Is daylight saving time permanent?

No. Daylight saving time is not permanent in the United States; federal law makes it a seasonal change that starts and ends on set dates every year.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 260a, clocks move ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and return to standard time at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, so in 2026 daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1. The law lets a state that lies entirely within one time zone exempt itself and stay on standard time all year, and a state split across time zones may exempt the whole state or the part in one zone. It does not let a state stay on daylight saving time year-round: Congress declared that the section overrides any state or local law that sets different time changes or changeover dates. The current March and November dates come from a 2005 amendment (Pub. L. 109–58), which replaced the earlier April and October dates. The Secretary of Transportation can ask a federal court to enforce these rules.

Source: 15 U.S. Code § 260a, Advancement of time or changeover dates (Cornell Legal Information Institute)

Image: Daylight saving time graphic by James Rainier, U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.



Related answers

Leave a Comment