When Does CDT End in 2026? (And Start in 2027)

The dates

For 2026:

• CDT ends: Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM CDT. Clocks “fall back” to 1:00 AM CST.
• CDT starts again: Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 AM CST. Clocks “spring forward” to 3:00 AM CDT.

In between (November 1, 2026 → March 14, 2027), the U.S. Central time zone is on CST (UTC −6).

Why these dates?

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 set DST in the U.S. to:

• Start on the second Sunday of March.
• End on the first Sunday of November.

These dates have been stable since 2007 and apply to all U.S. states that observe DST (which excludes Hawaii and most of Arizona).

What happens to my meetings?

If you have recurring meetings with people in Europe, the time difference will shift the week of October 25 (when EU falls back) and again on November 1 (when the U.S. falls back). For one week — Oct 26 → Nov 1, 2026 — Central Europe is 5 hours ahead of Chicago instead of the usual 7.

If you have meetings with India, China, Japan, the UAE or other non-DST countries, the time difference shifts on November 1 by exactly one hour (because the U.S. side moves; their side doesn’t).

Calendar apps will handle it

Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar — all of them use IANA time-zone data and will adjust automatically as long as you set the zone, not a fixed offset, when creating the event. Don’t write “9:00 AM CDT” for a recurring event in winter — write “9:00 AM Chicago Time” or “9:00 AM Central Time”.

Want a permanent reminder?

Bookmark our live CDT clock — it always shows the correct offset, no manual updates needed.