Timezone API

Get the time zone and exact UTC offset for coordinates

Send a latitude and longitude, and Geoapify Timezone API returns the IANA time zone, the UTC offset that applies at that moment, the local time, and the next daylight saving change.

Ask about any instant from 2025 to 2031, or list all offset changes in a period. Use it for:

• scheduling and appointment booking
• delivery windows
• meetings across time zones
• logs and reports in local time

Documentation

What the Timezone API Returns

A time zone name alone is not enough to show the correct local time. Europe/Amsterdam is UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, and America/Phoenix stays at UTC−7 all year while the rest of the US Mountain time zone moves its clocks. The Timezone API resolves this for you: for a point and an instant, it returns the rules that actually apply.

For each location, the response includes:

• name: the IANA time zone identifier, for example Europe/Amsterdam
• type: standard, daylightSaving, or other
• utc_offset and offset_seconds: the exact offset at the requested instant, for example +02:00 and 7200
• abbreviation: the local abbreviation, for example CEST
• local_time: the local date and time with its offset
• next_transition: the next known offset change with the state before and after it, or null when no change is known within the supported date range
• tzdb_version: the version of the IANA Time Zone Database used for the answer

The API covers fractional offsets such as Asia/Kathmandu (+05:45) and the open ocean, where it returns nautical zones such as Etc/GMT+10. A disputed boundary can return more than one time zone, so timezones is an array.

Quick Start with Timezone API

• Create an API key in Geoapify MyProjects.
• Send an HTTP GET request to https://api.geoapify.com/v1/timezone with lat, lon, and your apiKey.
• Add the optional at parameter to ask about a specific moment. Without it, the API uses the current time.

curl "https://api.geoapify.com/v1/timezone?lat=52.3772&lon=4.9066&at=2026-10-23T12:00:00Z&apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY"

The response for Amsterdam on 23 October 2026 shows daylight saving time (CEST, UTC+2) and the switch back to standard time two days later:

{
  "lat": 52.3772,
  "lon": 4.9066,
  "at": "2026-10-23T12:00:00.000Z",
  "tzdb_version": "2026e",
  "timezones": [
    {
      "name": "Europe/Amsterdam",
      "type": "daylightSaving",
      "utc_offset": "+02:00",
      "offset_seconds": 7200,
      "abbreviation": "CEST",
      "local_time": "2026-10-23T14:00:00.000+02:00",
      "next_transition": {
        "at": "2026-10-25T01:00:00.000Z",
        "before": {
          "type": "daylightSaving",
          "utc_offset": "+02:00",
          "offset_seconds": 7200,
          "abbreviation": "CEST"
        },
        "after": {
          "type": "standard",
          "utc_offset": "+01:00",
          "offset_seconds": 3600,
          "abbreviation": "CET"
        },
        "offset_change_seconds": -3600,
        "kind": "daylight-end"
      }
    }
  ]
}

The at value must be a full RFC 3339 timestamp with a time and an offset, such as 2026-10-23T12:00:00Z or 2026-10-23T14:00:00+02:00. A date alone, such as 2026-10-23, is rejected.

Daylight Saving Transitions in a Period

To plan ahead, use GET /v1/timezone/transitions with from and to. It lists every offset change at the location in the interval: daylight saving starts and ends, permanent offset changes, and abbreviation changes. from is inclusive, to is exclusive, and the interval can be up to 366 days.

curl "https://api.geoapify.com/v1/timezone/transitions?lat=40.7484&lon=-73.9857&from=2026-01-01T00:00:00Z&to=2027-01-01T00:00:00Z&apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY"

For New York in 2026, the API returns two transitions: daylight saving time starts on 8 March and ends on 1 November. A shortened response:

{
  "lat": 40.7484,
  "lon": -73.9857,
  "from": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "to": "2027-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "tzdb_version": "2026e",
  "timezones": [
    {
      "name": "America/New_York",
      "transitions": [
        {
          "at": "2026-03-08T07:00:00.000Z",
          "before": { "type": "standard", "utc_offset": "-05:00", "abbreviation": "EST" },
          "after": { "type": "daylightSaving", "utc_offset": "-04:00", "abbreviation": "EDT" },
          "offset_change_seconds": 3600,
          "kind": "daylight-start"
        },
        {
          "at": "2026-11-01T06:00:00.000Z",
          "before": { "type": "daylightSaving", "utc_offset": "-04:00", "abbreviation": "EDT" },
          "after": { "type": "standard", "utc_offset": "-05:00", "abbreviation": "EST" },
          "offset_change_seconds": -3600,
          "kind": "daylight-end"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The kind field is one of daylight-start, daylight-end, offset-change, or designation-change. Use it to warn users before clocks change, to check recurring meetings, or to plan shifts that span the change.

Timezone API vs the Geocoding timezone Object

The Geocoding API and Reverse Geocoding API already return a timezone object with every address. It describes the time zone in general, not a specific moment:

If you already geocode the address, use its timezone.name for display. When you need to know whether daylight saving time applies on a given date, or what the local time is right now, call the Timezone API with the coordinates.

Supported Dates and Errors

The API answers for instants from 2025-01-01 through 2031-12-31 UTC, using the time zone rules bundled from the IANA database. The tzdb_version field shows which release was used.

next_transition: null is a normal answer. It means no offset change is known within the supported range, for example in America/Phoenix or Asia/Kathmandu, where clocks do not change.

Timezone for AI Agents (MCP)

The same lookup is available to AI assistants as the get_timezone tool on Geoapify MCP Server. An assistant can geocode a place, then ask for its local time or the next daylight saving change. The tool takes lat, lon, and an optional at_unix_seconds:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 5,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_timezone",
    "arguments": {
      "lat": 40.7484,
      "lon": -73.9857,
      "at_unix_seconds": 1792756800
    }
  }
}

For this instant (23 October 2026, 12:00 UTC), the tool returns America/New_York, EDT, offset -04:00, local time 2026-10-23T08:00:00.000-04:00, and the next transition to EST on 1 November. Example prompts: "What time is it now at 35.6762, 139.6503?" or "When do clocks change next in Sydney?"

Pricing

Each Timezone API request costs 1 credit. This applies to both /v1/timezone and /v1/timezone/transitions, and to get_timezone calls through MCP. Add billing_details=credits to a request to see the billed credits in the response as billing.credits.

To have Geoapify process requests on EU infrastructure, send the same requests to https://api-eu.geoapify.com/v1/timezone. For plan limits and commercial pricing, see Geoapify Pricing.

Learn More

Need time zone boundaries for offline use, the time zone of an address, or location tools for AI agents? These pages cover them:

Timezone Dataset: IANA-Based Timezone Metadata and GeoJSON Boundaries

Download timezone JSON and GeoJSON files and use them in web apps, BI dashboards, GIS tools, or spatial databases.

Reverse Geocoding API - Convert Lat/Long to Address

Turn latitude and longitude into an address, city, postcode or locality name. Free plan, code samples and a live demo.

Geoapify MCP Server

Use 12 Geoapify MCP tools to find places, calculate routes, and analyze GeoJSON geometries with AI assistants.

FAQ