Airport in Georgia
Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL / KATL) is a major international airport serving Georgia directly.
Current local time at the airport is 20:22:51.
Daylight saving time changes in Georgia, United States
Georgia uses the IANA time zone identifier America/New_York. The current local offset is UTC-4 / EDT.
Next change: November 1, 2026
Clock moves back from 02:00 to 01:00 local time.
Best Time to Call Georgia
Business hours in Georgia (9 AM-5 PM local time) fall at these local times elsewhere:
- Sao Paulo: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM ( Convenient)
- Frankfurt: 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM ( Partial overlap)
- Johannesburg: 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM ( Partial overlap)
- Singapore: 9:00 PM - 5:00 AM (next day) ( Partial overlap)
- Hong Kong: 9:00 PM - 5:00 AM (next day) ( Partial overlap)
- Istanbul: 4:00 PM - 12:00 AM (next day) ( Partial overlap)
- Auckland: 2:00 AM (next day) - 10:00 AM (next day) ( Outside normal hours)
Times shown reflect current UTC offsets and may shift by up to an hour around daylight saving transitions.
Time Difference from Georgia
Compare time in Georgia with major cities worldwide.
Current Time in Cities of Georgia, United States
About Time in Georgia
Twenty Three Years of Arguing Over Atlanta's Clock
Georgia spent decades unable to agree with itself about what time it was. Well into the 20th century, roughly the western third of the state, including Atlanta, sat in the Central time zone while the rest of Georgia kept Eastern time, a split visible on state maps as late as 1931.
Atlanta's business leaders had been pushing to end the divide since at least November 1918, when the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce formally debated whether the city should stay on Central time or join the Eastern zone, according to notes preserved in the Atlanta History Center archives. The argument dragged on for more than two decades without resolution.
It finally ended in March 1941, when Governor Eugene Talmadge signed a law placing the entire state on Eastern time. The Interstate Commerce Commission, which then regulated interstate transportation schedules, initially pushed back against the change, but relented after holding hearings, and Georgia has run on a single time zone ever since.
The Bill That Would Have Made Georgia One of a Kind
In March 2026, the Georgia Senate passed House Bill 154, the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act, by a lopsided 45 to 5 vote. The bill directed Governor Brian Kemp to formally ask the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to move Georgia out of Eastern time entirely and into Atlantic Standard Time, one hour ahead, which would have kept the state permanently on what is functionally Daylight Saving Time without ever falling back each November.
Had it succeeded, Georgia would have become the only U.S. state observing Atlantic time, a zone otherwise used only by Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several Canadian Maritime provinces. The bill built on a foundation Georgia had already laid five years earlier, when Governor Kemp signed a 2021 law committing the state to permanent Daylight Saving Time the moment Congress allowed it.
The 2026 attempt never reached a floor vote in the House. As the legislative session closed with Sine Die in the early hours of April 3, 2026, HB 154 died without ever being called, leaving Georgia's clocks unchanged and its Atlantic time zone ambition unresolved.
An Unexpected Federal Rescue, Just Months Later
Barely three months after Georgia's own bill quietly expired, the path it had been trying to build around suddenly opened from an entirely different direction. On July 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the federal Sunshine Protection Act by a bipartisan 308 to 117 vote, backed publicly by President Donald Trump, and sent it on to the Senate.
The federal bill would make Daylight Saving Time the new permanent standard nationwide, while letting individual states opt out in favor of permanent standard time instead if they pass their own legislation first. If the Senate eventually passes a matching version and it becomes law, Georgia would not need its abandoned Atlantic time zone workaround at all. The 2021 trigger law Governor Kemp already signed would simply activate, doing directly what House Bill 154 had tried to accomplish through a more roundabout route just months before.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time zone is Georgia in?
The whole of Georgia uses the America/New_York time zone (EDT). Local time is 4 hours behind UTC (UTC-4), and all cities in the region show the same time.
Is the time in Georgia the same as in Washington?
Yes. Atlanta and most of Georgia keep the same time as Washington, the capital of United States, so no conversion is needed for calls or meetings between them.
Do clocks change in Georgia?
Yes. The next clock change in Georgia is on November 1, 2026, when clocks move back from 02:00 to 01:00 local time.
What is the main city of Georgia?
Atlanta is the main city of Georgia, with a population of about 510,823. The time, sunrise and sunset shown on this page are based on Atlanta.
Which airport is closest to Atlanta?
Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) serves Atlanta directly. Flight arrival and departure times there are shown in local time.
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