What is the difference between PST and PDT?

PDT is daylight saving time: clocks move forward one hour in spring. PST (UTC−8) applies from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March; PDT (UTC−7) applies the rest of the year.

When does PDT start and end?

In the US, daylight saving time starts at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday in November.

Is it PST or PDT right now?

Between mid-March and early November it is PDT; the rest of the year it is PST. Many people write “PT” (e.g. ET, CT) to mean whichever is currently in effect.

PDT to PST Time

Convert Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) to Pacific Standard Time (PST) efficiently to avoid scheduling errors and ensure timely coordination of business, academic, or personal events.

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Updated Sep 2026

In short

PST is 1 hour behind PDT. PST (UTC−8) and PDT (UTC−7) are the winter and summer times of the same US region, so a clock showing 10:00 AM PDT reads 9:00 AM PST.

How it works

PDT and PST are the same place — US Pacific — at different times of year. PST is standard time, used from early November to mid-March; PDT is daylight saving time, used from mid-March to early November. They are exactly one hour apart.

Take the PDT time.
Subtract one hour.
That is the same moment written as PST.

Clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. local time and back on the first Sunday in November. On those two days one hour is skipped or repeated, which is why appointment times around 2 a.m. can look strange.

Writing “Pacific Time” or the city name avoids the problem entirely: it means whichever of the two is in force on that date. The converter above does that automatically.

Examples

The same moment, written both ways:

PDT and PST
PDT	PST
09:00	08:00
12:00	11:00
17:30	16:30
23:00	22:00

Only one of the two labels is correct on any given date, so a meeting invite in PDT during winter is usually a mistake for PST.

PDT to PST Time: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between PST and PDT?: PDT is daylight saving time: clocks move forward one hour in spring. PST (UTC−8) applies from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March; PDT (UTC−7) applies the rest of the year.
When does PDT start and end?: In the US, daylight saving time starts at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday in November.
Is it PST or PDT right now?: Between mid-March and early November it is PDT; the rest of the year it is PST. Many people write “PT” (e.g. ET, CT) to mean whichever is currently in effect.