CST — 3 time zones
CST is used for 3 unrelated time zones. Each one is listed below with its own clock — an CST timestamp with no region attached cannot be converted safely.
Current time in CST
Central Standard Time
01:46
Sunday, 2 August 2026
CST = UTC-6 · 6 hours behind UTC
China Standard Time
15:46
Sunday, 2 August 2026
CST = UTC+8 · 8 hours ahead of UTC
Taiwan Standard Time
15:46
Sunday, 2 August 2026
CST = UTC+8 · 8 hours ahead of UTC
Shown for 2 Aug 2026 07:46 UTC. The clock goes live as soon as scripts load.
UTC offsets
UTC-6 / UTC+8
Type
Standard time
Seasonal counterpart
CDT
The letters the same zones use for the other half of the year
Meanings
3
Ambiguous — always state a region
What CST can mean
Time zone abbreviations were never registered or coordinated, so the same letters were adopted independently in different parts of the world. These are the meanings in civil use, ordered by how many cities on this site use them.
| Meaning | UTC | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Central Standard Time | UTC-6 | United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica |
| China Standard Time | UTC+8 | China, Macau |
| Taiwan Standard Time | UTC+8 | Taiwan |
Is CST in force right now?
A zone only carries this abbreviation for part of the year. This is which of them were on it at 2 Aug 2026 07:46 UTC; the list is re-derived against your own clock when scripts load.
On CST now
- America/Regina — Regina
- America/Mexico_City — Mexico City
- America/Monterrey — Monterrey
- America/Merida — Merida
- America/Guatemala — Guatemala City
- America/Costa_Rica — San Jose
- Asia/Shanghai — Beijing
- Asia/Macau — Macau
- Asia/Taipei — Taipei
Using a different abbreviation
- America/Chicago — on CDT (UTC-5)
- America/Winnipeg — on CDT (UTC-5)
Central Standard Time (UTC-6) alternates with CDT across the year.
Writing “CST” for a date in the other half of the year is the most common time zone mistake in meeting invitations.
Convert CST to other time zones
Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Taiwan Standard Time (UTC+8)
City clocks reflect whatever their zone is doing; where a city observes daylight saving time, its difference from CST changes twice a year. Use the time zone converter for a specific date.
Time zones and cities that use CST
Central Standard Time · UTC-6
America/Chicago
United States · changes clocks (CST ↔ CDT)
Chicago Austin Dallas Houston Kansas City Memphis Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans Omaha San Antonio
China Standard Time · UTC+8
Why CST is not an identifier
CST is shorthand, not a standard. There is no registry of time zone abbreviations, no authority that assigns them, and nothing preventing two regions from adopting the same three letters — which is exactly what happened here: Central Standard Time, China Standard Time, Taiwan Standard Time all answer to CST.
For anything a machine will read — a calendar invitation, a database column, an API response — use the IANA identifier of the zone (America/Chicago, for example) or an explicit UTC offset alongside the date. The identifier survives a change in the law; CST and its 6 hours offset do not.
Abbreviations on the same clock
Frequently asked questions
What does CST stand for?
CST has 3 meanings in civil use: Central Standard Time at UTC-6; China Standard Time at UTC+8; Taiwan Standard Time at UTC+8. Which one is meant depends entirely on context, which is why CST should not be used where the reader cannot infer the region.
What is CST in UTC?
It depends on the meaning: Central Standard Time is UTC-6, China Standard Time is UTC+8, Taiwan Standard Time is UTC+8. An CST timestamp with no region attached cannot be converted safely.
What is the difference between CST and CDT?
CST as Central Standard Time is the standard-time form; CDT is what those same zones use during daylight saving time, one hour ahead. A summer date written "CST" is usually a mistake for CDT.
Which time zone should I use instead of CST?
Use an IANA identifier — America/Chicago, America/Regina and America/Mexico_City and 5 more for Central Standard Time — or state the UTC offset with the date. Abbreviations are not identifiers: they are not unique, they are not registered anywhere, and half of them change with the season. Calendar software resolves this automatically when you pick a city rather than typing letters.