Germany uses Central European Time — Mitteleuropäische Zeit (MEZ), UTC+1 — in winter and Central European Summer Time (MESZ), UTC+2, from late March to late October. Every German city shows the same time.
Where these times apply
All 16 German states share one time. The Büsingen enclave in Switzerland keeps German time, which currently matches Swiss time anyway.
Zeitumstellung: the clock change
Clocks move forward from 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of March and back from 3:00 to 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October, at the same moment as the rest of the EU. Germany has used summer time continuously since 1980.
In 2018 the European Commission proposed ending seasonal clock changes, and the European Parliament supported it in 2019, but member states never agreed on a common approach — so the twice-yearly change continues.
Germany’s official clock
Legal time in Germany is maintained by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, whose atomic clocks drive the DCF77 longwave time signal. Radio-controlled clocks across much of Europe set themselves from it, including at the clock change.
Business hours in Germany
Offices usually work from about 8:00 or 9:00 to 17:00, and many finish earlier on Fridays. Shops are closed on Sundays and public holidays almost everywhere under Germany’s shop-opening laws.
Clock changes in 2026 and 2027
| Zone | 2026 changes | 2027 changes |
|---|---|---|
| Central European Time | 29 Mar, 02:00 → UTC+225 Oct, 03:00 → UTC+1 | 28 Mar, 02:00 → UTC+231 Oct, 03:00 → UTC+1 |