Time zone
CET / CEST — the standard and daylight abbreviations for Amsterdam.
Check the current time in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam runs on Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) and switches to CEST (UTC+2) for the summer.
The key facts for Amsterdam, Netherlands, and how its clock relates to UTC.
Today’s sun times for Amsterdam, the next clock change, and the current gap to other major cities.
Choose a date to see where a 09:00 start lands around the world.
Amsterdam follows Central European Time, sitting at UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 (CEST) in summer along with most of continental Europe. Curiously, the Netherlands once kept its own 'Amsterdam Time' offset of UTC+0:19:32 in the early twentieth century before standardizing onto the wider European clock. Today the city changes its clocks on the last Sundays of March and October. The Dutch parliament has shown interest in the EU proposal to abolish daylight saving, but the seasonal switch remains in effect across the bloc.
Amsterdam changes its clocks for daylight saving time, so its exact UTC offset depends on the season (UTC+1 (UTC+2 in summer)). The live clock above reads Amsterdam's local time directly from the IANA time zone database in your browser, using the rules installed on your device. Keep your browser updated when regional rules change. To plan a call or convert a specific moment, use the timezone converter or meeting planner linked below.
Amsterdam sits at about 52.4°N, 4.9°E. The longest day of 2026 is June 18, with 16h 48m between sunrise and sunset. The shortest is December 22, with 7h 40m, a difference of 9 h 8 min. This far from the equator the swing is large: winter days are short and summer evenings stay light very late.
The earliest sunrise of the year comes around June 14 (05:17) and the latest sunset around June 20 (22:06). These are not exactly on the solstice because the sun’s position runs slightly ahead of or behind clock time during the year.
Solar noon, when the sun is highest, falls at about 12:47 local time in late March, 13:42 in late June and 12:38 in late December. In standard time the sun is highest at about 12:40 on average, roughly 40 minutes after 12:00, so the civil clock runs ahead of sun time and evenings feel late in Amsterdam. During daylight saving time everything moves an hour later on the clock.
| Date (2026) | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 | 08:37 | 17:05 | 8h 29m |
| Feb 21 | 07:44 | 18:03 | 10h 19m |
| Mar 21 | 06:41 | 18:53 | 12h 13m |
| Apr 21 | 06:30 | 20:47 | 14h 17m |
| May 21 | 05:36 | 21:37 | 16h 01m |
| Jun 21 | 05:17 | 22:06 | 16h 48m |
| Jul 21 | 05:43 | 21:49 | 16h 06m |
| Aug 21 | 06:32 | 20:54 | 14h 22m |
| Sep 21 | 07:24 | 19:43 | 12h 19m |
| Oct 21 | 08:15 | 18:34 | 10h 19m |
| Nov 21 | 08:11 | 16:41 | 8h 29m |
| Dec 21 | 08:48 | 16:28 | 7h 41m |
Amsterdam changes its clocks twice in 2026. On a change night, the local time skips or repeats a block of time, and the gap to other cities shifts unless they change on the same date.
Recurring meetings set in Amsterdam time stay at the same local hour; participants elsewhere see the meeting move by an hour for the weeks when only one side has changed.
Amsterdam uses Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) in winter and Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) in summer.
Yes. Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin all share Central European Time and change their clocks on the same dates.
Yes. Clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October.
Compare Amsterdam with other major world clocks.
Background guides that explain how Amsterdam's clock relates to the rest of the world.