Daylight Saving Time Ends Nov. 1: Clocks Fall Back One Hour

What happened

Daylight saving time ends this weekend. At 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, clocks in most of the U.S. go back one hour to 1 a.m., TIME reports. If you set a clock by hand, the simplest move is to turn it back before bed on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Phones, computers and most internet-connected devices update on their own, The Detroit News notes. Car clocks, ovens, microwaves and older appliances usually need a manual change.

The switch is getting extra attention this year because Congress came closer than usual to ending it. The House voted in July to make daylight saving time permanent, but the Senate never took the bill up, so the twice-a-year change goes ahead.

Who changes clocks and who doesn’t

Most states follow the federal schedule: daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, a calendar in place since 2007.

The Navajo Nation is the exception inside Arizona: it observes daylight saving time even though most of the state does not, according to Farmers’ Almanac.

What “falling back” changes

Moving the clock back gives everyone an extra hour on Sunday morning and shifts daylight from the evening to the morning. Sunrise comes an hour earlier by the clock, and so does sunset. In Detroit, for example, the sun sets around 5:25 p.m. on Nov. 1, The Detroit News reports.

Standard time will last 133 days this cycle, from Nov. 1 until clocks spring forward at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2027. That’s about 19 weeks of earlier evenings.

Why Congress hasn’t ended the time change

The bill in question is the Sunshine Protection Act, whose House sponsor is Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, USA TODAY reports. It would keep the country on daylight saving time all year, while letting states choose permanent standard time instead.

Here’s how it has moved:

• March 2022: An earlier version passed the Senate by unanimous consent, but the House didn’t pass it before that Congress ended.
• July 14, 2026: The House passed the current version, H.R. 139, by 308-117. That’s about 72% of members who voted.
• July 15, 2026: The Senate sent it to the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where it has stayed.

The holdup is in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO this month there was “no clear path forward or consensus,” according to TIME. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has criticized the bill. Opponents argue that year-round daylight saving time would push winter sunrises so late in some places that people would head to work and school in the dark.

President Donald Trump backs the bill. He accused Cotton of holding it up in early October, and on Oct. 26 he faulted senators in a Truth Social post for letting the bill “die,” USA TODAY reports. The Senate is in an election recess until Nov. 6, and no vote is scheduled.

The state laws waiting on Congress

States are allowed to opt out of daylight saving time and stay on standard time all year, which is what Hawaii and most of Arizona do. They are not allowed to stay on daylight saving time all year without Congress.

That hasn’t stopped them from trying. USA TODAY counts 19 states that have passed laws to adopt permanent daylight saving time if federal law ever allows it, starting with Florida in 2018. Some come with conditions: Delaware’s and Utah’s laws would kick in only if neighboring states make the same move. State lawmakers kept at it this year, with 16 states introducing 23 time-related bills in 2026, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures as cited by USA TODAY.

The country has tried year-round daylight saving time before. During the 1970s energy crisis, Congress put much of the nation on it starting in January 1974, then restored standard time that October, Farmers’ Almanac notes.

Getting through the switch

Sleep experts say the fall change is the easier one. Dr. Andrea Matsumura, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told TIME that standard time generally lines up with the body’s internal clock, so most people adjust quickly. She suggests keeping a normal sleep schedule, getting daylight in the morning and avoiding caffeine late in the afternoon. The academy has opposed the permanent daylight saving time bill for the same reason, saying standard time fits human circadian rhythms better.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a health care provider about your situation.

Quick answers

When do clocks go back in 2026?

At 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. Clocks go back to 1 a.m.

Do I lose or gain an hour of sleep?

You gain an hour. Sunday, Nov. 1, has 25 hours on the clock in places that observe the change.

When does daylight saving time start again?

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks spring forward an hour, unless Congress changes the law before then.