Technical Specifications & Standards
Official chronometric properties, ISO standards, and international database registry identifiers for Pacific Standard Time:
Daylight Saving Time (DST) Transitions
⬆️ Spring Forward (Clocks Advance)
Second Sunday in March at 02:00 AM (Clocks advance to PDT)
⬇️ Fall Back (Clocks Return)
First Sunday in November at 02:00 AM (Clocks return to PST)
Observing Jurisdictions & Subdivisions
5 Sovereign NationsSovereign nations, administrative subdivisions, and regional territories officially operating under PST:
Regional Subdivisions & Territory Details
Financial Markets & Trading Hours
West Coast trading starts when New York has already completed its morning session, and ends just as Asian markets in Tokyo and Sydney begin their trading days.
Local Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 PST
UTC Window: 17:00 - 01:00 UTC
Local Hours: 09:00 - 18:00 PST
UTC Window: 17:00 - 01:00 UTC
Major Cities in PST
Primary metropolitan centers and financial hubs observing this time zone:
Adoption History & Astronomical Facts
Year Established: 1883
Anchored on the 120th meridian west, which forms the straight north-south border separating eastern California from western Nevada before cutting across Lake Tahoe.
The Canadian territory of Yukon gave up shifting between PST and PDT in 2020. The territory chose to remain permanently on UTC-7 year-round, effectively locking its clocks to permanent daylight time.
Frequently Asked Questions about PST
What does PST stand for?
PST stands for Pacific Standard Time, eight hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-8).
How many hours behind New York is California?
California is three hours behind New York year-round. When it is 12:00 PM in New York, it is 9:00 AM in Los Angeles.
What military letter represents Pacific Time?
PST is known as Uniform Time (Zone U) in military communications.