Daylight saving time ends across most of the United States today, Sunday, November 1, 2026. At 2 a.m. local time, clocks move back to 1 a.m., which returns the country to standard time and gives most people an extra hour on the clock. The change also means earlier sunsets, a few devices that need a manual fix, and a fresh round of debate over whether Americans should keep switching clocks at all.

Key facts

  • Clocks "fall back" on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. local time, moving to 1 a.m.
  • Under federal law, daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
  • The next change is Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks jump forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.
  • Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands also skip the change.
  • The Sunshine Protection Act, a bill aimed at ending the seasonal switch, is not law. Unless that changes, today's clock change stands.

What changed

Nothing about the schedule itself changed this year. The calendar rule is set by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology lists the 2026 daylight saving period as March 8 at 2 a.m. through November 1 at 2 a.m. local time, according to the Farmers' Almanac.

What readers will notice is the practical side. At the moment of the change, the clock goes from 1:59 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m., so the 1 a.m. hour happens twice. For most people that simply means an hour of extra sleep, as Time Out points out. The light shifts too: sunrise and sunset arrive roughly an hour earlier by the clock, so evenings get dark much sooner, according to FOX 5 New York.

It is worth remembering that the change does not alter the amount of daylight in a day. It only moves when that daylight shows up on the clock.

Which devices fix themselves

Smartphones, computers, smart TVs, connected smart-home devices and many newer appliances normally update on their own. Items that usually need a manual adjustment include:

  • Analog wall clocks and wristwatches
  • Car dashboard clocks
  • Microwaves and ovens
  • Older digital clocks and alarm clocks without internet connections

FOX 5 New York suggests handling the manual clocks before bed on Saturday, October 31. If that was missed, Sunday morning works just as well.

Who it affects

Most Americans are affected, but not everyone. Residents of Hawaii and most of Arizona do not change their clocks. The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time even though most of Arizona does not, according to the Farmers' Almanac, so it does shift. Anyone who schedules calls or runs a business across regions should also keep in mind that the time gap between places that change and places that do not will move by an hour.

Households with early risers or young children may feel the shift in the first few days, since morning light comes sooner and the evening commute gets darker. Drivers, walkers and cyclists heading home after work may want to plan for lower light earlier in the evening. Shift workers, people who travel for work and anyone who relies on exact timing, such as people caring for others on a medication schedule, should double-check any time-based reminders that do not adjust automatically. For questions about health, sleep or medication, a doctor or pharmacist is the right person to ask.

What to watch next

The bigger story is whether this is one of the last times the country changes its clocks. According to the Farmers' Almanac, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 139) on July 14, 2026, by a vote of 308 to 117. The bill was received in the Senate the next day and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. As of September 23, 2026, the Almanac reports it had not advanced further.

That means several steps remain: the Senate would need to pass the measure, and both chambers would need to agree on identical text before it could be signed into law. A separate Senate bill, S. 29, is also sitting in the same committee. The House text, per the Almanac's reading, has no delayed effective date, which is why the outlet notes it could remove the November fall-back if it were enacted. Whether the Senate will take up the bill, and when, is not yet confirmed.

The Almanac also notes that states can currently choose standard time but cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time on their own. Readers who want to follow the bill can look up H.R. 139 through the U.S. Government Publishing Office or check the National Conference of State Legislatures' daylight saving tracker for state-level proposals.

History offers a caution. Congress put much of the country on year-round daylight saving time in January 1974 during the energy crisis, then restored standard time in October 1974, before the planned run ended. The Senate also passed a permanent-daylight-saving bill by unanimous consent in March 2022, but the House did not act on it before that Congress ended.

FAQ

Do I gain or lose an hour today?

You gain one. Clocks go from 2 a.m. back to 1 a.m., so the night is an hour longer on the clock.

Will daylight saving time end for good soon?

Not yet. The bill to change the system has cleared the House, according to the Farmers' Almanac, but it is not law, and the Senate has not finished its work. Until a new federal law is enacted, clocks go back today and forward again on March 14, 2027.

Which places do not change their clocks?

Hawaii and most of Arizona, plus the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Sources

This article is an independent summary based on the sources listed above.