What is the time zone of Georgia?
The state of Georgia is in the Eastern Time zone. All counties and cities of the state have the same time zone, there are no exceptions. Georgia is observing daylight savings so there are two different clocks depending on the time of the year.
- Eastern Standard Time (EST): – 5:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
- Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): – 4:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
| Eastern Time |
| |
The neighbouring states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are in the same time zone. This also applies to the full southern border with Texas. You will enter the Central time zone when crossing the border with Alabama and the south western tip of Texas (Jackson county).
Georgia Daylight savings time (DST)
Georgia is using daylight savings as also documented in the Uniform Time Act of 1966. During daylight savings the time changes from Eastern Standard time (EST) to Eastern Daylight time (EDT).
It starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In March the clock is moved forward from 02.00 am to 03.00 am (so you will lose an hour of sleep during the night). In November it’s reversed as the clock is moved backward from 03.00 am to 02.00 am and you will gain an extra hour of sleep. One way of remembering the movement sequence is that clocks “spring forward and fall back”.
The total period of daylight savings lasts for 34 weeks which is about 65% of the year.
Georgia time news, bills and legislation
There is a continuous debate about which time should be applied. Several bills have been introduced to legalize daylight saving time as the year-round clock, whereas others try to align the time with bordering counties or states. The table below gives an overview of the latest bills in the state of Georgia.
| Date | Bill | Status/Action | Title/summary |
| 1 Jul 2021 | SB100 | Effective Date | A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall observe standard time year round |
| 29 Mar 2021 | HB44 | Senate Tabled | A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall observe daylight savings time year round; |
| 18 Feb 2021 | SB100 | Intro, Senate Read Second Time | A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall observe standard time year round until such tim... |
| 9 Dec 2020 | SB13 | Senate Prefiled | PF: A BILL to be entitled an Act to provide for the holding of a nonbinding, advisory referendum election to determine whether the qualified electors of the State of Georgia desire to continue the advancement of time from standard time to daylight sa... |
| 29 Jan 2021 | HB44 | Intro, House Committee Favorably Reported | A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall observe daylight savings time year round; to pr... |
| 15 Dec 2020 | HB44 | House Prefiled | A bill to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall observe daylight savings time year round; to provide for contingent effectiveness; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. |
| 9 Dec 2020 | SB13 | Senate Prefiled | To provide for the holding of a nonbinding, advisory referendum election to determine whether the qualified electors of the State of Georgia desire to continue the advancement of time from standard time to daylight saving time or to observe standard time or daylight saving time year round; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. |
| 8 Dec 2020 | SB12 | Senate Prefiled | A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to state government, so as to provide that this state shall at all times observe the standard time of the United States; to exempt this state from the daylight saving advancement of time provisions of the United States Code; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. |
Other US states
You can check out information and maps of other US states by clicking on the below links.