CET: Central European Time
CET is Central European Time, +01:00, used in Europe. In code, use Europe/Paris rather than the abbreviation.
Central European Time · Europe
03:30:38
Monday, 28 September 2026
- abbreviation denotes
- +01:00
- in force right now
- CEST (UTC+02:00) · DST
- use in code
- Europe/Paris
- also valid
- Europe/Berlin, Europe/Madrid, Europe/Rome
- next clock change
- 25 Oct 2026 02:00 → CET
Right now this zone is on CEST, not CET. 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("Europe/Paris"))
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'tCET questions
What does CET stand for?
CET is Central European Time, +01:00, used in Europe. The IANA zone to use in code is Europe/Paris.
What time is it in CET right now?
Central European Time: 03:30 on Monday (CEST).
Which IANA timezone should I use instead of CET?
Europe/Paris for Central European 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 CEST instead of CET?
Because Europe/Paris is currently on CEST (UTC+02:00), its daylight-saving variant. CET (+01:00) applies during the other half of the year. Both names refer to the same place, one hour apart.