# PDT to EST time converter

Converts a time in Los Angeles (US Pacific) to New York (US Eastern), with the abbreviations and UTC offsets in force on the date and when the difference next changes.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/days/pdt-to-est
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/days/pdt-to-est.json
- Version: 20e6dbabd795

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Time 09:00, From Los Angeles (US Pacific), To New York (US Eastern), Date September 30, 2026) on the example date Wednesday, September 30, 2026: 9:00 AM on September 30, 2026 in Los Angeles (US Pacific) is 12:00 PM on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 in New York (US Eastern).

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| at | Time | The clock time in the From zone. |
| from | From | The time zone of that time (IANA name). |
| to | To | The time zone to convert to (IANA name). |
| on | Date | The date in the From zone. Today, unless you change it. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| time | Time there | The clock time in the To zone at that moment. |
| date | Date there | The date in the To zone at that moment. |
| difference | The To zone is | How far the To zone’s clock is ahead of or behind the From zone’s clock at that moment. |
| fromZone | From zone | The From zone’s name, abbreviation, and UTC offset at that moment. |
| toZone | To zone | The To zone’s name, abbreviation, and UTC offset at that moment. |
| next | Difference changes next | The next difference and when it starts, in the From zone's local time, within 366 days. |

## Method

Find the instant (UTC) at which the From zone’s clocks show the date and time, then read the To zone’s clock at that instant; both offsets come from the browser’s IANA time zone data.

## Assumptions

- By default this page converts Los Angeles (US Pacific) to New York (US Eastern): the IANA tzdata zones America/Los_Angeles and America/New_York; the browser supplies their offsets and daylight saving rules (checked against tzdata 2026a), so a rule change arrives with a browser update.
- A time that does not exist in the From zone (skipped when clocks spring forward) has no answer. A time that occurs twice (when clocks fall back) shows both results, earlier first, for every output that differs.
- The difference is the To zone’s UTC offset minus the From zone’s, as “3 hours ahead”, “9 hours 30 minutes behind”, or “the same time”.
- “Difference changes next” is the first moment after the typed time, within 366 days, at which the difference changes: the new difference, then that moment as the From zone’s local date and time (“2 hours ahead from Saturday, October 31, 2026, 11:00 PM”).
- Each zone shows its name and abbreviation from the browser’s Unicode CLDR English names (left out when CLDR has none), then its offset as UTC+hh:mm or UTC−hh:mm.
- Dates from 2000 to 2040 work.

## Worked examples

1. at = 09:00, from = America/Los_Angeles, to = America/New_York, on = 2026-07-01 gives time = 12:00, date = 2026-07-01, difference = 3 hours ahead, fromZone = Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), UTC−07:00, toZone = Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), UTC−04:00, next = 2 hours ahead from Saturday, October 31, 2026, 11:00 PM. Source: IANA Time Zone Database, tzdata 2026a (https://www.iana.org/time-zones).
2. at = 09:00, from = America/Los_Angeles, to = America/New_York, on = 2026-01-15 gives time = 12:00, date = 2026-01-15, difference = 3 hours ahead, fromZone = Pacific Standard Time (PST), UTC−08:00, toZone = Eastern Standard Time (EST), UTC−05:00, next = 4 hours ahead from Saturday, March 7, 2026, 11:00 PM. Source: IANA Time Zone Database, tzdata 2026a (https://www.iana.org/time-zones).

## FAQ

### Is PDT to EST 3 hours?

Between the clocks of Los Angeles and New York, yes, except for a few hours around each change: each zone changes at its own 2:00 AM, so the gap is 4 hours for 3 hours in March, and 2 hours for 3 hours in November, when New York is on EST while Los Angeles is still on PDT. Taken literally, PDT (UTC−07:00) to EST (UTC−05:00) is 2 hours.

### What is 9:00 AM PDT in Eastern time?

12:00 PM EDT in New York. Read literally as EST (UTC−05:00), it would be 11:00 AM.

### When do Pacific and Eastern time change?

In 2026, US clocks go forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and back on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2:00 AM local time in each zone.

### When does the time difference change next?

As of Wednesday, September 30, 2026, New York is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles; it is 2 hours ahead from Saturday, October 31, 2026, 11:00 PM Los Angeles time.

## Sources

- 15 U.S.C. 260a, advancement of time (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/260a)
- IANA Time Zone Database, tzdata 2026a (https://www.iana.org/time-zones)