Time in Bulgaria 🇧🇬
The current local time in Bulgaria is anchored on Sofia (Europe/Sofia, UTC +03:00 · EEST).
Sofia local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 EEST
Bulgaria at a glance
- Capital
- Sofia
- ISO codes
- BG · BGR
- Clocks in use today
- One time zone
- tz database zones
- 1
- Dialing code
- +359
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Work week
- Monday to Friday
- Weekend
- Saturday and Sunday
- Drives on the
- Right
Time zones in Bulgaria
All of Bulgaria keeps the same clock: UTC +02:00 in standard time and UTC +03:00 during daylight saving time.
| Zone | Standard | Daylight saving | Clock changes 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Europe/Sofia · Sofia | UTC +02:00 | UTC +03:00 | Forward 29 March · Back 25 October |
Sofia vs. major cities
How far Sofia is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Sofia, and which hours of a 09:00–17:00 day the two places share. Daylight saving changes are applied automatically.
| City | Difference | At 09:00 in Sofia | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −7 h | 02:00 | 16:00–17:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −10 h | 23:00 (prev. day) | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −6 h | 03:00 | 15:00–17:00 |
| London · United Kingdom | −2 h | 07:00 | 11:00–17:00 |
| Paris · France | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +1 h | 10:00 | 09:00–16:00 |
| Delhi · India | +2:30 h | 11:30 | 09:00–14:30 |
| Singapore · Singapore | +5 h | 14:00 | 09:00–12:00 |
| Beijing · China | +5 h | 14:00 | 09:00–12:00 |
Shared office hours are shown in Sofia time. Compare any set of cities hour by hour in the time zone converter, or pick a slot that suits everyone with the event planner.
Clock changes in Sofia
Since 1970, Sofia has gone through 2 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 48 of 57 years. The current pattern, in place since 1979, is UTC +02:00 with UTC +03:00 in daylight saving time. Clocks currently go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, a rule in place since 1996.
| Date | Change | Local clock | New offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 29 March 2026 | Forward 1 hour | 03:00 → 04:00 | UTC +03:00 |
| Sunday, 25 October 2026 | Back 1 hour | 04:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
| Sunday, 28 March 2027 | Forward 1 hour | 03:00 → 04:00 | UTC +03:00 |
| Sunday, 31 October 2027 | Back 1 hour | 04:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
When clocks go forward, sunrise and sunset both happen an hour later by the clock — darker mornings, lighter evenings — and the night of the change is an hour shorter. When they go back, the reverse applies.
Time zone history since 1970 (2 periods)
| Years | Offset | Daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–1978 | UTC +02:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1979–2026 | UTC +02:00, DST UTC +03:00 | Forward on the last Sunday in March, back on the last Sunday in October (since 1996) |
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Explore Bulgaria
Go deeper on Bulgaria: capital time, regions, sunrise times, weather, and public holidays.