Time in Fortaleza, Brazil 🇧🇷
The current local time in Fortaleza, Brazil is shown below — the city is in the America/Fortaleza time zone (UTC -03:00).
Fortaleza local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 GMT-3
Fortaleza at a glance
- Time zone
America/Fortaleza- UTC offset now
- -03:00 GMT-3
- Daylight saving
- No · UTC -03:00 all year
- Coordinates
- 3.73° S, 38.53° W
- Population
- 2,428,708
- Country
- Brazil · ISO BR
- Dialing code
- +55
- Currency
- Brazilian Real (BRL)
- Work week
- Monday to Friday
- Drives on the
- Right
Fortaleza right now
Time difference
Fortaleza is shown here relative to your device's time zone.
Planning a call? Compare hours side by side in the time zone converter.
Upcoming public holidays
- Election Day Sun, Oct 25, 2026
- All Souls' Day Mon, Nov 2, 2026
- Republic Day Sun, Nov 15, 2026
- Black Awareness Day Fri, Nov 20, 2026
Sun today
Sunrise 05:13 · Sunset 17:26
Day length 12h 13m · twilight and monthly table →
Fortaleza time vs. UTC
A 09:00–17:00 working day in Fortaleza overlaps with 09:00–17:00 UTC from 09:00 to 14:00 Fortaleza time. Open this page in your browser and the second row switches to your own time zone.
| Fortaleza | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 |
- Office hours 09–17
- Awake, off work
- Night 22–07
Fortaleza vs. major cities
How far Fortaleza is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Fortaleza, 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 Fortaleza | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −4 h | 05:00 | 13:00–17:00 |
| São Paulo · Brazil | Same time | 09:00 | 09:00–17:00 |
| London · United Kingdom | +4 h | 13:00 | 09:00–13:00 |
| Paris · France | +5 h | 14:00 | 09:00–12:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | +5 h | 14:00 | 09:00–12:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +7 h | 16:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Delhi · India | +8:30 h | 17:30 | None |
| Singapore · Singapore | +11 h | 20:00 | None |
| Beijing · China | +11 h | 20:00 | None |
Shared office hours are shown in Fortaleza 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.
Cities near Fortaleza
The closest places to Fortaleza among the cities we track, measured in a straight line from the city centre. Some of them keep a different clock, so check the time difference before crossing a border or booking a call.
| City | Distance | Time difference |
|---|---|---|
| Salvador | 1,030 km (640 mi) south | Same time |
| Brasília | 1,690 km (1,050 mi) southwest | Same time |
| Rio de Janeiro | 2,190 km (1,360 mi) south | Same time |
| São Paulo | 2,370 km (1,470 mi) south | Same time |
| Manaus | 2,390 km (1,480 mi) west | −1 h |
| Dakar · Senegal | 3,100 km (1,920 mi) northeast | +3 h |
| Caracas · Venezuela | 3,520 km (2,190 mi) northwest | −1 h |
| Montevideo · Uruguay | 3,910 km (2,430 mi) southwest | Same time |
Distances are great-circle distances. A plus sign means the other city is ahead of Fortaleza.
Clock time vs. sun time in Fortaleza
Fortaleza's standard offset, UTC -03:00, is based on the 45° W meridian; the city itself lies at 38.53° W, 6.5° east of it. In standard time its clocks run about 26 min behind the sun. Solar noon — when the sun is highest — falls between 11:18 (around 5 November) and 11:49 (around 5 February) on the clock. Mornings get light earlier and evenings get dark sooner than the clock suggests.
How dates and times are written in Fortaleza
- Short date
- 22/10/2026 · DD/MM/YYYY
- Long date
- 22 de outubro de 2026
- Time
- 15:30 · 24-hour clock
- Week starts on
- Sunday
Examples show 22 October 2026 at 15:30 using the Unicode CLDR conventions for pt-BR, Brazil's most common locale. Businesses and English-language sources may use other formats.
Clock changes in Fortaleza
Since 1970, Fortaleza has gone through 8 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 5 of 57 years. Since 2002 it has stayed on UTC -03:00 all year.
No clock changes are scheduled in 2026 or 2027: Fortaleza stays on UTC -03:00 all year.
Time zone history since 1970 (8 periods)
| Years | Offset | Daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–1984 | UTC -03:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1985 | UTC -02:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1986–1989 | UTC -03:00, DST UTC -02:00 | Daylight saving dates varied from year to year |
| 1990–1998 | UTC -03:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1999 | UTC -02:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 2000 | UTC -03:00, DST UTC -02:00 | Forward on the second Sunday in October, back on the last Sunday in February |
| 2001 | UTC -02:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 2002–2026 | UTC -03:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Daylight in Fortaleza through the year
The longest day in Fortaleza is 22 December with 12h 20m of daylight; the shortest is 21 June with 11h 54m. Day length barely changes — the gap between the longest and shortest day is only 0 h 26 min, typical of places near the equator. The earliest sunrise is at 05:11 on 30 October and the latest sunset at 17:57 on 1 February — not on the solstice itself, because solar noon drifts through the year.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Fortaleza in?
Fortaleza uses the America/Fortaleza time zone: UTC -03:00 all year round. Brazil spans more than one time zone, so other cities in the country may show a different time.
Does Fortaleza observe daylight saving time?
No. Fortaleza does not currently change its clocks; it last observed daylight saving time in 2000.
When is the longest day of the year in Fortaleza?
Around 22 December, with 12h 20m of daylight. The shortest day is around 21 June, with 11h 54m.
What is the dialing code for Fortaleza?
To call Fortaleza from abroad, dial your international access code, then Brazil's country code +55, then the local number without its leading trunk prefix.
What are normal working days in Fortaleza?
The standard work week in Brazil runs Monday to Friday, with the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Keep this in mind when scheduling calls from countries with a different weekend.
Why is sunrise so early in Fortaleza?
Fortaleza lies at 38.53° W, 6.5° east of the 45° W meridian its UTC -03:00 offset is based on, so its clocks run about 26 min behind the sun. Solar noon falls between 11:18 and 11:49 through the year instead of around 12:00, and the earliest sunrise is at 05:11 on 30 October.
What is the nearest city to Fortaleza on a different time?
Of the 189 cities we track, the closest one keeping a different clock is Manaus, about 2,390 km (1,480 mi) to the west. It is 1 h behind Fortaleza.
How are dates and times written in Fortaleza?
Following the pt-BR conventions in the Unicode CLDR, a short date is written DD/MM/YYYY (22/10/2026) and times usually use the 24-hour clock (15:30). Calendars start the week on Sunday.
Explore more for Fortaleza
Everything else we track for Fortaleza: daylight, weather, the country overview, and the exact time-zone references.