Time Zones| Zone areas | Time now | January 2026 | July 2026 | Largest cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | --:-- | UTC+13 | UTC+12 | Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Manukau City |
| Chatham | --:-- | UTC+13:45 | UTC+12:45 | no large city |
How many times does New Zealand have?
The IANA database lists 2 separate zone areas for New Zealand. Grouped by the time they actually show through 2026, that makes 2 different clocks, listed above. The offsets in use run from UTC+13 to UTC+13:45 in January.
2 of the 2 areas change their clocks during the year. Open an area to see its dates.
Planning across the country
When you fix a call or a broadcast for people in several parts of New Zealand, give the time with its zone, or use the converter to show every zone at once.
Where most people are
Measured by the people living in towns of 15,000 or more (GeoNames figures), the busiest clock in New Zealand is the one kept in Auckland, UTC+13 in January: about 4.8 million people, or nearly all of the total across all the zone areas. The other clock, Chatham (UTC+13:45), covers only places with no town that large.
A worked example
When it is 9:00 am in Auckland in January, it is 9:45 am in Chatham.
The widest gap inside the country
The two clocks that are farthest apart differ by 45 minutes in January, and by the same amount in July.
New Zealand and the rest of the world
When it is 12:00 noon in Auckland, it is 4:30 am in India in January and 5:30 am in July; 11:00 pm the previous day in London in January and 1:00 am in July; 6:00 pm the previous day in New York in January and 8:00 pm the previous day in July. Other parts of New Zealand are earlier or later than that by the amounts in the table at the top of this page.
Not every part is on a whole hour: UTC+13:45 is used here.
Clock changes in 2026
In Auckland the dates are: Sunday 5 April 2026: at 3:00 am clocks go back 1 hour to 2:00 am; Sunday 27 September 2026: at 2:00 am clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 am.