BRT — Brasília Time
BRT is Brasília Time, -03:00, used in South America. In code, use America/Sao_Paulo rather than the abbreviation.
Brasília Time · South America
21:15:43
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
- abbreviation denotes
- -03:00
- in force right now
- UTC-03:00 (UTC-03:00)
- use in code
- America/Sao_Paulo
- next clock change
- none — fixed offset
Right now this zone is on UTC-03:00, not BRT —
they are the same place at different times of year.
Use the IANA name, not the abbreviation
Python
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
# right: an IANA zone carries the full history of rule changes
now = datetime.now(ZoneInfo("America/Sao_Paulo"))
print(now.isoformat(), now.tzname())
# wrong: an abbreviation is not resolvable, and a hard-coded offset
# silently rots the next time the rules change
# now = datetime.now(timezone(timedelta(hours=...))) # don'tBRT questions
What does BRT stand for?
BRT is Brasília Time, -03:00, used in South America. The IANA zone to use in code is America/Sao_Paulo.
What time is it in BRT right now?
Brasília Time: 21:15 on Wednesday (UTC-03:00).
Which IANA timezone should I use instead of BRT?
America/Sao_Paulo for Brasília Time. Date libraries cannot resolve bare abbreviations, and an abbreviation carries no daylight-saving history, so a stored offset silently rots when a government changes the rules.
Why does my computer show UTC-03:00 instead of BRT?
Because America/Sao_Paulo is currently on UTC-03:00 (UTC-03:00), its daylight-saving variant. BRT (-03:00) applies during the other half of the year. Both names refer to the same place, one hour apart.