Daylight saving time officially ends across the United States at 2 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, requiring residents to turn their clocks back one hour as the nation returns to standard time.
The twice-yearly ritual of adjusting clocks occurs on the Sunday after Halloween. While electronic devices update automatically, wall clocks and analog timepieces require manual intervention to align with the official time maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The Regulatory Framework and History of Time Changes
The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees time zones and the observance of daylight saving time. Meanwhile, NIST functions as the official timekeeper for the country, tracking the shifts that move an hour of daylight between morning and evening. Formalized in the U.S. in 1918, the practice aims to create “more sunlit hours in the evening during months when the weather is the warmest.” The NIST notes that the transition to standard time effectively moves one hour of daylight from the evening to the morning.
Despite more than a century of implementation, the system continues to generate public grumbles twice a year, except in areas, provinces, states or countries that do not observe daylight saving time.
Legislative Efforts to Lock the Clock
Efforts to abolish the bi-annual time change have repeatedly stalled in Washington. The Sunshine Protection Act, first introduced in March 2018 by Marco Rubio and Rep. Vern Buchanan, sought to extend daylight saving time permanently across all 12 months. Lawmakers reintroduced the measure in 2019, 2021, and 2023 without securing passage in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In January 2025, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott introduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 to officially “lock the clock”, end the twice-yearly time change and make daylight saving time the national year-round standard across the U.S. The House of Representatives voted in favor of the measure in July 2026, leaving the decision of permanent daylight saving time up to individual states. However, the U.S. Senate scheduled no vote before lawmakers left the Capitol for a recess/break, returning to Capitol Hill only after the Nov. 1 time change.
Scheduled Time Changes Through 2036
Because permanent federal legislation remains unpassed, federal schedules dictate the exact transition dates for the next decade. Residents can expect the twice-yearly pattern of falling back and springing forward to continue without interruption:
- 2027: Spring forward on Sunday, March 14; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 7.
- 2028: Spring forward on Sunday, March 12; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 5.
- 2029: Spring forward on Sunday, March 11; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 4.
- 2030: Spring forward on Sunday, March 10; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 3.
- 2031: Spring forward on Sunday, March 9; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 2.
- 2032: Spring forward on Sunday, March 14; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 7.
- 2033: Spring forward on Sunday, March 13; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 6.
- 2034: Spring forward on Sunday, March 12; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 5.
- 2035: Spring forward on Sunday, March 11; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 4.
- 2036: Spring forward on Sunday, March 9; Fall back on Sunday, Nov. 2.
