Time in Scotland, United Kingdom 🇬🇧
The current local time in Scotland, United Kingdom is anchored on Glasgow. The region uses the Europe/London time zone (UTC +01:00).
Scotland local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 BST
Region information
Scotland
Region of United Kingdom
Population: 5,463,300
Time zone
IANA: Europe/London
UTC offset: +01:00
Daylight saving: Yes — forward 29 March, back 25 October
Country: United Kingdom
How time works in Scotland
Scotland follows UK time — GMT in winter, BST (UTC +01:00) in summer. Being far north and west, Scottish winter mornings are especially dark: sunrise in Edinburgh is after 08:40 in late December.
Public holidays in Scotland in 2026
10 public holidays apply in Scotland, 3 of them regional (marked below) and not observed across all of United Kingdom. National holidays not on Scotland's list: Easter Monday.
| Date | Holiday | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Fri 2 Jan | January 2nd | Regional |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | |
| Mon 4 May | Early May bank holiday | |
| Mon 25 May | Spring bank holiday | |
| Mon 3 Aug | Summer bank holiday | Regional |
| Mon 30 Nov | St Andrew’s Day | Regional |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | |
| Sat 26 Dec | Boxing Day | |
| Mon 28 Dec | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
All United Kingdom holidays, long weekends and bridge days →
Scotland vs. major cities
How far Scotland is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Scotland, 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 Scotland | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −5 h | 04:00 | 14:00–17:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −8 h | 01:00 | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −4 h | 05:00 | 13:00–17:00 |
| Paris · France | +1 h | 10:00 | 09:00–16:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | +1 h | 10:00 | 09:00–16:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +3 h | 12:00 | 09:00–14:00 |
| Delhi · India | +4:30 h | 13:30 | 09:00–12:30 |
| Singapore · Singapore | +7 h | 16:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Beijing · China | +7 h | 16:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Tokyo · Japan | +8 h | 17:00 | None |
Shared office hours are shown in Scotland 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 Scotland
Since 1970, Scotland has gone through 3 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 55 of 57 years. The current pattern, in place since 1972, is UTC +00:00 with UTC +01:00 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 | 01:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
| Sunday, 25 October 2026 | Back 1 hour | 02:00 → 01:00 | UTC +00:00 |
| Sunday, 28 March 2027 | Forward 1 hour | 01:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
| Sunday, 31 October 2027 | Back 1 hour | 02:00 → 01:00 | UTC +00:00 |
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 (3 periods)
| Years | Offset | Daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | UTC +01:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1971 | UTC +00:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1972–2026 | UTC +00:00, DST UTC +01:00 | 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
Scotland time questions
- What time zone is Scotland in?
- Most of Scotland uses the Europe/London time zone: UTC +00:00, +01:00 during DST. Some areas differ — see the notes on this page.
- Does Scotland observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. In 2026 clocks go forward on Sunday, 29 March 2026 at 01:00 and go back on Sunday, 25 October 2026 at 02:00.
- How many public holidays does Scotland have in 2026?
- 10 public holidays apply in Scotland in 2026, including 3 that are not on the national list: January 2nd (Friday 2 January), Summer bank holiday (Monday 3 August), St Andrew’s Day (Monday 30 November). National holidays not kept in Scotland: Easter Monday.
Explore Scotland
More on Scotland: the country overview, the exact IANA zone, and tools for Glasgow.