Time systems, calendar references, and timezone tools.

Time-zone reference

Central European Time

CET is the standard winter-time label used across much of mainland western and central Europe.

Enable JavaScript for the live regional clock.

CET and the summer-time distinction

Central European Time is UTC+01:00. The Paris reference clock can move to Central European Summer Time at UTC+02:00. Read the current offset beside the clock when you need the actual time in Paris.

For a recurring mainland-European meeting, choose the organizing city’s IANA identifier. A fixed CET appointment preserves UTC+01:00, while an appointment in Europe/Paris follows the local regional rules.

Conversion example

15:00 CET is 14:00 UTC. 15:00 CEST is 13:00 UTC. The same written hour therefore describes two different instants.

A common scheduling mistake

CET is not a generic label for every local clock reading in central Europe throughout the year.

Regional rules: IANA Time Zone Database Our calculation methods

What this abbreviation usually means

This page uses Paris as the display reference and explains the shift to CEST during the daylight-saving part of the year.

Reference offset

CET is commonly associated with UTC+1 in standard time. The live clock shows the current regional offset separately.

Representative locations

Paris, Berlin, Rome provide regional reference points. Always check each city’s local offset for the appointment date.

DST handling

This abbreviation belongs to a zone family that changes offset seasonally, so the exact relation to UTC depends on the date.

Best next step

Use the dedicated converter when you need to translate a specific meeting or timestamp between this zone and another one.

CET conversion chart

Each hour of CET (UTC+1) converted to other common standard-time abbreviations. “+1” and “−1” mark the next or previous calendar day.

CET to other time zones, hour by hour
CETUTCPSTESTGMTISTJST
00:0023:00−115:00−118:00−123:00−104:3008:00
01:0000:0016:00−119:00−100:0005:3009:00
02:0001:0017:00−120:00−101:0006:3010:00
03:0002:0018:00−121:00−102:0007:3011:00
04:0003:0019:00−122:00−103:0008:3012:00
05:0004:0020:00−123:00−104:0009:3013:00
06:0005:0021:00−100:0005:0010:3014:00
07:0006:0022:00−101:0006:0011:3015:00
08:0007:0023:00−102:0007:0012:3016:00
09:0008:0000:0003:0008:0013:3017:00
10:0009:0001:0004:0009:0014:3018:00
11:0010:0002:0005:0010:0015:3019:00
12:0011:0003:0006:0011:0016:3020:00
13:0012:0004:0007:0012:0017:3021:00
14:0013:0005:0008:0013:0018:3022:00
15:0014:0006:0009:0014:0019:3023:00
16:0015:0007:0010:0015:0020:3000:00+1
17:0016:0008:0011:0016:0021:3001:00+1
18:0017:0009:0012:0017:0022:3002:00+1
19:0018:0010:0013:0018:0023:3003:00+1
20:0019:0011:0014:0019:0000:30+104:00+1
21:0020:0012:0015:0020:0001:30+105:00+1
22:0021:0013:0016:0021:0002:30+106:00+1
23:0022:0014:0017:0022:0003:30+107:00+1

The chart uses each abbreviation’s fixed standard offset. In summer many of these regions switch to daylight labels (EDT, PDT, BST, CEST, AEDT), so for a real meeting use the time zone converter with the meeting date.

Where CET is used

These cities on our world clock use CET during standard time and CEST during daylight saving time:

When CET and CEST switch in Paris

  • : CEST begins — at 02:00 local time clocks go forward to 03:00.
  • : CET resumes — at 03:00 local time clocks go back to 02:00.
  • : CEST begins — at 02:00 local time clocks go forward to 03:00.
  • : CET resumes — at 03:00 local time clocks go back to 02:00.

Dates for Europe/Paris from the IANA time zone database bundled with this build. Other regions using CET can switch on different dates.

CET questions

What is CET in UTC?

CET (Central European Time) is UTC+1, 1 hours ahead of UTC. To convert CET to UTC, subtract 1 hour: 12:00 CET is 11:00 UTC.

Is CET the same as CEST?

No. CET is the standard-time label and CEST is the daylight-saving label for the same region, one hour ahead. Most places that use CET in winter switch to CEST in summer, so a time written as CET during the summer months is usually a mislabel for CEST. When in doubt, name the city or use the IANA zone Europe/Paris.

Which cities use CET?

Cities on our world clock that use CET in standard time include Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Zurich.

Compare CET with related zones

These are the abbreviations people most often compare against this reference.

GMT Open the GMT reference page and compare it directly with CET. EET Open the EET reference page and compare it directly with CET. UTC Open the UTC reference page and compare it directly with CET. Timezone Converter Convert a specific date and time between CET and any other major world zone.