Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026. At 2 a.m. local time, clocks move back one hour to 1 a.m., and most of the United States returns to standard time. That means one extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning — and earlier sunsets for the months ahead.
This year the timing is getting extra attention for a simple reason: Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, the night before the time change. So Americans get a Saturday night of trick-or-treating and Halloween parties, and then an extra hour of sleep as the clocks fall back early Sunday morning. It is a rare back-to-back weekend pairing, and it is one reason searches for the time change are surging this week.
What we know / What we don’t know
What we know:
- Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when clocks go back one hour to 1 a.m.
- The date is set by federal law: daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November each year.
- November 1, 2026, is the first Sunday of November, and it is the earliest possible date for the fall time change.
- Hawaii and most of Arizona do not change their clocks, along with American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Congress has not passed a law to stop the clock changes, so the November 1 change is still on schedule.
What we don’t know:
- Whether the Senate will ever vote on the Sunshine Protection Act, the bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. The House passed it in July 2026, but no Senate vote has been scheduled.
- Whether any state will change its own clock rules before next spring. Under current federal law, a state can choose permanent standard time on its own, but permanent daylight saving time needs Congress to act first.
When exactly do the clocks change?
The change happens at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026. At that moment, clocks fall back to 1 a.m. local time. That hour — from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. — happens twice, which is why people talk about “gaining” an hour.
The practical advice is simple: before you go to bed on Saturday night, October 31, set back any clocks that do not update on their own. Phones, computers, and most smart devices change automatically. Wall clocks, car clocks, microwaves, ovens, and older alarm clocks usually need to be set by hand.
The payoff comes on Sunday morning: an extra hour of sleep. The trade-off comes in the evening: the sun sets about an hour earlier than it did the day before, and afternoons start to feel darker much sooner.
Why does this still happen?
The schedule comes from federal law. Under 15 U.S.C. § 260a, the section of the U.S. Code that sets the national time rules, daylight saving time runs from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March until 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November each year. That schedule was set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and has been in place since 2007. Before that, daylight saving time started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
The law also sets the exceptions. A state that lies entirely in one time zone can exempt itself and stay on standard time all year. That is why Hawaii and most of Arizona do not take part. The Navajo Nation in Arizona does observe daylight saving time, which is one of the quirks people in the region know well.
Will Congress end the clock changes?
Maybe one day, but not this year. The Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent across the country, passed the House of Representatives in July 2026. After that, it was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to a committee. As of the latest reports, no Senate vote has been scheduled, and lawmakers have questioned whether there are enough votes to pass it before the fall time change.
That means the November 1 change stands unless Congress acts very quickly — and there is no sign of that happening before Sunday.
Public opinion has leaned against the twice-yearly switch for years. A 2023 YouGov survey found 62% of Americans favored getting rid of the clock changes. A January 2025 Gallup poll found 54% wanted to end the practice, but Americans were split on the replacement: some want permanent daylight saving time, with later winter sunsets, and others want permanent standard time, with earlier winter sunrises. That split is part of why Congress has struggled to agree on a single fix.
Nineteen states have passed laws for permanent daylight saving time, but those laws cannot take effect without Congress changing federal law first, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. States can adopt permanent standard time on their own, but permanent daylight saving time needs federal permission.
Who does not change their clocks?
Most Americans will turn their clocks back on November 1. The places that will not:
- Hawaii, which stays on standard time all year.
- Most of Arizona, except the Navajo Nation.
- American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
If you live in one of those places, nothing changes for you on November 1 — except that the time difference between you and the rest of the country shifts by an hour.
The Halloween connection
This year’s calendar quirk is worth a note because it affects weekend plans. Halloween is on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Parties, trick-or-treating, and late nights all happen on Saturday. Then, just hours later, the clocks fall back early Sunday morning.
For parents, that means kids may wake up at what feels like the “old” time on Sunday. For everyone else, it means the extra hour of sleep lands right after one of the latest nights of the year. And for drivers, it is a reminder that Sunday evening will get dark earlier — a good reason to be extra careful on the roads after sunset.
One more small detail that trips people up every year: it is “daylight saving time,” not “daylight savings time.” The word “saving” is singular, because the idea is saving daylight.
What to do this weekend
Here is a short checklist for Saturday night and Sunday morning:
- Saturday night: Set back manual clocks — wall clocks, car clocks, ovens, microwaves, and older alarm clocks — before bed.
- Sunday morning: Enjoy the extra hour, but check that your alarms and appointments still line up. A phone that updates on its own and a wall clock that does not can disagree by an hour.
- Sunday evening: Expect an earlier sunset, and plan evening travel, walks, and outdoor plans with the darker afternoon in mind.
- Next week: If you have children or pets, expect a few days of adjustment while sleep schedules settle into the new pattern.
For the colder months ahead, see our guides on how to prepare your home for freezing weather and the NOAA winter outlook for 2026-27.
The bottom line
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Clocks fall back one hour, giving most Americans an extra hour of sleep and bringing earlier sunsets for winter. Congress has not changed the law, so the switch is still happening — this time, right after Halloween night.
For more explainers about rule changes that affect your daily plans, see our recent coverage, including how Airbnb’s new checkout-chores ban works — another case where a policy date matters more than the headlines suggest.
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 260a, “Advancement of time or changeover dates” (U.S. Code, House of Representatives): daylight saving time runs from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November each year — uscode.house.gov
- USA Today, “Will clocks fall back on Nov. 1? Here’s the latest” (August 2026): end date November 1, 2026; states that do not observe; Sunshine Protection Act House passage and Senate status — usatoday.com
- Detroit Free Press, “Michigan clocks fall back soon for DST. What you need to know” (via Google Trends US RSS, October 26, 2026)
- AL.com, “Daylight saving time, Halloween meet in 2026: It won’t happen again for a long time” (via Google Trends US RSS, October 26, 2026)
- Timeanddate.com, “US DST Change in Energy Policy Act of 2005”: schedule history and the 2007 start of the current dates — timeanddate.com
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