Time in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 🇩🇪
The current local time in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is anchored on Cologne. The region uses the Europe/Berlin time zone (UTC +02:00).
North Rhine-Westphalia local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 CEST
Region information
North Rhine-Westphalia
Region of Germany
Population: 17,925,570
Time zone
IANA: Europe/Berlin
UTC offset: +02:00
Daylight saving: Yes — forward 29 March, back 25 October
Country: Germany
Public holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2026
13 public holidays apply in North Rhine-Westphalia, 2 of them regional (marked below) and not observed across all of Germany.
| Date | Holiday | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | |
| Mon 6 Apr | Easter Monday | |
| Fri 1 May | Labour Day | |
| Thu 14 May | Ascension Day | |
| Mon 25 May | Whit Monday | |
| Thu 4 Jun | Corpus Christi | Regional |
| Sat 3 Oct | National Holiday | |
| Sun 1 Nov | All Saints' Day | Regional |
| Thu 24 Dec | Christmas Eve | |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | |
| Sat 26 Dec | Boxing Day | |
| Thu 31 Dec | New Year's Eve |
North Rhine-Westphalia vs. major cities
How far North Rhine-Westphalia is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in North Rhine-Westphalia, 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 North Rhine-Westphalia | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −6 h | 03:00 | 15:00–17:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −9 h | 00:00 | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −5 h | 04:00 | 14:00–17:00 |
| London · United Kingdom | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Paris · France | Same time | 09:00 | 09:00–17:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | Same time | 09:00 | 09:00–17:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +2 h | 11:00 | 09:00–15:00 |
| Delhi · India | +3:30 h | 12:30 | 09:00–13:30 |
| Singapore · Singapore | +6 h | 15:00 | 09:00–11:00 |
| Beijing · China | +6 h | 15:00 | 09:00–11:00 |
Shared office hours are shown in North Rhine-Westphalia 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 North Rhine-Westphalia
Since 1970, North Rhine-Westphalia has gone through 2 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 47 of 57 years. The current pattern, in place since 1980, is UTC +01:00 with UTC +02:00 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 | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
| Sunday, 25 October 2026 | Back 1 hour | 03:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
| Sunday, 28 March 2027 | Forward 1 hour | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
| Sunday, 31 October 2027 | Back 1 hour | 03:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–1979 | UTC +01:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1980–2026 | UTC +01:00, DST UTC +02:00 | 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.
Other cities in the same time zone
North Rhine-Westphalia time questions
- What time zone is North Rhine-Westphalia in?
- North Rhine-Westphalia uses the Europe/Berlin time zone: UTC +01:00, +02:00 during DST.
- Does North Rhine-Westphalia observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. In 2026 clocks go forward on Sunday, 29 March 2026 at 02:00 and go back on Sunday, 25 October 2026 at 03:00.
- How many public holidays does North Rhine-Westphalia have in 2026?
- 13 public holidays apply in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2026, including 2 that are not on the national list: Corpus Christi (Thursday 4 June), All Saints' Day (Sunday 1 November).
Explore North Rhine-Westphalia
More on North Rhine-Westphalia: the country overview, the exact IANA zone, and tools for Cologne.