What is the time difference between Madrid and Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Madrid. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Los Angeles from Madrid?

There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.

Does Madrid observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Madrid runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Los Angeles observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Los Angeles runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

If it is midday in Madrid, what time is it in Los Angeles?

It is 03:00 in Los Angeles, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Madrid and Los Angeles use?

Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Los Angeles uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Madrid time to Los Angeles time

Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Madrid right now, so midday in Madrid lands in the small hours in Los Angeles.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

The whole day mapped across: read down the left for Madrid, across for Los Angeles.

Madrid	Los Angeles
00:00	15:00previous day
01:00	16:00previous day
02:00	17:00previous day
03:00	18:00previous day
04:00	19:00previous day
05:00	20:00previous day
06:00	21:00previous day
07:00	22:00previous day
08:00	23:00previous day
09:00	00:00
10:00	01:00
11:00	02:00
12:00	03:00
13:00	04:00
14:00	05:00
15:00	06:00
16:00	07:00
17:00	08:00
18:00	09:00
19:00	10:00
20:00	11:00
21:00	12:00
22:00	13:00
23:00	14:00

Daylight saving time

Both cities change their clocks, but not necessarily on the same date — which is why the difference between them shifts for a few weeks each year.

Madrid

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+1
Daylight: UTC+2
Next change: 2026-10-25 −60m

Los Angeles

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-8
Daylight: UTC-7
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

When you can actually talk

There is no hour where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 working day. Someone has to move — the nearest workable windows are below.

Madrid 02:00–03:00Los Angeles 17:00–18:00
Madrid 09:00–02:00Los Angeles 00:00–17:00

Reference

The underlying data, in case you need to put it in a calendar invitation or a configuration file.

	Madrid	Los Angeles
IANA zone	Europe/Madrid	America/Los_Angeles
Abbreviation	CEST	PDT
Standard offset	UTC+1	UTC-8
Daylight offset	UTC+2	UTC-7
Clock changes this year	2	2
Country	Spain	United States

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Madrid and Los Angeles?: Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Madrid. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Los Angeles from Madrid?: There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.
Does Madrid observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Madrid runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Los Angeles observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Los Angeles runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Madrid, what time is it in Los Angeles?: It is 03:00 in Los Angeles, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Madrid and Los Angeles use?: Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Los Angeles uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.