Current time in CDT
CDT is UTC-5, used across US central states. The clock below runs at that offset rather than at any one city's local time, because an abbreviation names an offset: when the region switches for the summer, the city moves and CDT stays where it is.
5:17:43 AM
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
- Offset
- Etc/GMT+5
- UTC offset
- UTC-5
- 5 h behind your time
US central states is on CDT right now, so this clock matches local time there today.
Need to convert a specific date and time between zones? Use the timezone converter.
How it works
The offset comes from the IANA time zone database rather than a table we typed out, read through the America/Chicago entry, so it follows the same data your operating system uses and cannot drift out of date on its own.
CDT and CST are the two halves of the same region's year. Clocks move between them on the changeover dates; the offsets themselves never move.
Frequently asked questions
Does CDT change with daylight saving?
No. CDT is always UTC-5; what changes is which regions are using it. US central states switches to its other abbreviation for part of the year, and a clock in that region moves with the switch while CDT stays put.
Does CDT mean only one thing?
Here, yes: these letters map to one offset, UTC-5, used by US central states. That is not true of every abbreviation, which is why the safe habit for scheduling is to write the offset or the IANA zone name alongside the letters.
How do I convert a meeting time into CDT?
Use the timezone converter linked above: pick the source zone and read the result. Doing it in your head is where mistakes come from, because you have to remember both sides' switch dates as well as the offsets, and the two hemispheres do not switch on the same weekends.