Mexico Current Time & Time Zone & Time Zone Map

How many time zones does Mexico have?

Mexico has four official time zones, from west to east: Northwest, Pacific, Central, and Southeast. Most of the country sits on Central Time (UTC−06:00 year-round). This page shows four live cards for those zones, with example cities Tijuana, Hermosillo, Mexico City, and Cancún.

Since a 2022 federal reform, most of Mexico does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The main exceptions are Baja California (statewide) and certain northern border municipalities, which keep changing clocks so they stay aligned with neighboring U.S. states.

What do Mexico’s time zones cover?

Below are the four zones on our map, with their usual UTC offsets and the IANA identifiers used by the clocks on this page.

Northwest Zone (IANA ID: America/Tijuana)

Standard: UTC−08:00 (PST) | Daylight: UTC−07:00 (PDT).
Covers the state of Baja California. It follows the same Pacific Time DST schedule as California. Example city on this page: Tijuana.

Pacific Zone (IANA ID: America/Hermosillo)

UTC−07:00 year-round (no DST on this card).
The Pacific Zone covers Sonora, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and related areas. This page uses Hermosillo (America/Hermosillo) as the example—Sonora stays on Mountain Standard Time year-round to match Arizona. Other Pacific Zone places are commonly represented in IANA as America/Mazatlan; since 2022 they also stay on UTC−07:00 year-round.

Central Zone (IANA ID: America/Mexico_City)

UTC−06:00 year-round for most of the zone (no DST since 2022).
Covers most of Mexico, including Mexico City and the bulk of the mainland. A few northern border municipalities still observe DST to match U.S. Central Time. Example city on this page: Mexico City.

Southeast Zone (IANA ID: America/Cancun)

UTC−05:00 year-round (no DST).
Covers Quintana Roo, including Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum—one hour ahead of Mexico City. Example city on this page: Cancún.

Who sets Mexico’s time zones?

Mexico’s legal time zones are set by federal law (the Law on Time Zones in the United Mexican States / Ley de los Husos Horarios), not by each state inventing its own clock. Congress defines the zone map and whether Daylight Saving Time applies.

That is why the 2022 reform could drop DST for most of the country in one step, while still allowing Baja California and selected northern border municipalities to keep the U.S. schedule for cross-border work, travel, and trade.

How does Daylight Saving Time work in Mexico?

For most of Mexico—including Mexico City, Hermosillo, and Cancún—clocks do not change with the seasons.

Where DST still applies (Baja California and certain municipalities in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas), clocks follow the common North American dates used in much of the United States:

• Spring forward: second Sunday in March, at 2:00 a.m. local standard time (clocks jump to 3:00 a.m.).
• Fall back: first Sunday in November, at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time (clocks go back to 1:00 a.m.).

On this page, the Northwest card (Tijuana) changes with DST. The Pacific, Central, and Southeast cards stay on fixed offsets year-round.

What is the time difference across Mexico?

Relative to Mexico City (Central Zone, UTC−06:00 year-round on this page), the usual gaps are:

• Tijuana (Northwest): 2 hours behind in winter (PST); 1 hour behind in summer (PDT).
• Hermosillo (Pacific): 1 hour behind year-round.
• Cancún (Southeast): 1 hour ahead year-round.

For cities outside Mexico, use Mexico ↔ Regional Compare above to line up Oceania, Asia, or Europe next to Mexico’s primary zones, with a live converter against Mexico City. You can also try our World Meeting Planner or Time Zone Converter.

A brief history of Mexico’s time zones

Mexico long used a nationwide Daylight Saving Time schedule (with Sonora as a long-standing year-round exception, aligned with Arizona). Baja California has followed a Pacific-style DST pattern for decades so Tijuana stays in sync with California.

In 2022, federal law abolished DST for most of the country after the last fall-back that October. Baja California kept statewide DST, and selected northern border municipalities kept the U.S. clock-change dates so border cities would not drift an hour apart from their U.S. neighbors.

Where this page’s time data comes from

The clocks and zone labels on this page follow the IANA Time Zone Database. Tijuana (America/Tijuana) changes with Daylight Saving Time; Hermosillo, Mexico City, and Cancún stay on fixed standard offsets on these cards. For a broader overview of Mexican time zones, see Time in Mexico (opens in new tab). For the U.S. side of the border, see our U.S. time zone page.