EST – Eastern Standard Time / Eastern Time (Standard Time)
Also known as: ET – Eastern Time , NAEST – North American Eastern Standard Time
Caution: This is NOT the current local time in most locations in that time zone
North America, Caribbean: Only some locations are currently on EST because most places in this time zone are currently on summer time / daylight saving time and are observing EDT.
Please use the search field on the right to find the correct local time in any city.
Observes EST part of the year.
Areas with same time currently (UTC -5).
Observes EST – Eastern Standard Time part of the year, but not currently.
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.
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
- 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
- Kentucky - eastern parts
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan - most except these western counties
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee - eastern counties
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Canadian provinces/territories using EST in the winter and EDT in the summer:
- Nunavut - most of it
- Ontario - most parts east of 90 West and two communities west of 90 West
- Quebec - most of it
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
8:00:53am
Friday, August 18, 2017
Did you mean EDT?
- EST will be observed in New York, Toronto, Nassau starting from Nov 5, 2017 at 2:00 am
- UTC Offset: UTC -5
- 1 hour behind Washington DC
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 zones by continent/region
- Africa
- Antarctica
- Asia
- Atlantic
- Australia
- Caribbean
- Central America
- Europe
- Indian Ocean
- Military
- North America
- Pacific
- South America
See all Time zone abbreviations
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