What is the time zone of Arkansas?
The state of Arkansas is in the Central Time zone. All counties and cities of the state have the same time zone, there are no exceptions. Arkansas is observing daylight savings so there are two different clocks depending on the time of the year.
- Central Standard Time (CST): – 6:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
- Central Daylight Time (CDT): – 5:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
| Central Time |
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Arkansas Daylight savings time (DST)
Arkansas is using daylight savings as also documented in the Uniform Time Act of 1966. During daylight savings the time changes from Central Standard time (CST) to Central Daylight time (CDT).
It starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In March the clock is moved forward from 02.00 am to 03.00 am (so you will lose an hour of sleep during the night). While in November it’s reversed as the clock is moved backward from 03.00 am to 02.00 am and you will gain an extra hour of sleep. One way of remembering the movement sequence is that clocks “spring forward and fall back”.
The total period of daylight savings lasts for 34 weeks which is about 65% of the year.
Arkansas time news, bills and legislation
There is a continuous debate about which time zone should be applied in Arkansas. Several bills have been introduced to legalize daylight saving time as the year-round clock, whereas others try to align the time with bordering counties or states. The table below gives an overview of the latest bills in the state of Arkansas .
| Date | Bill | Status/Action | Title/summary |
| 15 Oct 2021 | HB1017 | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. | Concerning Daylight Saving Time; And To Adopt Daylight Saving Time Permanently. |
| 9 Feb 2021 | HB1017 | Engross, To Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee | Concerning Daylight Saving Time; And To Adopt Daylight Saving Time Permanently. |
| 2 Dec 2020 | HB1017 | Filed | Concerning Daylight Saving Time; And To adopt Daylight Saving Time Permanently |
Other US states
You can check out information and maps of other US states by clicking on the below links.