detecting your time zone to suggest the best hour to call…
Washington, D.C. runs on US Eastern Time (EST/EDT) — it is the national capital and a different place, in a different time zone, from Washington State, which sits on the Pacific coast.
Washington DC uses UTC-5 in winter (standard time) and shifts to UTC-4 in summer when daylight saving time is active.
Compare to your time zone
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Compare Washington DC with another city
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See also: Population of United States
Popular time comparisons
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FAQ
What time is it in Washington DC right now?
The live clock at the top of this page shows the current local time in Washington DC, refreshed every second. Washington DC is on UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer, and the clock is calculated directly from that official time zone so it always accounts for daylight saving time automatically.
What time zone is Washington DC in?
Washington DC uses UTC-5 in winter (standard time) and shifts to UTC-4 in summer when daylight saving time is active. The "compare to your time zone" section above converts any Washington DC time into your own local time instantly.
Does Washington DC observe daylight saving time?
Yes. Washington DC moves its clocks forward by one hour in summer (to UTC-4) and back in winter (to UTC-5). This page recomputes the offset live, so the clock and conversions above are always correct for the current date without you needing to remember the switch dates.
How do I convert Washington DC time to my time zone?
The converter above detects your device's time zone and shows, hour by hour, what a given Washington DC time is where you are. For planning a call across several cities at once, open the World Clock meeting planner, which lays out a colour-coded 24-hour grid.
What is the dialing code for Washington DC?
To call Washington DC from abroad, dial the country code +1 before the local number. The card at the top of this page shows it alongside the live local time so you can check it is a reasonable hour before you call.
What are the best hours to call Washington DC?
The "best time to call" line above detects your own time zone and shows the window when normal waking hours (roughly 8am–9pm) overlap in both places, so neither side is woken up. It updates live, so it already accounts for daylight saving on both ends.
Learn how time zones work
UTC & GMT explained · Daylight saving explained · How to convert a time between two cities