North Dakota · ND · Time & calendar
North Dakota: Does the state observe daylight saving time?
Observes DST
North Dakota observes daylight saving time; 2025 bills to drop it or go year-round failed.
North Dakota follows the federal Uniform Time Act and changes its clocks each year. An old state law bars cities and other local governments from adopting their own seasonal time, but it does not exempt the state. In 2025, House Bill 1259 (year-round standard time, later amended to year-round daylight time) and House Bill 1227 both failed. The southwestern part of the state is on Mountain Time.
What the law says
DST is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe DST).
Sources
- NIST, Daylight Saving Time (DST) Official · nist.gov
- N.D.C.C. 40-01-20 (Daylight saving time prohibited, local governments) Official · ndlegis.gov
- N.D. Legislature, 2025 House Bill 1259, bill overview Official · ndlegis.gov
- N.D. Legislature, 2025 House Bill 1227, bill overview Official · ndlegis.gov
- 15 U.S.C. 260a (Uniform Time Act, daylight saving time) Mirror of official text · law.cornell.edu
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Daylight Saving Time Official · transportation.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- North Dakota Legislative Council
- Phone
- 701-328-2916
- Website
- ndlegis.gov
How bordering states compare
- Minnesota Observes DST, law to go year-roundMinnesota observes daylight saving time but enacted a 2021 law to stay on it year-round once federal law allows.
- Montana Observes DST, law to go year-roundMontana observes daylight saving time but enacted a 2021 law for year-round Mountain Daylight Time once approvals are in place.
- South Dakota Observes DSTSouth Dakota observes daylight saving time under federal law and has not passed a law to change that.
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