ObservanceSunday, March 14, 2027
The Start of Daylight Saving Time
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Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March, when clocks across most of the United States jump from 2:00 a.m. standard time to 3:00 a.m. daylight time and the evenings gain an hour of light. The schedule is set by federal law, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 as amended, and it has started in March only since 2007. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not take part.
History
Clock-shifting in the United States began with the Standard Time Act, signed March 19, 1918, under the title "An Act to Save daylight and to provide standard time for the United States." It moved clocks forward on the last Sunday in March, at two o'clock in the morning. The idea was contentious, and Congress repealed the daylight saving provision in August 1919 over President Wilson's veto, keeping only the time zones the same act had created.
National daylight time came back for the Second World War, running without a break from February 1942 to September 1945, and then became a local matter for 21 years. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 fixed a single national schedule, starting on the last Sunday in April, and gave any state the right to opt out.
The start date has moved twice since, and both times the stated reason was energy. The Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 put the country on year-round daylight time in response to severe fuel shortages; daylight time began on January 6 in 1974 and on February 23 in 1975 before the April schedule returned. A 1986 law moved the start to the first Sunday in April from 1987 onward, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 moved it to the second Sunday in March beginning in 2007. The statutes state energy conservation as the purpose; neither the Naval Observatory's account nor the Library of Congress's cites a study measuring the result.
Timeline
- 1918 — The Standard Time Act, signed March 19, creates U.S. time zones and the first national daylight saving time, beginning on the last Sunday in March.
- 1919 — Congress repeals the daylight saving provision on August 20, over President Wilson's veto.
- 1942 — National daylight time resumes for the war on February 9 and runs unbroken until September 30, 1945.
- 1966 — The Uniform Time Act sets a uniform national start on the last Sunday in April and lets any state exempt itself.
- 1974 — Under the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973, passed amid severe energy shortages, daylight time begins on January 6.
- 2007 — The Energy Policy Act of 2005 takes effect, moving the start to the second Sunday in March, where it remains.
How to observe
The clocks that matter are the ones that will not change themselves: ovens, microwaves, cars, wall clocks, and anything running on its own battery. Phones and computers handle it without being asked.
The stranger thing to notice is the hour that does not exist. Clocks go from 2:00 a.m. standard time straight to 3:00 a.m. daylight time, so there is no 2:30 a.m. in most of the United States that morning. Anything scheduled inside that window has no time to run, and systems that store local time rather than universal time are where the problems surface.
It is also the morning to look at sunrise rather than sunset. The evening gets an hour of light, but sunrise moves an hour later overnight as well, which for anyone who walks, runs or waits for a bus before work is the half of the change that is actually felt. If you want to know what you are in for, look up your own sunrise times for the Saturday and the Monday either side of it.
Frequently asked questions
When does Daylight Saving Time start in 2027?
Sunday, March 14, 2027. Clocks move forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. daylight time.
Why is there no 2:30 a.m. that morning?
Because the clock jumps from 2:00 a.m. straight to 3:00 a.m. The hour in between is skipped, so no local time inside it occurs at all.
Did Daylight Saving Time always start in March?
No, and it is a recent arrangement. Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966 it began on the last Sunday in April. A 1986 law moved the start to the first Sunday in April from 1987, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 moved it to the second Sunday in March beginning in 2007.
Which states do not change their clocks?
Hawaii and most of Arizona observe standard time all year. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 is what allows a state to exempt itself, and a state split across two time zones may exempt either the whole state or the part lying in one zone.
Will the clock changes ever stop?
Bills to make daylight saving time permanent have been introduced repeatedly and none has become law. The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 passed the Senate by unanimous consent on March 15, 2022, then sat at the desk in the House with no vote. In the current Congress the House passed H.R. 139 by 308 to 117 on July 14, 2026 and the Senate referred it to the Commerce Committee the next day; its official record as of September 8, 2026 shows no Senate action since.
When is The Start of Daylight Saving Time?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | March 14 | Sunday |
| 2028 | March 12 | Sunday |
| 2029 | March 11 | Sunday |
| 2030 | March 10 | Sunday |
| 2031 | March 9 | Sunday |
Sources
- U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department, Daylight Saving Time — https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/daylight_time → Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918 established DST; DST repealed 1919 with the time zones retained; continuous national DST from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945; DST became a local matter after the war; Uniform Time Act of 1966 starting on the last Sunday in April, with local exemptions; DST start dates of 6 January 1974 and 23 February 1975 before the schedule reverted; the 1986 law moving the start to the first Sunday in April from 1987; Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) moving the start to the second Sunday in March beginning 2007; the 2:00 a.m. clock readings in both directions; Hawaii and most of Arizona observe standard time only.
- Library of Congress, In Custodia Legis, Spring forward, fall back — it's daylight saving time (Margaret Wood, March 6, 2014) — https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2014/03/spring-forward-fall-back-its-daylight-saving-time/ → the full title of the 1918 act ("An Act to Save daylight and to provide standard time for the United States," 40 Stat. 450) and its last-Sunday-in-March start at 2 a.m.; repeal on August 20, 1919 over President Wilson's veto (41 Stat. 281); the 1942 wartime law and the 21-year gap with no federal DST legislation; the Uniform Time Act of 1966 as Pub. L. 89-387, its last-Sunday-in-April start and the state exemption; the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-182), enacted in response to severe energy shortages, and the January 6, 1974 start; the 1986 change to the first Sunday in April; the Energy Policy Act of 2005 moving the start to the second Sunday in March. Energy conservation appears in this account as the stated purpose of the 1918 and 1973 laws; no study of the result is cited.
- Legal Information Institute, 49 CFR 71.2, Annual advancement of standard time — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/71.2 → the current regulation advancing standard time one hour beginning at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March; the Uniform Time Act citation at 15 U.S.C. 260a; the state exemption and the partial exemption for states spanning two time zones.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, govinfo, Bill Status XML for S. 623, 117th Congress (Sunshine Protection Act of 2021) — https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s/BILLSTATUS-117s623.xml → passed the Senate with an amendment by unanimous consent on March 15, 2022; received in the House and held at the desk on March 16, 2022; no House vote in the action history.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, govinfo, Bill Status XML for H.R. 139, 119th Congress (Sunshine Protection Act of 2025) — https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr/BILLSTATUS-119hr139.xml → passed the House 308-117 on July 14, 2026 (Roll no. 238); received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 15, 2026; no later action in a record whose update date is September 8, 2026.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, govinfo, Bill Status XML for S. 29, 119th Congress (Sunshine Protection Act of 2025) — https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s/BILLSTATUS-119s29.xml → introduced January 7, 2025 and referred to Senate Commerce the same day, with no further action in a record whose update date is September 8, 2026.
Note on currency: the bill-status records carry an update date of September 8, 2026, so they establish that no Senate vote had happened by that date, not that none has happened since.
Not claimed, for want of a source: any figure for energy actually saved or lost by daylight saving time, and any health finding about the clock change. The sources above give the legislative intent only.
Rejected as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, and content-farm or AI-generated listicles. Congress.gov refuses automated retrieval, so the bill histories here come from the Government Publishing Office's own Bill Status XML instead.
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