Home   Time Zones   Abbreviations   EST – Eastern Standard Time

EST – Eastern Standard Time / Eastern Time (Standard Time)

Also known as: ET – Eastern Time , NAEST – North American Eastern Standard Time

Time zone map of EST
Currently observing EST.
Areas with same time currently (UTC -5).
Currently observing EST – Eastern Standard Time.
Currently has same time zone offset as EST (UTC -5) but different time zone name.

Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone is in use during standard time in: North America, Caribbean, Central America.

This time zone is often called Eastern Time Zone.

See full time zone map

Summer Time & DST

Some places observe daylight saving time/summer time during the summer, and therefore use EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) in the summer.

Email Time Zone Indicator: -0500

An email sent from someone in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) time zone will have the time zone listed as "-0500" in the headers of the email. (However, "-0500" does not have to be in Eastern Standard Time, as other time zones could have the same UTC offset).

Where and When is EST Observed?

North America

U.S. 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:

  • Bahamas
  • Haiti

Caribbean countries using EST all year:

  • Cayman Islands
  • Jamaica

Central America

Central American countries using EST all year:

  • Panama

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

04:49:51

Sunday, 7 January 2018

Advertising

Find current time and time zone by city

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)

Time Zone Map with DST

Time zone map

Time Zone Map

Time zones by continent/region

See all Time zone abbreviations

Time zones Tools

You might also like

A comet glowing in the dark winter sky.

What Are Comets?

Comets are small celestial bodies that orbit the Sun. Primarily made of dust and ice, many have a tail (coma) and are thought to be remnants of the formation of the Solar System. more

Meteor Showers

Dates and tips on how and where to see "shooting stars" from meteor showers all over the world. more

Shooting stars on a dark night sky.

Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is expected to peak on May 6, 2018. The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Halley's Comet. more

Alternative Time Systems

Astronomers use other measures of time, such as Terrestrial Time (TT), which is 32.184 seconds ahead of International Atomic Time (TAI). more