Time in Ceará, Brazil 🇧🇷
The current local time in Ceará, Brazil is anchored on Fortaleza. The state uses the America/Fortaleza time zone (UTC -03:00).
Ceará local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 GMT-3
State information
Ceará
State of Brazil
Time difference across Brazil
How the clock in Ceará compares with other Brazil regions on this site. Where the January and July figures differ, only one side observes daylight saving time.
| Region | Time zone | January | July |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazonas | America/Manaus | −1 h | −1 h |
| Bahia | America/Bahia | Same time | Same time |
| Rio de Janeiro | America/Sao_Paulo | Same time | Same time |
| São Paulo | America/Sao_Paulo | Same time | Same time |
Public holidays in Ceará in 2026
13 public holidays apply in Ceará, 1 of them regional (marked below) and not observed across all of Brazil.
| Date | Holiday | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Wed 25 Mar | Data magna do estado | Regional |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | |
| Tue 21 Apr | Tiradentes' Day | |
| Fri 1 May | Labour Day | |
| Mon 7 Sept | Independence Day | |
| Sun 4 Oct | Election Day | |
| Mon 12 Oct | Our Lady of Aparecida | |
| Sun 25 Oct | Election Day | |
| Mon 2 Nov | All Souls' Day | |
| Sun 15 Nov | Republic Day | |
| Fri 20 Nov | Black Awareness Day | |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day |
Ceará vs. major cities
How far Ceará is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Ceará, 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 Ceará | 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 Ceará 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 Ceará
Since 1970, Ceará 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: Ceará 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.
Ceará time questions
- What time zone is Ceará in?
- Ceará uses the America/Fortaleza time zone: UTC -03:00.
- Does Ceará observe daylight saving time?
- No. Ceará keeps the same clock all year, so its time difference with places that do change (in Brazil or abroad) shifts by an hour twice a year.
- How many public holidays does Ceará have in 2026?
- 13 public holidays apply in Ceará in 2026, including 1 that are not on the national list: Data magna do estado (Wednesday 25 March).
Explore Ceará
More on Ceará: the country overview, the exact IANA zone, and tools for Fortaleza.